Candidates speak at Grassroots Series

I have to say that I'm pretty psyched about the field of Democrats running for York County Commissioner. I saw the three of them last night at the most recent Grassroots Speaker Series, this one held at York Little Theatre.

Doug Hoke, Doug Kilgore, and Ned Grove spent about an hour responding to questions on numerous issues impacting York County, and on their perspectives on county government's role.

Kilgore is the lone Democrat incumbent (of three positions) and spoke most memorably about just why it was important for the county to take possession of the Highpoint property. A former dairy farmer, Kilgore said it's important to always be looking ten years out, at what we want our county to look like. His point in supporting Highpoint as park area has two major areas of emphasis: the preservation of the Susquehannock Indian site there and the importance of conserving the delicate ecosystem that borders the Susquehanna River and eventually impacts the Chesapeake Bay.

Doug Hoke's experience in managing large construction projects came through in a question asked about the significant cost overruns in the new County Courthouse building project. Hoke grew up in a household of public service - his father was a supervisor in West Manchester Township. He owns a small farm and is part owner of two businesses housed there, but will be retiring from his job in December after he wins a commissioner seat.

Ned Grove's main message was that there's no way to achieve tax savings without making cuts - saving on expenses, removing unnecessary personnel from county payrolls, etc. Grove is a real estate agent, but plans to let his license lapse once he's elected commissioner.

Democrats can only move two of these candidates forward to the general election by their vote in the primary May 15. This field of candidates provides a great opportunity for York County Democrats to regain a majority in the Commissioners' Office.