The Cat Is Out Of The Bag Now

Today was the day. I issued the official announcement of my candidacy for {*gasp*} partisan office. So now the real fun of getting through the cacuses and the primary to the election begins.

The gist of the announcement went:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Sterling, Colorado. Dan Jones, a fourth generation Logan County resident and former Mayor of Sterling, has announced his candidacy for Commissioner of Logan County - District 3. The District 3 seat is being vacated at the end of the year by Jack McLavey who is term limited. Dan desires to bring transparency to the decision making process along with openness in budgeting to the commission. He hopes to serve the people of Logan County by focusing on fiscal responsibility, common sense in local government and a balanced approach to economic development that includes agriculture and industry.


Dan is currently serving as Executive Director of the Logan County Humane Society during construction of their new facility. He recently completed his third term (term limited) as Mayor of Sterling, Colorado. First elected in November 2003, he was re-elected without opposition in 2005 and 2007. As Mayor he led economic development initiatives such as Sterling Ethanol, Safe Auto and others which resulted in direct investment in the community of more than $100 million and the creation of 500 new jobs. Through a campaign to encourage citizens to “give back to the community”, private donations resulted in construction of parks, an outdoor pool and recreation facility, and expansion of the library. In addition, Sterling was named 2006 Best Small City of the Year by the Economic Development Council of Colorado.


Dan’s work experience includes 30 years of developing technologies and applications for the computer industry in the New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles areas. He has held senior scientist, technical, and management positions with Sykes Enterprises, Working Woman Network, Cyber Networks, Peripheral Systems, Affine Sciences, TRW Defense Systems, Argonne National Laboratory, and the University of California.


A staunch advocate of rural community economic development, he was recognized (along with his wife L) as the first recipient of the Logan County Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the Year Award in 1992 for their success in founding Jones Technologies. Returning “home” after almost two decades to raise their son, Dan and Laurie created a technology business that would utilize the under-employed, well-educated local work force in Logan County. In 1990, they created the first college/private industry training program in the U.S. for computer support technicians in partnership with Northeastern Junior College. These pioneering efforts were the focus of national media and research foundations as models for rural development. Jones Technologies was acquired by Sykes Enterprises and became Sykes’ entry into the customer support industry. Sykes first support center was built in Sterling and today employs 320. Sykes Enterprises is a worldwide leader in customer contact management services with 81 centers and 51,000 employees.


Dan’s other community service includes Vision 2020 Committee, Re-1 District Accountability Committee, Northeastern Junior College Foundation Board, Boy Scouts of America, founding board member Logan County Humane Society, Ivy League Mentor Program, and interviewing prospective students for Dartmouth College. He has been an invited speaker for professional conferences, community service clubs, and state legislative hearings.


Dr. Jones is a 1972 graduate of Sterling High School, 1975 graduate of Dartmouth College, and received his PhD. in Physics from the University of California, Davis in 1979.

The real question is whether you would vote for a floating head like this:

It will be interesting to see how the press mungs it.  At least I only look moderately insane in this picture versus some the papers have run of me in the past.