Background: Chris Powell is a married father of three children and a 1998 graduate of New Bloomfield high school. He began his public service career when he was 18 years old as he joined the New Bloomfield Fire Department. In 2008, Powell was elected to the New Bloomfield Fire Department Board of Directors and serves to guide the Fire Department in its mission to protect property and the New Bloomfield community. For the last 6-plus years, he has served as the treasurer. Powell currently works as the senior emergency planning analyst for SafePlans, conducting site assessments and doing emergency planning for clients all over the country. Powell also has more than 10 years of management and data analysis experience.
What makes you the best candidate?
I believe that my experience and background makes me qualified, and I just love to serve the people in my community. I've been doing that for a long time with the fire department, and I want to help the whole county.
Why did you decide to run?
I've been wanting to run for office for a few years. I sat down with my dad and we looked at my background, and the office of the assessor is the best fit for me after I looked at what I was qualified to do.
What is your campaign message?
Fairness for all. I believe that everybody that I have talked to doesn't mind paying their fair share of taxes, but that fair part can get confusing. I think each person should get assessed the same way, and I think if we're fair, we won't have any issues with the taxes.
How would you assess the current operation of the Assessor's Office?
That's tough because I'm not there, so I don't know what they're doing day-to-day. I know if I get in there, I'll use my abilities to make it the best office in the court house and improve customer service. I want to make sure the taxpayers are getting the appropriate responses, make sure their questions get answered and that they're happy with the job that we are doing.
What changes would you implement?
There are a few things I'd like to take a look at. I don't want to get into it right now because I don't have all of the inside knowledge that I need from that office. I need to assess what's going on to make it a better office. There should be transparency. People should know the process of how things are done; that way they can gauge for themselves if we're doing the right job or not.
What do you think people don't understand about the office but should?
There's not a lot of people that understand the assessment process, and a lot of people I talk to don't even know who the current assessor is. They should know why they're paying their taxes and what is being done. The assessment process itself is something that people don't understand fully.