Interview was conducted at Hough's employment.

Interview – Destry Hough for Western Commissioner, Republican

Destry Hough is a candidate for the Democrat Party nomination for Western Commissioner. Hough, a lifelong resident of the Holden area, is a graduate of high school and various technical courses; he works in his family business, Reed’s Body Shop. While he has not been involved in county government, he has discussed the nature of the position with people in the courthouse and he states he has always tried to be an informed voter.

Hough's support for planning and zoning depends on what is included, noting that "they always want to piggyback a lot of stuff" when preparing a plan. He thinks the first step in addressing problems like sewage is to enforce existing laws. He is not sure how a nuisance ordinance would be enforced or where it should start, stating that it is a touchy subject and depends on the nature of the problem. He would support a limited application of building codes to the county to ensure that buildings are structurally safe.

Hough would support creating an industrial park if it would attract an industry that would support a lot of jobs, but he is generally opposed to tax incentives. He accepts with reluctance the possibility of using eminent domain to acquire land for industrial development.

Hough believes the county road program is generally doing well, noting that "you can't make everyone happy." He notes that he has seen a lot of improvement in the roads in 20 years driving a wrecker. He likes the current priority system for paving.

Hough's position on county finances is that he would be willing to put tax issues on the ballot only of they provided for betterment of the people. He does support the new jail issue, noting that a new jail would save a lot of money on maintenance. Employee salaries should be established at a "medium happy point," stating that they must be adequate and that there will always be some griping; having a personnel professional is a good idea. He thinks law enforcement money is properly used and that law enforcement is doing a good job of fighting illegal drugs. He does think the law enforcement sales tax allocations should be revisited.

Hough says his political philosophy is to do whatever the people need most and commissioners need to be there for the betterment of the people. While a district commissioner is working for his district, he is also working for the county as a whole. He states, "I hope for the support of the public. If elected, I’ll be there for them."