Larry Conder, who previously served two terms as a City Commissioner, has announced his candidacy for County Commissioner of the Central District.
Conder said there are three major areas the county government needs to address.
“No. 1, we have to look at protecting and growing our economic engine, especially in regards to making sure that we have a voice in Frankfort that’s not only heard but is listened to,” he said.
The next piece, he said, is making sure that the CARES Act money allocated to the county “is spent wisely, not only for our generation but for many generations to come. You’ve got a lot of money that’s coming to the county that really needs some attention and stewardship over a long period of time.”
Conder said the county has to make sure that whatever the CARES Act money is used for is not a recurring expense (the funds are both limited in use and amount) but still makes a difference.
“Internet service, water service, sewer service,” he said. “You can spend a really good amount of that money on those three things, and very quickly.
His last area of focus is also about looking to the future and teaching citizens how to take better care of themselves.
“The third thing is to not only make sure that our families and our children are safe and cared for with our first responders,” Conder said. “We have to really try to make a difference to those children as they grow up so our first responders don’t have to take care of them, and they take care of themselves.”
Conder said he understands those are tall orders.
“But I believe all of us should try to make sure those three things happen — if for anybody, for our children. That’s who we need to be focused on,” he said. “What I would like to do is look where we are today, but where are we going, and are we standing still too much to where other communities are passing us up, whether we like it or not?”
Conder is a Daviess County native and spent nearly his entire life here. He started his own natural gas marketing company after leaving Texas Gas in 1995. In 1999 he started to work for the Public Energy Authority of Kentucky, which delivers natural gas to municipalities.
Conder is also actively involved in numerous organizations across the community, and he said he and his wife Rosemary have invested a significant amount of money back into various areas of the city.
Conder served two terms as an Owensboro City Commissioner. He was first elected in 2016 and was re-elected in 2018.
