Valley County road superintendent Gordon Cruickshank was named Friday to replace retired Valley County Commissioner Tom Kerr last week.
Cruickshank took the oath of office Monday at the regular meeting of the Valley County Board of Commissioners.
Cruickshank resigned from his position as road superintendent in order to take his seat on the board of commissioners.
He will make $28,879 per year in his new job compared with $56,000 as road superintendent.
Cruickshank had worked for the county for 16 years, the last 10 as road superintendent. Alan Hess Construction previously employed him.
He and his wife, Alyce, live just northwest of Lake Fork.
"Gordon has deep roots in Valley County. He's a husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather who is committed to his family, his community and our state," Gov. Otter said in a statement appointing Cruickshank. "I have no doubt he will make a great county commissioner, and I'm proud to be able to appoint him."
Cruickshank was selected over Larry Wilhite, and Mark Pasculli, whose applications were sent to the governor for consideration by the Valle County Republican Central Committee.
He will serve out the rest of Kerr’s term and would have to run for election in November 2008 if he wanted to keep the seat.
"My desire is to represent the interest of the Valley County citizens, use common sense when making decisions, listen to people's concerns, work cooperatively with other agencies, and provide an enjoyable place for us to work and play," Cruickshank said in his application for the job.
Cruickshank applied for the job because he felt his experience working for the county for the past 16 years would be an asset to the commission.
"I wanted the job," he said. Cruickshank said he does not have an agenda and that he looks forward to working with commissioners Frank Eld and Jerry Winkle and citizens of Valley County.
"Roads are always a concern, especially with the amount of growth we are experiencing now," he said.
Cruickshank was not sure that the county should create a taxing district for road funding if federal funds are not available to the county in the future.
"There are some other options we need to look at before we go into a taxing district," he said. "Some of them are just managing ourselves a bit better and working with developers to do the capital improvements."
"I look back over the past three years, and we have improved more than 20 miles of road," he said. "I think we can continue to focus on that," Cruickshank said.
Cruickshank also said the county should consider improving elements of its planning and zoning policies.
"The current system has worked for its time, but maybe it is time to look at some new ideas in that type of system," he said.
Cruickshank graduated from McCall-Donnelly High School in 1973 and has seen many changes in the county.
"We've seen a lot of growth and a lot of things have happened in the county," he said. "I guess I see an increase in traffic and a faster pace of life. But the majority of people were looking away from here for their jobs and careers then, but now people can find jobs here."
Cruickshank believes his ability to work with people will make the transition from county employee to county commissioner a smooth one.
