On Nov. 7, Harrison County voters will choose from the various candidates running for mayor, city council and school board.
The Dunlap Reporter reached out to candidates ahead of the election with a brief question and answer.
Following are the responses from the candidates for mayor, published verbatim.
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Name: Jason Knickman
City/town: Dunlap
Candidate for: Mayor
Explain who you are: I work as a Harrison County Deputy Sheriff, and I have served in law enforcement for over 23 years. My wife, Jennifer, and I have two children, Cooper, 14 and Addyson, 12. Both attend Boyer Valley School. It is important to me that our kids grow up in a town that is not only safe but accommodating and thriving.
I understand the importance of volunteerism. Therefore, I am the president of the Boyer Valley Youth
Sports Organization, an organization I have served on for over eight years. I am also a member of the
Ag Center of Excellence (ACE) Committee – a school/community partnership recently initiated to
focus on the future of Boyer Valley’s growing FFA and 4H programs.
I am a strong supporter of the 4 County Fair and Dunlap’s 4th of July celebration. I also support the
Dunlap Grants Committee and DCDC on current projects.
Why did you run for this position? Short answer: I care a GREAT deal about the future of Dunlap. If re-elected as Mayor for another term, I will continue to support the positive direction that we are headed as a community in areas of development and beautification.
Our community needs housing and relies on economic development, but to retain and attract young families, we need to ensure employment opportunities, quality education and easy access to health-related services.
I will work to keep growing our community’s partnership with the school and better support our local businesses, as these entities are the backbone of our town. Good infrastructure and municipalities are crucial, but a town of our size is limited in resources. I will do my best to ensure that taxpayers’ money extends as far as possible and is spent wisely to benefit the greatest amount of people for the longest amount of time.
What from your background qualifies you for this position? I have served as the Mayor of Dunlap for the last eight years; I have a vast amount of knowledge as to what the position entails. Being Mayor requires serving on important boards within the county. During my term, I have been active on the local Conference Board, Emergency Management Agency, and the 911 Commission.
During my time as mayor, I have also worked to understand the community’s greatest hurdles and
spent time focusing on the best steps to move forward. For example, I have recently been working with the DNR, the Iowa Department of Agricultural Land Stewardship, and the NRCS to improve the water at Pleasant View Park. I have proven to be approachable. I make myself available to community members, contacting people directly to address individual concerns. I also have a track record of working well with Dunlap City Council members.
What are your goals if elected? As I mentioned before, under my leadership, I plan improve the state of the water at Pleasant View Park. I would like to see us get electricity at the park to improve the amenities there as well. I plan to advance the proposed community trails project around town as this reflects the goal of many community members, as was made apparent during the Community Visioning meetings. The first trail I would like to see is a path that accesses the Boyer Valley Sports Complex. This will require a team effort from the city and school.
Dunlap has seen a recent surge in positive momentum with the obtaining of grant funding, commercial growth, and the forming of partnerships between important entities within the community. I would do everything in my power to encourage continued success in these areas by supporting the individuals who represent these various initiatives.
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Name: Larry Malone
City/town: Dunlap
Candidate for: Mayor
Explain who you are: From Dunlap. Have lived and owned a business in Dunlap over 30 years. Raised two sons in this community.
Why did you run for this position? Would like to see more communication between the city and community. A few improvements and some issues addressed that I feel need attention.
What are your goals if elected? No information entered.
What from your background qualifies you for this position? Business owner, General at Sports Complex, worked on Pleasant View Park, worked at demo fire hall, manage budget in my business and managed employees.
Editor's note: The following was submitted after Malone's initial response ran in the Oct. 26 edition of the Dunlap Reporter.
I am Larry Malone, and I would like to add to the article from last week. I am running for mayor of Dunlap in this year's election.
Dunlap is a small town of about 1000 people. As Mayor, I would like to work with DCDC in their projects of improving the eye appeal of our town, but I feel that the foundation of our town is in need of more attention. We have old water and sewer lines that need to be fixed and our streets and alleys need serious attention. This is the foundation of our town and if these aren't fixed it doesn't matter how beautiful we are. Over the last 8 years, there has never been enough money to thoroughly fix this problem. We only put a band aid on the street issues. We need to develop a better plan.
I too have worked closely and hands on withThe DNR. I have constructed and placed three jetty's in the Harrison County area, one being at the Pleasant View Dam in Dunlap. I have volunteered endless hours of my time on many projects that my business has been involved in around Dunlap.
As I have said, I am a businessman and I feel we could better our spending for the taxpayer's money and balancing our budget better.
If you are looking to see something different for Dunlap in the next four years- I would appreciate your vote for mayor on November 7.
Thank you, Larry Malone
