Incumbent commissioner first to file

County Commissioner Doug Johnson filed for his second term on Monday.

Johnson, 45, said he still has work to do on the commission, including seeing the growth management ordinance through to its completion.

"The growth management ordinance is an absolute necessity and I plan to support it," he said. "All you need to do is look at the Park sisters' project to see why it's needed."

Johnson said he was the first commissioner to bring a laptop to meetings and get agendas in a digital format, thanks to Douglas County Clerk Barbara Griffin.

But he said he is uncomfortable claiming credit for some of the things he's done.

"I've always felt that as long as it gets done, it doesn't matter whose name is on it," he said. "I'm still the same person I was four years ago."

Johnson said that if re-elected he will be in senior positions both for the Nevada Association of Counties and the Carson River Subconservancy District.

"I worked with other counties to rewrite a proposal that would reduce off-highway vehicle access in the Pine Nuts and I'm actively opposing a proposal to increase wilderness in the state. There are a lot of issues that don't just affect Douglas County."

He said he feels he is able to work with people from all sorts of positions because he treats people with respect.

"You have to have respect for everyone," he said.

During a recent debate , one person asked why Douglas County would want to be first in the nation to approve an extensive flood plain ordinance.

"My answer is 'Why not?'" Johnson said. "This is a perfect opportunity to do what's right. We don't want to obligate the tax payers of Douglas County to pay for the kind of damage they had during the flood of '97 because we let people build in the floodplain."

Johnson said the county has turned a corner with the recent selection of Interim County Manager Michael Brown.

"You already have and will see substantial changes for a strong, lean and fully transparent government," he said. "After reaching agreement on the growth ordinance, which I hope gets supported at the ballot box, we can move forward with issues that bring this county together rather than constantly tearing us apart."

One of his major frustrations in office has been trying to resolve issues involving the Minden-Tahoe Airport.

"We've been so close so many times to getting everyone in the room together," he said. "Every time it looked like we would get everyone together, some rumor would surface and they would go off again. It's one of those issues where if you get 50 people in a room you will have 60 different ideas."

Johnson said he felt at first that the Pinon Aero project should be included in the airport master plan. However, he said the full design isn't completed and putting it on the plan would lock it in place.