Links to specific Questions:
- What sets you apart from the other candidates?
- What are your greatest achievements?
- What are the biggest issues voters should be thinking about as they consider candidates?
- What kinds of businesses do you hope to attract?
- Is there anything in the County budget that you see as a waste or a misuse of government resources?
- What are your thoughts on State and Federal grants?
- Do you have plans to involve the voters of Hickman County in policy decisions? If so, how?
- Do you have anything else you would like to share?
Links
Candidacy Announcement
Thank you for the opportunity to announce my candidacy for Hickman County Mayor. I appreciate all you do to provide this forum to help inform the citizens of our county.
I grew up on a small family dairy farm where my grandfather was born in 1895. In the mid 1970’s, right of eminent domain turned the family farm into what is now I-86. I accepted an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy, and after graduation with a B.S. in Astronautical Engineering spent 20 years as an Air Force officer and pilot. Over the course of my military career, I earned two master’s Degrees and was fortunate to live in many parts of our great country as well as overseas.
Needing a place to call home, my wife Diane and our 6 children bought a farm in western Hickman County in February 1994 and started a small farming operation. We joined the local Methodist Church at Shipp’s Bend, and enrolled our children in the public-school system in Hickman County.
By the turn of the millennium, with the factories and jobs gone, it became obvious the place we call home was in desperate need of jobs. My wife and I set out to create meaningful employment with great pay and benefits, and by late 2005, had become the largest private employer in Hickman County, with annual payroll of over $3M. By the summer of 2008, we had outgrown our facilities and sold our businesses to three investors with the caveat it remain in Middle Tennessee. Soon thereafter, I became the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of a historic Aviation and Transportation safety company with 16 locations across the United States and its overseas operating locations, with the charge to return it to profitability and expand and grow the business. By the summer of 2011, with the company restructured, its businesses flourishing, I left to return to full-time farming and consulting.
Now our county is in desperate need of strong and effective leadership. Our county has continued to fall behind in every respect from basic services, infrastructure, education, opportunity, and health. Our current county leadership has been inadequate to the tasks and challenges to improve the quality of life for the residents it serves.
We need a different vision for the future of our community, so that future generations can not just live in this beautiful place, but also find meaningful and challenging opportunities…to be able to support their families, to be able to have their children and grandchildren live and work in the same community…to preserve the natural beauty and peace we know while vibrantly creating new opportunities and possibilities.
I have owned and/or managed businesses of all sorts. I know how to create jobs and attract industry (because I have done this). I have battle-proven and diverse leadership skills and experience from years of working and leading government and private sector endeavors. I have been imbued with an honor code and respect for others.
My wife and I have always lived our lives acting as community servants. When life has been generous to us, we’ve built a longer table, not a higher fence. We adopted three children (all siblings) from our community (Missouri Bootheel) out of the foster care system so they could remain together. We created jobs in our community when they were needed most. We volunteer to help our local St Thomas Hospital raise funds, and we give of ourselves in many ways to help those in need. We live our beliefs and act on our faith.
This election is about opportunity for the citizens of this county to improve its future possibilities. Other candidates for this office are some version of the present or the past…that’s why I’m running and asking for your vote on August 2nd to lead Hickman County to greater prosperity for the future.
Looking forward to working for you.
Very respectfully,
Bruce H. Magoon
What is your website and/or contact info?
Contact at [email protected]
What is the role of government, as you see it?
Governing a place and meeting the needs of its residents.
- Facilitate commerce
- Take advantage of other amenities made possible by population density
- In Tennessee, the local county government is a “creature” of the state, thru our constitution and laws, empowers local government and defines its structure, to perform certain specific functions for our inhabitants and other property owners in the county.
- All local governments could be eliminated, and their functions and responsibilities returned to the state or some other regional entity…results in the “homogenization” of services, driving up the cost, and resulting in quality and quantity problems which may not meet the needs of local residents. Also serves to disconnect citizens from having influence on decisions affecting them, with little to no “ownership” or responsibility for the greater public good. Basically, local government serves to better connect the people with governance.
- Roles of local governments in TN: provision of local government services, the quality and quantity of those services, the rates of taxation to pay for those programs, the scope of local regulations on personal behavior and other activities, and how governance is actually performed.
- Civic engagement. To provide opportunities for individuals to directly participate in decisions and in the delivery of programs and services
- County meetings
- Informing residents about important issues
- Advisory committees for stakeholders to advise various boards, committees, and commissions
- Referendums, as outlined by TN law
- Submitting of petitions to initiate a decision not previously acted on by the governing body.
Elections
Intergovernmental cooperation – “economies of scale”
Land use Regulations – thru master plan (guides the overall direction of where land uses are most appropriate by considering local and regional assets, needs, and opportunity, as well as development patterns driven by market forces and needed or planned infrastructure improvements) and zoning ( objective currently seems focused on segregating incompatible land uses, but should be to protect the overall appearance of the county, protect the natural features that residents value, help to minimize the cost of local services, and “place making” – to create more economically competitive and resilient communities by focusing on public and private improvements that make an area more attractive to new residents, talented workers, and new businesses.
Public Safety – taking some level of responsibility for the health, safety, and general welfare of residents and other persons within the county.
Law enforcement, fire suppression, emergency medical services (the pre-hospital treatment and transportation of the sick and injured), prepare for exceptional emergencies and disasters (tornados, ice storms, hazardous material discharges, floods, forest fires, earthquakes) to coordinate plans that address mitigation,, preparedness, response and recovery.
Construction / building codes
Personal behavior detrimental to other people
Revenue Sources – property tax, wheel tax, special assessments (fire protection, road improvements, garbage/ solid waste collection, etc) and fees
What is the county mayor’s job, as you see it?
It is Defined by TCA5-6.
- Chief Financial officer. Signs warrants for general fund expenditures, verify expenditures or revenue of the county officers, audits all claims for money against the county, strong role in the budgetary process.
- Designated representative of the county, serving as an ex officio member of each committee of the county legislature and each board, commission, or authority of the county government.
- Appoint members of county boards, commissions and department heads, subject to confirmation by the county legislative body
- Care of custody of all county property (except courthouse – sheriff
- Flying of the state flag upon proper occasions
- Creating, modifying and merging utility districts as well as service provided (water, sewer, gas)
- Shares administrative tasks with other constitutional and statutory county officials…interacting in almost every area of local administration.
What do you think are the most important qualifications for a mayor?
- Business and leadership experiences. Previous hiring and firing of employees, managing large amount of money and resources, leading and managing large, diverse organizations and/or entities
- Hickman County experience with business and local governing bodies
- Integrity and love for our county
What are the main things you see holding this county back?
Poor leadership from the mayor’s office, lack of a clear shared vision, wrong priorities, ineffective use of limited resources ( not leveraging our limited tax dollars to gain a “synergistic” effect of getting more bang for our buck)
What are your top three goals for Hickman County, and how, specifically, would you work toward them as mayor?
- Job creation
- Infrastructure
- Professionalize county government
What are the most important things Hickman County could do to attract businesses?
Industry comes first, then retail will follow…can’t focus on shopping until the jobs are created.
Target specific industry with light footprint that services other larger manufacturing / service providers in region (General Motors, General Mills, etc)
Get help and support from state and federal government for targeted infrastructure needs to help attract and retain industry
Do you believe the Bible gives guidance on how the mayor should discharge his duties? If so, what are some of the main verses or principles that you look to?
- God’s calling – be active in creating policies that determine the realities that we live instead of passively bearing the consequences of policies created by others
- Philippians 2:13…It is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose
- Luke 22:25-27….seek how you can serve others, so greatness can be achieved by those you serve
- Matthew 5:38-42….God is your defense..no need to attack back.
- John 15:1-8….humility, not glory for success.
- Exodus 1:12….in persecution, oppression, unjust treatment, rejoice!
- Romans 12:1-2, 13:1-2,4
- 2 Corinthians 5:15
- Daniel 2:21
- Gen 2:15, Gen1, Ps24:1 – We are God’s stewards to wisely direct and oversee the proper use of earthly resources
Occupation
- Businessman, Farmer, Consultant, Leader
- Marital Status/Family
- Married, 6 children
- High School Graduation Year
- 1981 High school Graduate, Seneca
College / Technical
- Bachelor of Science in Astronautical Engineering, United States Air Force Academy, 1985
- Master of Science in Industrial Engineering, California State University, 1995
- Master of Science in International studies, Air University, Montgomery, AL 1997
- Master of Science in Strategic Studies, Air War College, 2002
Accomplishments
- Distinguished Graduate, USAF Academy, 1985
- Rhodes Scholar Candidate, 1984
- Top Pilot and Academic Ace, Undergraduate Flying Training, 1986
- Distinguished Graduate, Squadron Officer School 1992
- Distinguished Graduate US Air Force Test Pilot School, 1993
- Distinguished Graduate, Air Command and Staff College 1997
Honors / Awards
- Selected as member of team to present President Reagan with the Goddard Space Trophy, 1985 (for work I did on the Strategic Defense Initiative, better know as “Star Wars”)
- Two Air Medals and awarded “V” for Valor in Combat, Operation Desert Storm, 1991
- National Corn Growers Association 2015 Highest No-Till, non-irrigated Corn Yield for Tennessee
Major Goals
- Improve the median income for residents of Hickman County by 20% in 4 years
- Increase the county tax base by 20% while freezing wheel tax and property tax
- Professionalize county offices and practices, to include hiring, compensation scales, and periodic reviews
- Secure funding from state and federal agencies for infrastructure needs…have “shovel ready” prioritized projects for maximum impact