Ron DeRoest for County Assessor
The right experience for this non-political office
Four candidates are running for the office of Ada County Assessor. Two come from a background in private sector business, one has worked in real estate as well as served on the highway district board, and one is an employee of the assessor’s office already.
Unlike the state legislature or county commission, this position is not primarily political. We do not elect an assessor to make or interpret the law, but to run a tight administrative department that is fair and transparent. Your county assessor has very little ability to change your tax rate, for example, nor can he or she change the way property taxes are assessed. Instead, the purpose of this office is to fairly and accurately implement the laws that were already passed by the legislature. The assessor can work with the legislature to help craft good laws, however, so a deep knowledge of taxation and assessment procedures is important.
There are four candidates in this race, but only one will win the election. I have found Rebecca Arnold, Bradley Bolicek, and Dave Litster to be friendly and knowledgeable, and I would like to see them remain involved in Ada County politics after this election. However, I will be voting for Ron DeRoest next week, and I suggest you do as well.
Ron DeRoest has the knowledge and experience to hit the ground running. As deputy assessor, Mr. DeRoest is already intimately familiar with the policies and procedures of this office, which will make this a very smooth transition. The office of county assessor is not very exciting or flashy for those of us outside the industry, and I believe that DeRoest has the right temperament to run it tightly and efficiently. He says that he does not have any political ambitions beyond this office, so I feel confident that he will not lose focus.
Mr. DeRoest has more than twenty years of experience in real estate and has been working in the assessor’s office for more than six. He also has achieved more than two hundred hours of continuing education in the fields of tax policy, assessment administration, and mass appraisal methods. While his opponents might have some good high-level ideas, DeRoest already has detailed knowledge of the procedures that this office is involved in.
I said a few weeks ago that I barely feel qualified to judge who is best for county assessor, because it is such a technical position. Yet that is exactly why I am endorsing Ron DeRoest today. He has the expertise to keep this office running as it should, and the devotion to keep it his primary focus. If Mr. DeRoest wins next week I believe the assessor’s office will remain in good hands.
Don’t forget to check out the full list of Gem State Substack recommendations before the May 17th primary, and don’t forget to vote!
Thank you Brian for the kind words and the vote!