Editor’s note: Four candidates are standing for election in November to one at-large seat on the Perry City Council. In order to provide our readers with first-hand knowledge of the candidates, their characters and their ideas, ThePerryNews.com presented them with this short series of questions:
1. Kindly outline for us in brief your educational and professional experience. Where did you attend high school and/or college? What sort of work do you do? In other words, what is your background, generally speaking?
2. What particular qualifications do you feel that you would bring to the job of a city councilor? What qualifications do you believe are generally desirable in a city councilor?
3. What has led you to seek elected office? Have you run for or held elected office before?
4. Are there any particular issues of interest to you or of importance to Perry that have led you to run for office? More generally, what issues do you feel Perry faces today that are of greatest importance? What direction would you like to see the council take? What direction, if any, do you feel the council should not have taken that it has taken?
5. What are you most passionate about when it comes to the public life of Perry? the commercial life of Perry? the social and cultural life of Perry? What is your vision for the town? Where would you like to see Perry be in five years? 10 years?
Candidates were encouraged to answer in their own manners. They were under no constraint to answer all the questions or to follow the order given. ThePerryNews.com did not wish to program their answers in advance but encouraged them to feel free.
ThePerryNews.com offers the candidates’ answers to readers directly and unfiltered.
Elizabeth Hix, 2605 First Ave. in Perry, 515-419-1132, liz.miner06@gmail.com
The city of Perry is a very important community to me. I was born and raised here, growing up riding bikes in town and swimming at the McCreary Center. Sporting events and the Lighted Christmas Parade are among some of my favorite pass-times that I am now going to be able to share with my growing family. I am grateful that I have been able to continue my path into adulthood within this community.
After graduating from Perry High School, I moved for a brief period to attend AIB College of Business, where I obtained a degree in accounting and financial services. After graduation, I was blessed to receive full-time employment at Van Wall Equipment, where I currently hold a position in accounting.
I feel very fortunate to be able to work and live in the same community where I have the opportunities to be involved.
Currently, I hold a seat on the Perry Airport Commision. During my time on the Commision, I have learned many different aspects of local government, and I have enjoyed broadening my horizons. When initially taking this position, there was a lot to learn, but my drive to understand and willingness to ask questions pushed me to learn the things I needed to know to be an active member.
It is important to me to be a part of what is happening in the city of Perry, and my desire would be to get other young adults to participate with city boards and commissions as well.
One of the things I am most passionate about is having pride in the community that we live in. I feel over the years the sense of Perry Pride has somewhat diminished among the younger generations. Perry has a lot to offer with its shopping, dining and activities, but I would like to see people wanting to not just visit Perry but make it their home.
In order to do this, I believe there are some changes that need to be made. We need to improve our infrastructure and outside appearance. We also need to progressively seek additional companies and corporations that would offer a living-wage employment, companies that employees would be able to grow within and build a life long career, all while being part of our community.
My goal is to be a voice for the citizens of Perry and use my eagerness to interact and listen to ideas and concerns in regards to improving our community. As I continue to strive for Perry Pride, I hope others in the community will join me.
