EAST IDAHO ELECTS: Jefferson Commissioner promises transparency during second term

RIGBY — EastIdahoNews.com was proud to sponsor town hall political meetings in Jefferson County last week. Nearly 100 people gathered in the Harwood Elementary School gym on Wednesday and Thursday night as we spoke with candidates running for county commission, prosecutor, and fire commission.

We also interviewed the sheriff, who is running unopposed, and District 2 County Commissioner Scott Hancock, who is also running unopposed.

The town halls were part of a series of forums featuring candidates running for political office in East Idaho. The Idaho primary will be held May 17.

Hancock is running for a second term as Jefferson County Commissioner in District 2.

He agreed to sit down with EastIdahoNews.com reporter Nate Eaton. He was given 60 seconds for an opening and closing statement. He also answered questions from the audience and the following questions posed by EastIdahoNews.com:

What do you hope to accomplish in your second term?

We hear a lot about transparency in local government. Have the Jefferson County commissioners been completely transparent and how do you plan to improve that going forward?

The County Commissioners have sometimes been accused of having an adversarial relationship with the media and sometimes commissioners are hard to reach. DO you believe this is true and what needs to be done to improve relationships?

Last year, Jefferson County Sheriff Blair Olsen was convicted of misusing public funds and sentenced to serve time in jail. The Attorney General sent a letter criticizing the county commission. Did you read the letter? What changes have been implemented to make the commission more accountable in supervising other county officials?

There’s a lot of talk about wasteful government spending. Are there areas in the county that could be cut to save money?

Watch the video above to see the entire forum, sponsored by Scotty's True Value.