Dustin Warren, a lifelong farmer and a volunteer firefighter, has announced his candidacy for Daviess County Commissioner of the West District.
Warren, who graduated from Owensboro Catholic High School in 2002, has worked on a farm his entire life in some capacity. He now works at Warren Bros. Farms alongside his brothers, who took their dad’s knowledge of the farm “and ran with it.” They do a lot on their farm, from row crop to raise hemp to custom combining and planting.
Warren has also been a firefighter for nearly 20 years at the St. Joseph Volunteer Fire Department, where he’s a captain and EMT. He’s also on their board of directors, currently serving in the role of Vice President.
Now, he’s hoping to take on a government role, with the main priority of being a man of the people. Warren said the City of Owensboro has “great representation” and has “fine outstanding leadership” from the city commissioners, but said the county residents feel like they’re not being heard.
“I’ve been studying this for a few years, just watching and listening to people of the community, the citizens of Daviess County,” he said. “I felt the urge to want to help people, to take their voices and bring them up to the forefront to be heard.”
Warren added that accessibility and transparency are key components of the office. He said his years of being an active member of the community proves he’ll have those traits as a commissioner.
“If someone has a problem, come to me,” he said. “You’ve got to be seen, and transparency is a big thing. They say it’s easy to pick up a phone and call somebody, but as commissioners we should be out driving around checking these roads and ditches. As a volunteer fireman, whenever the weather gets nasty I’m out in the snow checking for cars in ditches or cutting trees in the morning.”
Warren added that one of his main goals if elected would be to address the infrastructure in the county.
“They want to build new , it seems like, instead of revisiting our core foundation,” he said. “The roads, our drainage is terrible — particularly farmlands are flooding, homes are flooding. I know it’s being addressed now and it’s no easy fix and it takes time, but it takes people talking and property owners, everybody communicating and then going to Frankfort to address these issues.”
Warren also said it’s important to support the youth in the community, whether it’s sporting events or fundraisers. He said he knows there’s a fiscal responsibility that the Fiscal Court has to the taxpayers and the citizens of Daviess County, saying “they’re doing a great job with that, and I’ll continue to build on that.”
Though he doesn’t have much direct government experience, Warren said that’s not the most important thing when it comes to choosing the right candidate for this position.
“I don’t have much political background, but we don’t need experienced politicians,” he said. “We need energy and a voice. You have to do it. You can’t talk it, you gotta walk it. Basically I’m just a neighbor trying to help a neighbor.”
