McHenry Times

As the Republican primary in Algonquin Township heats up, Andrew Gasser, who is challenging longtime Highway Commissioner Bob Miller, says the township is long overdue for change.

Gasser, a county board member, said the board tried to reduce the size of government in the county by consolidating townships, but faced pushback.

“The current highway commissioner, who hired his wife to be his administrative assistant for $96,000 in salary and benefits, also had his wife on the county board, and she actually stopped our ability to consolidate townships,” Gasser said. “So it looks like I have to try to run for this (office) so we can try to have this happen next time. I’m a small government kind of guy.”

Gasser is a retired U.S. Air Force officer. He enlisted in 1989 and was honorably discharged and retired in 2011. He has a degree in criminology and pre-law and has also done some space policy work in Washington, D.C.

“I was born and raised in Fox River Grove. I graduated from Cary-Grove High School in 1990…left home for about 20 years and then moved back home in 2012,” he said.

Gasser decided to get involved in politics because he wanted change.

“I was sick and tired of career politicians running McHenry County into the ground,” he said. “We have a lot of elected officials who have been in office for decades. They just get into office and they think they run the show. And that’s not how government should be in Illinois. It’s supposed to be a public service.”

Gasser said that when he saw how much of a problem this was creating in his community he chose to run for county board.

“I’m proud to say that I was the only county board member who spoke out about county board members getting pensions. I was castigated by our Republican Party board members because I spoke out against them, but it was the right thing to do,” he said.

One of the priorities on Gasser’s list is addressing property taxes.

“McHenry County has the 29th-highest property taxes, not in Illinois, but the United States. It’s ridiculous,” he said. “So as highway commissioner, I’d want to lower property taxes.”

Gasser said the problem with the highway commissioner’s office right now is that residents pay a “Miller tax -- a nepotism tax of over $5,700 per road mile goes to that family.”

The other issue the township has is the lack of transparency.

“The budgets are online but they’re not searchable and they are the worst budgets you could ever see,” Gasser said. “You don’t have any real details of what’s going on (because) everything is mashed together.”

Gasser said he wants to work with the Illinois Policy Institute because it rates websites and provides information on how to make government organizations transparent.

“If I can lower property taxes in Algonquin Township Road District and make it a more transparent road district, it’s going to be the model not just for Algonquin or McHenry County, but it’s going to be the model township for all of Illinois,” Gasser said.

So far the race has been interesting, Gasser said, but the reception he’s gotten from people in the township has been wonderful.

“I’ve gotten out over 250 yard signs. I’m everywhere walking door to door, doing everything I need to do to get elected,” Gasser said. “And people are genuinely excited about my campaign.”

Gasser said voters can find more information about his campaign on www.andrewgasser.com