Candidate questionnaire: Dwain Hahs

__Name:__ Dwain Hahs

__Age:__ 62

__Place of Birth:__ Cape Girardeau, Missouri

__Spouse, children's names:__ Susan Thompson Hahs

Justin Hahs

Jessica Hahs

__Occupation:__ Retired

__Business owned, all or part:__ N/A

__Previous offices held or sought:__ N/A

__What do you see as the biggest short-term issue facing Jackson today, and what can be done about it?:__

To assure the major projects presently planned are executed on time and on budget. The city should do everything possible to minimize the disruption to the citizens and businesses as we implement these projects. This would include communication with the public and businesses of the progress and any disruptions. We should assure the city departments have the resources and support for the projects. Examples are the electrical and water system upgrades, and major road projects.

__What do you see as the biggest long-term issue facing Jackson, and what can be done to address it?:__

Keeping the momentum of growth in the city of Jackson. The biggest challenge of organizations, businesses or cities is keeping their growth positive over time. If an organization loses its momentum of positive growth it is very hard to get it started again. We should concentrate on areas of high retail sales growth potential and opportunity for employment such as in the uptown area, the corridors coming into town and our industrial parks.

__What makes you the most qualified candidate for this position?:__

I believe my background of growing up in Jackson and learning the values that were instilled by my parents, coupled with my business experience, including leading profitable organizations, makes me qualified to lead our city. My success in the business world was from building teams of individuals that achieved their goals and objectives. This was accomplished by communication within the teams and most important, communication with our customers. I would do the same as Mayor.

__What do you think the city could do better than it is doing right now?:__

All organizations, including Jackson, should always strive to improve customer service. The city customers are our citizens and our businesses. We should be constantly asking how we can better serve our customers. Continuous improvement or "doing things better than yesterday" goes hand in hand with growth. Examples can be, proactive surveys, time it takes to respond, availability of information, communication of community events and town hall meetings to get people's opinions and ideas.

__How would you describe your leadership style?:__

My leadership style is one of building teams using strong collaboration between team members, requiring not total agreement but coming to consensus on goals that the group can achieve. I believe in delegating responsibility to those that are experts in their fields. Constant communication is a tool I use to assure everyone is on the same page. Collaboration, delegation, and communication summarize my leadership style.

__What is the best strategy for Jackson to recruit businesses and jobs to the area?:__

First, assure your present businesses are successful and speak well of Jackson. Potential business will always look to established businesses as a reference. Second, be proactive in contacting potential businesses looking to expand. These contacts can be made in cooperation with developers and regional organizations such as Magnet and the Chamber of Commerce. Be ready to sell Jackson. Understand the potential business needs and match those to Jackson's assets, costs, site availability, and work force.