Incumbent commissioner Dagmar Wood faces a challenge from Dan Mason in the Republican primary, with no Democrat filed for the November election.
Dagmar Wood, 53, is a current member of the commission and has served since 2017.
She is from Parkville, is married and has four children.
She was an analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and took time off work to raise her four “active” children. She volunteered in their schools and was also appointed to serve on and lead local committees concerning public safety and health.
Dagmar Wood
She earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Missouri, Columbia and a master of public administration degree from the University of Missouri, Kansas City.
She believes one of the most important functions of a commissioner is setting Platte County’s priorities through the budget.
“I have a history of conservative use of taxpayer dollars, fighting for taxpayer rights and good government, and drafting multi-million dollar budgets at the Federal Reserve Bank,”Wood said.
She believes she is a good choice for the commission because over the last three and a half years, she has had a track record of fiscal responsibility, planning for long-term expenses, and delivering on her promises.
“I have prevented property tax increases by aggressively fighting Zona Rosa garage bailouts in court and winning,” Wood said. “I have established the CARES Act grant program at PlatteCountyEDC.com to prioritize small businesses’ survival during shutdowns. I prioritized safety with more school resource officers and secured 45 Highway turn-lane safety improvements from MoDOT (at Monticello/Riss Lake Drive and Klamm Road). I saved tax dollars by reducing staff, secured a new health care broker for county employees, and hired a new medical examiner service. I funded long-term maintenance for our parks, trails, and community centers, green-lit new trails, and advocated for a new 12-turf field youth sports complex at 152 and Platte Purchase Drive; created a searchable PlatteParks.com website which lists all parks, trails and community centers that exist in Platte County. I increased the operational emergency reserve for the county’s general fund and increased transparency and accessibility of county government with online video and documents of administrative sessions, and hosted over 100 community coffees throughout Platte County.”
Wood said she is running again because there is still much work to do be done, including continuing to fight the garage bailout in order to hold the line on people’s county property tax levy, while continuing efforts to re-align the county’s tax structure, and working towards decreasing the road sales tax after projects are completed in 2023.
“I would appreciate your support in the Aug. 4 Republican primary,” Wood said.
Dan Mason, 55, is running for the District 1 seat on the Platte County Commission. He is from Kansas City, is married and has one child.
Mason has worked as a criminal investigator/special agent and a retired federal agent. He worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and for the Office of General Investigations. He was a court security officer for the Western District of Missouri. He has worked for the Walden Security Company from 2016 to the present.
He believe he is qualified for the position due to his education and work experience. He has a bachelor’s degree in applied science, agricultural economics from Missouri State University. He spent more than 28 years as a public servant.
Dan Mason
“My job involved investigations into fraud, waste and abuse of government programs, financial and forensic accounting, preparing indictments and writing reports, evidence collection and handling, testifying in court, making arrests and executing search warrants,” Mason said.
He is running for the position because friends who knew his background as a retired federal agent asked him to run. As a conservative candidate he believes in working with other county elected officials to best serve the needs of the community and county.
“I want to bring honesty and integrity needed for long-term budgets,” he said.
He believes he is a good choice for the position because he is not a career politician and the county needs someone to work with the other elected officials to deal with the issues and plan for the future.
“I am known as someone who is honest, with integrity,” Mason said. “I value my family and new and life-long friendships. I want to be commissioner for the first district, because I believe the people of Platte County need to help plan a vision for its future with a solid long-term financial plan. We need to pass the ¼ cent sales tax for parks. We need to pass the ¼ cent sales tax for public safety. We need to eliminate waste and costly litigation.”
He believes problems facing the county and district are COVID-19 and sales tax revenue projected shortfalls for the current budget year. Mason said it’s important to make sure county health care services are ready and prepared for any future pandemics or any natural disasters.
“Work with county officials to create a long-term plan tied to a budget,” Mason said. “Make sure every dollar that is spent is being used to serve the county in the best way possible and eliminate waste.”
If elected he would tackle the issues by focusing on public safety and getting a long-term retention plan for the county sheriff’s employees.
“We spend money and time training them and then other communities hire them away,” Mason said.
He would also focus on infrastructure by maintaining high quality county services, long-term road plans for maintenance and growth, and a long-term parks and trail plan that will meet the needs of the county’s growing population.
He would also work with municipalities and leaders in the community to bring businesses and jobs to the county and nurture the businesses that are already in operation in the area by working together.
“I would work with the other elected officials and start a process to include voters in creating a long-term plan that defines current and future budgets with reserves and identifies the projects that are needed for the success of the county from now through 2040,” Mason said. “I would look at ways to cut expenses and cross-train employees to cut costs and look to share costs with other stakeholders: city, state, non-profits involved in administering county goods and services and eliminate waste in all departments.”