Spring 2020 Eau Claire County Board Candidate Questionnaire District 21

Spring 2020 Candidate Questionnaire: Eau Claire County Board

District 21: Mark Beckfield

Note: These questions were drafted and candidate responses requested before concerns about COVID-19 escalated to their current level.

Q1. What are your background and qualifications for this position, and why are you a candidate?

Mark Beckfield: 

• I have many years of service to the Eau Claire Area
• 7 years on the EC County Board including many committees 
• Life long resident 
• President of the EC Veterans Foundation
•  Member of the EC Chamber
•  Home owner and taxpayer

Q2. What is the County Board’s role in promoting economic development, business maintenance and commercial growth in the county?

Mark Beckfield:
My goal  is to increase the County investment to proactively grow our (NEW) industrial parks and become a WELCOMING county environment for growth, which we sadly lack today!

Q3. What should the County Board do to address the current budget issues and program demands in the Human Services area?

Mark Beckfield:
FIRST we need to rein in the spending and stop overspending  in DHS NOW!
We need to grow the tax base by adding and growing businesses and jobs. Retail, restaurants and entertainment centers will not get us where we need to be! We need to get a majority on the Board that is fiscally responsible.

Q4. What are the two biggest issues you expect Eau Claire County to face during your term, and how do you think the County Board should address them?

Mark Beckfield:
1. We are running out of reserve funds (OUT OF MONEY)
Some members do not care - they say they do but their votes show they don't.
2. Get training for the under educated 

We can address both of these issues by growing the Eau Claire County tax base.  The neighboring counties around us have added WAY MORE better paying jobs than EC and we need to fix this fast! Good paying jobs will fix many poor and homeless issues as well as the depleting tax base,  WITHOUT raising taxes that the majority of people agree are high enough already.