Dan Eldridge is one of three men vying for the top spot in Washington County, TN government. On May 4 voters will decide whether Eldridge, former JC mayor and state senator Don Arnold, or mechanic James Reeves will become Washington County’s next mayor. Eldridge, a Jonesborough businessman, took time to answer some of our questions.
Nate Morabito: Who is Dan Eldridge?
Dan Eldridge: I am a guy from Jonesborough. Graduated from David Crockett High School. Married a girl from Daniel Boone High School. We both went on and graduated from East Tennessee State University. We've been very blessed. We had an opportunity to start our own business here in Washington County. Grew it to 550 employees.
NM: What are your top three priorities?
DE: Number one, jobs. We have to make jobs a priority in this county. We're down nearly 6,000 jobs; a lot of people unemployed. Unfortunately, we have no plan to change that. We've also got to get focused on the budget, making sure that we do everything we can to save money, prioritize our spending. The last thing that can happen at this time is a tax increase. We cannot afford a tax increase. We must manage in a way that prevents that. The third priority is just to manage the county like a business, implementing policies, procedures, good practices, making sure that the citizens and the taxpayers of Washington County benefit from the county government being run like a business.
NM: Why are you running for mayor?
DE: I'm running for mayor in Washington County because I believe that we've got great opportunities and more than anything else, I want to make sure my kids have a better opportunity than I've had. The unfortunate thing is, we don't have a plan in Washington County to use the resources and the assets, the great resources we have in this community. We don't have a plan to put those things into motion to make things better for the future. And that's why I'm running.
NM: What kind of impact are you going to have on the average person in the county? The average family in the county?
DE: The impact that I hope to have is long-term and long-lasting. I think that improving that median family income in Washington County absolutely has to be a top priority for us. I think improving the mix of jobs that we have is going to have a meaningful impact on that.
To hear more from Dan Eldridge, watch the video report above. Be sure to tune in to 11 Connects on Thursday at 6 and 11pm to meet Dan Eldridge.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement