Stuart Adams (D), County Supervisor Dist. 5

     Personal history: I am a Cedar Rapids native. I served in the United States Air Force for 10½ years, during which my wife, son and I lived in Missouri, Germany, and Texas. While stationed in San Antonio, I worked on a three-year special project to upgrade the data communication facilities for the Air Force Security Service. That led me to the decision to leave the military and complete a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science at the University of Iowa. I was subsequently hired as a Quality Engineer by Norand Corporation, a technology company in Cedar Rapids. Over my 32-year career with the company, spanning three ownerships and two name changes, I advanced to an engineering director position managing large administrative and project budgets and leading teams responsible for product development, product reliability evaluation, and product regulatory compliance.

     Family: My wife, Shelley, and I moved to the Stone City area in late 1995. Our son and his wife live in Cedar Rapids. We are all dog fans, having as many as three at a time in each of our households. Shelley and I currently have an Irish Doodle (Irish Setter/Standard Poodle mix) and a 26-year-old horse.

     1. Why did you choose to run for County Supervisor? Why should Jones County voters cast their ballots in your favor? This is an opportunity to give back to the community and county in which my wife and I have lived for 25 years. We appreciate the quieter way of life here. I want to work with the other county supervisors to help preserve and enhance that lifestyle by putting in place long-term strategies and taking near-term actions to address the healthcare, economic, educational, and environmental challenges we all face.

     2. What background/experience do you bring to the role of County Supervisor? My military and corporate careers reinforced the need to establish clear long-term goals and to take the actions necessary to reach them; sharpened my planning and progress monitoring skills; required adaptability to changing conditions; instilled the value of incorporating input from others in the decision-making process; and drove home the fact that my actions have very real impacts on other people.
I have experience working with others to reach consensus on how to move forward on issues, particularly where people hold widely-differing views.

     3. What goals would you have if elected supervisor? I don’t have an immediate agenda beyond representing the interests of my district on the board, building strong working relationships with the various committees to which I’m appointed, and working with the other Board members to provide the best possible services to the county.

     I have an interest in resource conservation and trail development and would particularly enjoy working with those groups, but I am open to any assignment where my experience would be an asset.

     4. What have you heard from voters regarding their concerns facing Jones County? How would you address those concerns? New home and business construction have created more entry points and congestion on county roads, linking people to county business centers, schools, and major highways. With the combination of agricultural, residential, and business traffic that these roads support, some residents have expressed interest in a review of current speed limits to ensure they are appropriate for the growing traffic load in the more congested areas.