Phil Hanses (Clinton County Drain Commissioner, Michigan, candidate 2024)
Phil Hanses (Republican Party) ran for election to the Clinton County Drain Commissioner in Michigan. He was on the ballot in the general election on November 5, 2024.[source]
Hanses completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
[1]Biography
Phil Hanses provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on August 4, 2024:
- High school: Pewamo-Westphalia
- Associate: Lansing Community College, 1984
- Gender: Male
- Religion: Catholic
- Prior offices held:
- I was a trustee on the Westphalia Village Council for several years before being appointed and later elected five times as Drain Commissioner.
- Incumbent officeholder: Yes
Elections
General election
General election for Clinton County Drain Commissioner
Phil Hanses ran in the general election for Clinton County Drain Commissioner on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | ||
 | Phil Hanses (R)  | |
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Clinton County Drain Commissioner
Tim Gill and Phil Hanses ran in the Republican primary for Clinton County Drain Commissioner on August 6, 2024.
Candidate | ||
| Tim Gill | ||
| Phil Hanses | |
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Election results
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Hanses in this election.
Campaign themes
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Phil Hanses completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Hanses' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I believe in: Placing a high priority on maintenance to keep the system working well. Working to integrate more technology into office operations and drain inspection and maintenance processes. Being financially conservative and using public money wisely. Seeking cost-effective and forward=thinking solutions to complex drainage issues. Carefully considering the effect of drain assessments on the budgets of Clinton County taxpayers.
Considering all viewpoints in my decision-making process.- Knowledge and experience is so important for a drain commissioner. This is not a political position, but rather a working position. It is a full-time job that I have committed nearly four decades to serving the people of Clinton County. I poses an in-depth knowledge of what it takes to perform my job effectively that I have acquired over the years. I firmly believe that no other job can prepare a person for all of the responsibilities of this position, which I why I believe experience in this office is so important.
- I have strong working relationships with local units of government and many other local and state agencies. I look to continue to build and strengthen those relationships to complete projects in such a way that benefits all parties, and county taxpayers in particular.
- I have earned the support and trust of residents and governmental officials throughout the county by always working to be fiscally conservative with public money. I am known for being fair, honest, and accessible to all.
Knowledge of the Michigan Drain Code, the law that governs the operation of Drain Commissioner’s offices statewide.
Possess a knowledge of the drainage network for which they are responsible for, and understanding how it works to provide drainage of water to prevent or reduce the chances of flooding property and roadways. The drainage network consists of open ditches, enclosed tile drains, storm sewers, retention and detention basins, private drainage infrastructure, and natural drainageways.
Knowledge and understanding of the procedures, equipment, and methods necessary to ensure proper maintenance of county drains within established spending limits codified in the Drain Code.
Knowledge of practices and procedures to manage land development projects in such a way to protect the drainage interests of property owners both upstream and downstream of the development.
Knowledge of various other state and federal laws that affect the office including floodplains, wetlands, lake levels, dam safety, and more.
Experience with the software used daily in the office, including accounting, GIS, CAD, drafting, assessing, word processing, and spreadsheets.
• Listen, understand, and respect various points of view.
• Accept criticism and respectfully respond to it.
• Be an effective communicator on the phone, in person, and in writing.
• Research, read, and understand drain records dating back to the 1800s.
• Read and understand engineering drawings and construction plans.
• Interpret survey data to determine grades and slopes of drains.
• Read, understand, and interpret topographic contour maps.
• Determine watershed boundaries using contour maps and LiDAR elevation data.
• Determine proper size of culverts based on the characteristics of the contributing watershed area.
• Evaluate and determine the maintenance need of drains.
• Read and understand complex legal descriptions of properties and drains.
• Develop project and departmental budgets.
• Work with financial advisors and lending institutions to secure financing for drain projects.
• Work with contractors selected to perform maintenance and improvement work on drains.
• Manage office and field staff.
• Foster and grow effective working relationships with various departments, agencies, local units of government, and others.
• Prepare fair and defensible apportionments by considering a range of factors on a parcel by parcel basis to develop assessment rolls.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
