Bismarck (ND) resident Dustin Gawrylow announced his intention to seek a seat on the Burleigh County Commission.
Gawrylow is a political consultant and lobbyist by trade and specializes in Taxpayer Advocacy – having served as the Managing Director of the North Dakota Watchdog Network since 2012, and Executive Director of the North Dakota Taxpayers’ Association for four years prior to that.
“I’ve spent the last thirteen years representing taxpayers, big and small, at the legislative level, the local Bismarck/Burleigh level, and elsewhere around the state,” said Dustin Gawrylow. “My work as a taxpayer advocate over the last thirteen years gives me an established and proven track record of standing up to an ever-expanding government. I know what to ask our taxpayer-funded public employee to get the real story.”
Gawrylow has served on the City of Bismarck’s Special Assessment Task Force (SATF), originally appointed by former-Mayor Mike Seminary to the position and reappointed by Mayor Steve Bakken.
“The work currently being to find a way to replace the special assessment process to pay for street maintenance is the most aggressive attempt at true local tax reform ever attempted by any municipality in the State of North Dakota since the 1930’s,” Gawrylow continued. “Trying to develop a new way to fund the most basic function of government was not easy, but we’ve made tremendous progress. We’ve amended state laws, and soon we will have created not only a better way to pay for our streets but a model for tax reform in general. Taxpayers of Bismarck can rest assured that regardless of the outcome we’ve fundamentally changed the conversation and come one step closer to ending special assessments. While the final plan is still pending, I remain committed to the taxpayers and will ensure they get the best deal possible.
Gawrylow was also recently re-appointed by Mayor Steve Bakken to a 2nd three-year term on the Bismarck Renaissance Zone Authority (RZA), which acts in an oversight and advisory role on matters regarding the issuance of tax incentives in the downtown area.
“It is no secret that I am not a fan of programs that give deals to one taxpayer but not another, but the State of the North Dakota has created this program, and the elected officials of Bismarck and Burleigh County have to this point continued to renew it for the last fifteen years,” Gawrylow explained. “My role on the Renaissance Zone Authority has not been to over-ride the will of the elected representatives of the city and state, but rather to make sure that as long as this program exists, it will be used in the most responsible way that results in the highest return on investment in exchange for the special benefits being granted to certain property owners.”
Gawrylow has also applied to serve on Burleigh County’s yet-to-be-established Home Rule Charter draft committee, which will be set up later this month.
“The Burleigh County Commission is seeking to develop a more robust set of powers that it can use to address both long-standing and new problems in the county. The justification that has been made both publicly and privately about granting the county commission the power to pass ordinances is reasonable and proper,” Gawrylow elaborated. “However, there is always room to include certain limits on such power to ensure that voters understand when they are actually voting to approve when the time comes – and it is much easier to put those limits in from Day One than to try to roll-back powers once they start being used.”
Gawrylow says he will closely watch the development of this document even if he is not appointed to the committee.
When asked why he is running for the Burleigh County Commission, Gawrylow concluded by saying:
“The county commission really was not on my radar until the last few months. After having several hours of discussion with community leaders, many of whom I’ve been on the opposing side of issues, it has been made pretty clear to me that there is a need at the county commission level for someone who has a grasp on the interaction between federal, state, county, city, schools, and parks. My record of standing up to government officials and powerful special interest groups on behalf of taxpayers, no matter how uphill the battle may be, puts me in as good of a position as any to try to bring some sanity to the way local government serves its taxpayers.”
For more information, voters are encouraged to visit MoveBurleighForward.com.
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