Q&A with Ben Clements, candidate for Erath County commissioner, precinct 3.
Q. What do you believe is the most important role of a county commissioner?
A. I feel the most important role of a county commissioner is actually two-fold.
One is overseeing the budgetary and policy making functions of county government and second is the managing and betterment of the county roads.
With the growth in Erath County the county commissioner will be forced to be more focused on the courthouse activities and all that goes with being a part of the Commissioner Court.
Q. What do you perceive to be the biggest challenge facing Erath County’s Precinct 3 and how do you propose that challenge be addressed?
A. The biggest challenge is making sure taxpayers’ money is spent wisely and correctly.
The county roads and the maintenance of them are always a challenge as well. The current road crew for Precinct 3 has over 75 years of road experience.
Precinct 3 and Erath County needs someone to make sure their money is being spent where it is needed, that it is not wasted, and that enough is kept in the event of an emergency.
They need someone to oversee the betterment of the county roads in the Precinct and they need someone to make sure all the t’s are crossed and the i’s dotted.
If and when I am elected, I plan to work on spending the taxpayers’ money wisely to accomplish what needs to be done in Erath County.
The county roads in Erath County and especially in Precinct 3 are very important for obvious reasons, but they also need to make sure those that live down them and on them can get where they need to go without tearing up their vehicles or their equipment.
I will work hard to get the majority of the almost 300 miles of roads in our precinct to a paved status.
This will take some time, but I have a plan to put into action to make this work. With the growth of Erath County, we can use the influx of tax revenue, without increasing taxes to make this happen.
Q. What experience do you have making or working with a large budget? Do you believe it’s a good idea for the county to have a “rainy day” or reserve fund?
A. Upon graduation from college, I began my professional career of announcing full time all the while being hired by a large corporation to handle and be a part of their event production, scheduling, advertisement and representation to the rest of the nation.
In that job I managed over 100 employees and handled budgets and payouts of over several million dollars.
In addition, I became the editor of a world-wide magazine with a budget of several million dollars and a circulation of close to a million copies annually.
With the people I met, with the experience I gained, and with my own ambitions to forge a stability in this community for my growing family, my wife and I started our X-Treme Team Roping business.
We handle events across the state and all the production and budgeting that comes with it. That is how my roots got to be deeply grounded in this community.
This is exactly why I am the most qualified candidate to handle the task of being the County Commissioner of Precinct 3.
Precinct 3 has a reserve fund in place. I intend to make sure that money is going to remain accessible so that our county can operate without debt.
Having a reserve fund for financial shocks can help you avoid relying on other forms of credit or loans that can turn into debt.
For example, if you use a credit card or take out a loan to pay for some unexpected expenses, your one-time emergency expense may grow significantly larger than your original bill because of interest and fees. This is exactly what I intend to avoid for Precinct 3.
Q. As the population continues to grow in Erath County, local offices are affected. How do you plan to work with other elected officials to meet the county’s growth while considering the demands of citizens?
A. The Commissioner Court is tasked with making the county function as it should.
I plan to work hard with every office in the county to streamline how this county operates. I want to make a difference and want to work hard for this County.
I want to contribute both my business expertise and my people skills. Working with the people of Erath County as the County Commissioner would let me use both my knowledge of budgeting and business as well my experience in customer service.
I pride myself on being able to get things done, communicate with people successfully, and get the right people in place for the right job, to do the best work possible.
Of course, the focus will be on Precinct 3, however, I will also focus on the entire county and work with the various offices of this county and surrounding counties to get things done as per the needs of Erath County.
Q. What educational and career experiences in your background make you uniquely qualified to serve in this elected capacity?
I graduated from college and have spent my whole life managing and working with people and budgets.
I could give you my entire background and history of who I am and why I think I am qualified, but here is the bottom line; this is not about me, but about the community, about Precinct 3, and the people that live in it.
If you ask me if I come from a construction background or how many roads have I paved, I haven’t but that is not who or what this community needs right now in this position.
As I said, the current road crew for Precinct 3 has over 75 years of experience and just needs someone to manage them.
There is a lot to be done in this county and I am ready for the task at hand.
Although I know this will not be easy and will not happen quickly, I welcome the challenge and am up for the job.
If I didn’t think I was, I wouldn’t have even considered throwing my hat in the ring. This is my county and my precinct and I only want the best and won’t accept anything less.
My experience in dealing with projects and people make me the best choice for County Commissioner of Precinct 3.
I am excited about this opportunity and look forward to making things happen in Erath County.
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