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Republican running for county commissionerby Morgan Dixon Fred La Sor, of Shade, announced Friday he will run for Athens County Commissioner on the Republican ticket — possibly bringing a two-party perspective to the currently Democratic office. “The commissioner’s office is ready for new ideas and for a return to a two-party system,” La Sor said . Interaction between two parties allows new ideas to come out, he said. Democrat Lenny Eliason, who will announce later this week his candidacy for re-election, is the commissioner in that seat. La Sor said his priority as commissioner would be to promote economic development in the county, partly by promoting the arts. Several months ago, USA Today listed Athens as one of the United States’ top 10 arts regions, La Sor said. The article sparked his idea to encourage expanding the arts in Athens County in an effort to create more jobs and bring in tourists. He said he wants to get the word out that Athens is receptive to the arts, and he hopes artistic recognition will draw more visitors to the area. La Sor said it is time to add new ideas and expand efforts to create jobs in the county. He also said it is important to bring better technology to Athens to be economically competitive. For example, up-grading telephone lines would help businesses use their online technology more efficiently. County commissioners are elected every two years for a four-year term. La Sor ran for commissioner four years ago, but lost the Republican primary, he said. Commissioner Mark Sullivan, a democrat, won in the November election. La Sor co-founded the Lee-Alexander Development and Environmental Roundtable three years ago. The Roundtable is a citizens action group that strives to further economic growth in Lee and Alexander townships, the fastest growing areas of Athens County, he said. Incumbent candidate Eliason said he plans to continue working for business growth in Athens. The deadline for filing with the county board of elections is Thursday. Eliason and La Sor both said they would file on Wednesday. No one else has announced candidacy for the position, both Eliason and La Sor said. |