The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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July 29, 2010

Three vie in Waseca County Board District 4

By Brian Ojanpa The Free Press

MANKATO — Incumbent Richard Androli is being challenged by two contenders — Nancy Prehn and Tom Davison — in the race for District 4 commissioner on the Waseca County Board.

The field will be narrowed to two in the Aug. 10 primary election. District 4 is comprised of the northern portion of the county and a portion of the city of Janesville.

Prehn, who ran unsuccessfully for the position in the previous election,  said she “just wants to see some accountability and budget management” in county government and said she’s part of a large population group that is bearing a general sense of dissatisfaction.

She said the County Board needs new blood, some female diversity and believes in term limits — eight years (two terms) for board members.

Prehn works as a school paraprofessional and as a mental health behavioral aide.

Tom Davison is a trucker who is also involved in agriculture.

He ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the county Soil and Water Conservation Board in the last election and said he’s looking to bring some fresh ideas to the County Board.

“The county seems to have a couple of hurdles it’s having a tough time getting over,” he said without naming specifics.

Davison graduated from high school in Waterville and has lived in the area all his life.

Androli, who farms with his father and brother, was elected to the County Board when he was 33, at the time the youngest ever to serve on the commission.

Now in his second term, Androli said the learning curve for county commissioners continues to steepen as county governance becomes more complex.

“You’ve got to do a lot of reading, a lot of looking things up on the Internet, and visit face-to-face with experts in their fields.”

Androli said he would favor limits of three or four terms for county commissioners and thinks that Waseca County’s most urgent challenge is how services will be delivered, or changed, in light of monetary crunches.

He said the county faces a $1.1 million budget cutback for next year. 

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