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Rudy Howard Candidate for Dearborn County Clerk of Courts

NAME: Rudy Howard

ELECTED POSITION BEING SOUGHT: Dearborn County Clerk of Courts

POLITICAL PARTY: Democrat

CITY OF RESIDENCE: Aurora, Indiana

CAMPAIGN WEBSITE(S): www.rudyhoward.com

WHY ARE YOU RUNNING FOR OFFICE?:

I am the father of two beautiful children.  I reside in Aurora where I attend the United Methodist Church.  My number one passion is my family.  I enjoy taking part in their activates and working hard to make the most of the short time that will be their childhood.  My desire to work in county government is inspired by my desire to improve the community and provide my children a worthwhile legacy. 

I believe this interest and passion for my community and my children was instilled at an early age by the two great men of my life. My Father, and my maternal Grandfather. My Father served in the Vietnam conflict and was an extremely active member in the VVA and the VFW in Bay City, MI. My father used his law degree to fight for veterans benefits and rights. My father taught me early on that we all have an obligation to stand up for what is right and to fight for those that cannot fight for themselves. He taught me that democracy is not a spectator sport, you must get involved.

My grandfather served in WWII and was an ordained Methodists minister. He spent his life after the War serving God and taking an active role in bringing hope to the poor and needy in his community. He took a stand on civil rights and was active in the effort to empower women and minorities in both the community and in the church. My father and my Grandfather both thought me that we all have a calling to work for the good of others and to serve our community. 

WHAT ARE YOUR QUALIFICATIONS?: 

I graduated from Lander University in Greenwood, South Carolina with a B.S. in Political Science. I  have completed my Masters in Public Administration from Northern Kentucky University. I interned with the Kenton County, Kentucky Court.   I have been trained in homeland security, emergency management, economic development, public finance, parks/recreation, grant writing, policy development/analysis  and other community services.  I have attained 10 training certificates from FEMA's Emergency Management Institute as part of my studies. This training covered issues ranging from dealing with floods to dealing with nuclear and biological emergencies.

I have over 15 years of experience in managing personnel, logistics, quality control, production and operations in various fast-past industries for companies like Ford and Amazon.  I believe I can take the lessons I learned from working at Ford and Amazon, coupled with my education and transform the clerk's office with the continuous improvement system "Lean Six Sigma". This system has worked for many organizations including government offices. Government has a purpose and everyone should agree that it must be run as efficiently as possible. Government has an impact on almost everything we do, we owe it to our children to leave them with an organized an efficient system of government. I look forward to doing that in Dearborn County. 

WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE ARE THE BIGGEST ISSUES IN THE OFFICE YOU ARE SEEKING?: 

The biggest issues facing the Court house, the County, and indeed the nation, is a profound  need to learn how to live within its means.  Revenues from the casino are falling and the County has yet to learn to both pass a balanced budget and then stay within that budget.   Woodrow Wilson called for the work of the government to be done with "the utmost possible efficiency and the least possible cost either in money or energy."   Wilson was calling for the same mechanization of government that was talking place in industry at the time.   The idea of scientific management was the foundation of this drive for mechanization, and people like Henry Ford used these principles to change the world.  

One need only look to Fort Wayne, Indiana   for an example of how those principles are changing government today.  Fort Wayne has used Lean Six Sigma to transform its operations.  Trough over sixty successful projects the city has saved tax payers over $3million dollars.  The City was able to increase fire inspections by 23% without adding manpower.  Potholes that once took days or weeks to repair, now take less than 24hrs in 77% of cases.    Before Lean Six Sigma it took an average of fifty days to get a building permit and that time was reduced to twelve days!!!!

Dearborn county is wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars every year.  We need change.  We need a Lean government.  your vote can bring that change. For a better idea of my mission and stances on issues, take a look at my platform on my web page.  www.rudyhoward.com.  Thank you for your support and please pass on the invitation to visit my web page to all those who share a desire to see equity, efficiency, and accountability become a priority in Dearborn County again.