Editor’s note: Some answers in this questionnaire were left intentionally blank by Mr. Hoffmaster to adhere to a word count.
Name: Jared Hoffmaster
Age: 38
Address: 58250 Jennie Dr., Three Rivers, MI 49093
Occupation: Assistant Vice President and Trust Officer @ Century Bank and Trust in TR
Incumbent: No
Family (optional): Wife Beth
Son Lincoln
Daughter London
Son Landon
How long have you resided in the area you seek to represent?
38 years
Why are you seeking the position of 1st District County Commissioner?
My wife and I are raising three young children in St. Joseph County and I want to invest my time in helping shape our County in a positive way for their benefit.
What is the role of a 1st District County Commissioner, and why are you uniquely qualified to fill that role?
The role of a County Commissioner is to represent the residence of the first district at the county level and to help lead the county in a positive direction. I am uniquely qualified for First District County Commissioner because of my vast experience in varies leadership roles in our community. I served as First District City Commissioner for 6 years, I have been past President of the Three Rivers Rotary Club and am the current President of the Three Rivers Area Community Foundation. In each of these leadership roles I’ve collaborated with other community members in working together to serve Three Rivers and make our hometown better. As President of the Three Rivers Area Community Foundation I help steward almost $5 million in funds and oversee over $60,000 in scholarships given out annually to Three Rivers graduating Seniors. We also give out over $15,000 annually to local nonprofits. In order to be an effective County Commissioner, I believe you have to be creative in solving problems and always be a great listener. My track record in the above-mentioned leadership roles demonstrates I am skilled at both.
Are you familiar with the poverty rate in the district where you are running for office?
Why do you think people are poor?
I would imagine there are a number of reasons people are poor. One way as County Commissioner I can help reduce the poverty rate in St. Joseph County is by helping people help themselves. As a county we need to look for opportunities to grow our local economy and give everyone an opportunity to have a good job. As President of the Three Rivers Area Community Foundation we were a part of the $20 for $20 program that helped stimulate our local small business by matching every gift card of $20 purchased by the public with a $20 match from our organization. We sold out in 8 minutes and injected almost $20,000 into our local economy. As a County Commissioner I want to continue to search out creative ways, like the $20 for $20 program, to help our local economy get back on its feet and thrive moving forward.
What does the 1st District County Commissioner do right, and how do you intend to maintain or expand this?
The County is doing a great job highlighting our natural resources and beautifying our County through the Parks & Recreation Department. I want to continue to collaborate with Jaymes McDonald and his team in those efforts. The Parks in our County help draw commerce to our community and also helps us to attract and retain quality families.
What could the 1st District County Commissioner do better, and how do you intend to facilitate this happening?
What is your position on the Black Lives Matter Movement?
I believe the peaceful Black Lives Matter movement has brought to the forefront of our lives the glaring fact that there are still inequalities in our society. As a community we need to make sure that everyone has a seat at the table and is allowed the opportunity to be heard, again in a peaceful way. I’ve reached out to friends of mine who are African American and want to make sure I help address their concerns at the County level if I have the opportunity to serve in that position. I grew up in Three Rivers Michigan, our high school was and is diverse. This is a great thing. We as a community need to make sure all of our residences feel safe and represented regardless of skin color, gender, political affiliation or economic/social background.
What do you think are the central issues behind the Black Lives Matter Movement?
I feel like in the end people want to feel safe, be heard and have the opportunity to be successful. Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The peaceful BLM movement is highlighting that for people of color and saying we still aren’t there in America.
What is your position on police reform?
I can only speak to the district I would be representing as far as police reform. In the City of Three Rivers and both Fabius and Flowerfield Townships I feel our police force is doing an amazing job. This was highlighted by the participation by Chief Bringman and Sheriff Lillywhite at the Stand for the Right to Breathe event held downtown in June. The Three Rivers Police Department as well as our County Sheriff’s Department has a diverse force and extensive training in de-escalation and crisis management. There are always areas we can improve upon and as a County Commissioner I would bring minority community leaders and police officials to the table on a regular basis and make sure we always have open lines of communication and continue to hold both our community members and police force to the highest of standards.
What is your take on the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic?
What is your take on the COVID-19 response in your district?
With this being a novel Coronavirus, everyone is digesting new information on a daily basis. We have to try to be flexible in our response. I feel like our emergency response team lead by Erin Goff has done a great job in mitigating our risk levels at the county level. Tests have been readily available for those who need them and The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency is helping with contact tracing. The Community Health Agency is also putting out detailed information providing how many positive tests are recorded from residents in each of our zip codes.
Do you support increased pandemic testing and tracing measures?
What will be your response to the climbing rate of jobless claims?
As a County we need to help lessen the impact of COVID-19 on our local economy. As a County Commissioner I will look for creative ways to help incentivize people to reenter the workforce. When people are working it not only provides an income to pay bills but it also gives them a sense of purpose and dignity.
What do you think are your prospective constituents’ biggest everyday challenges?
I would say our biggest everyday challenge is earning a living that matches our spending habits. Some of us live paycheck to paycheck and financial insecurity is a real thing. I don’t believe it’s the governments responsibility to give handouts to able working residents but I do believe as a Commissioner it is my responsibility to collaborate with other agencies/non profits to help people learn about budgeting (gain better spending habits) and also help attract and retain quality paying jobs to our County. If we can help facilitate this our residents will have good spending habits and opportunities to have a good paying job, which in turn will help with financial insecurity in our beautiful County.
What measures will you work to put in place to address those challenges?
With public revenues already significantly impacted by COVID-19 and the economy, how will you address cashflow problems for the public bodies in your district and under your watch?
Due to COVID-19 bringing our economy to a grinding halt, our local municipalities including the County budget will be heavily impacted. I have over 15 years of experience in the banking industry combing over budgets and financial statements, evaluating companies for my clients to buy and sell. I will take that experience to the County and do everything I can to work with our officials and scrutinize our spending to try and alleviate our cash flow concerns.
What is your favorite thing about the district in which you are running?
The people. My wife and I are lifelong residents of the 1st district of St. Joe County and we have deep roots here. We’ve been through good times and bad here. During the worst of times in our lives, nurturing a very sick son, the support of our community is what saw us through and we are very appreciative of that. We love our community and the people with whom we share it.
What else would you like us to know about you?
