Interview with Tom Nelson
February 8, 2011
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This is a podcast of an interview with Tom Nelson, one of the two candidates for the office
of Outagamie County Executive. Five interview questions were prepared by
LittleChuteMatters.org before the primaries and asked
of all of the candidates in their individual interviews. Each of the five questions in the interview
is usually followed by a clarification or follow-up question.
This recording of the entire interview is 19 minutes long. To play the entire interview, click the
"Listen to the entire interview in streaming audio" link or button above. The interview should begin
to play on your computer, after a short pause.
To download the MP3 file to play later or put on your personal audio player, click the "Download
the entire interview in MP3 format" link or button above. A dialog should pop up asking where
you want to save the file. Alternately, you can right-click the link (on a Mac with a one-button mouse,
hold down the control-key and click the link). This should cause a context-menu to appear,
displaying several options. Choose the option to save the MP3 file to your disk.
If you want to hear the candidate respond to an individual interview question, you can listen or
download a single track containing the interview question, response and follow-ups. Use the buttons
below to play or download the track(s) of your choice. There are five tracks, one for each question:
the "Why Are You Running" question, and four questions focused on the Economy, Government Finances,
Transparency in Government and Downtown Development.
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Question #1: "Why Are You Running for Office?"
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This track asks Question #1: "Why are you running for office? Tell us a little about yourself,
and why you're interested in serving the public as Outagamie County Executive."
The candidate's response follows the question on the track, along with any follow-up questions
and responses. To play or download this track, click one of the buttons below.
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Question #2: The Economy and Jobs.
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This track asks Question #2: "The economy is on most people's minds right now, especially jobs.
According to the Census Bureau, in Outagamie county one out of every five jobs are created by small
businesses with less than 20 employees. Another two out of the five are from mid-sized businesses,
with 20 to 200 employees. And over 95 percent of the businesses in the county are either small
or mid-sized. How will you support existing small and mid-sized businesses and encourage the
development of new ones?"
The candidate's response follows the question on the track, along with any follow-up questions
and responses. To play or download this track, click one of the buttons below.
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Question #3: Government Finances
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This track asks Question #3: "When we think about government finances, many of us immediately think
'taxes'. But taxes are only one way to finance government. Fees are another means of generating
revenue, sometimes a hotly debated means. Fees can be paid directly to the county, or to third
parties for county-mandated products and services. How do you view the use of fees versus taxes
to fund the Outagamie County Government’s activities?"
The candidate's response follows the question on the track, along with any follow-up questions
and responses. To play or download this track, click one of the buttons below.
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Question #4: Transparency in Government
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This track asks Question #4: "Wisconsin's Public Records law requires open access to county
records for all citizens. However, making copies of records for use outside of the county
offices can be expensive. For example, some computerized data have large data-processing fees
attached, and county court documents have high photocopy fees. How do you propose making county
records as freely available as possible to the public?"
The candidate's response follows the question on the track, along with any follow-up questions
and responses. To play or download this track, click one of the buttons below.
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Question #5: Downtown Development
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This track asks Question #5: "Outagamie County Social Services expenses made up over half of the
County's Governmental Activities budget in 2009. With the increased focus on cost controls in
government, cuts in state and federal contributions for Social Service programs might strain the
budget. In this environment, how do you propose that we control Social Service expenses while
continuing to give appropriate assistance to children, the elderly, the sick and disabled, and
others in need?"
The candidate's response follows the question on the track, along with any follow-up questions
and responses. To play or download this track, click one of the buttons below.
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