BETHEL – Charleen Chase has been considering a run for the county commission for 20 years, and this year she’s giving it a shot.

Chase said she was prohibited by law to run for a partisan office while she was employed at Community Concepts, a nonprofit organization which receives federal funds. Chase worked for four years as the Head Start director for Community Concepts and another 28 years as the organization’s director. She left three years ago to become a self-employed leadership coach to nonprofit directors and boards.

Chase said her highest priority as commissioner would be encouraging the commission to have a more active role in bringing jobs to the county.

“I believe it’s absolutely critical to our future,” said Chase. “I’ll work hard to make sure we maintain our secure foundation while we prepare for sometime in the future to move forward.”

Chase said county government needs to strengthen its influence with the state and be more competitive in bringing resources to the region. She said the county can help advocate new businesses and expedite their entry into the region, while supporting economic development on a municipal and private level.

She also said she would support a long-range economic development plan with measured annual results to undertake new efforts to support towns.

Chase took a neutral position on the casino proposed for Oxford County. She said that while the projected jobs would be helpful to the county, there has not been adequate time to study any negative impact from the project.

“My responsibility is to follow through on the will of the people,” said Chase.

Chase said that development at the county-owned Oxford Regional Airport has been a “significant hit to the budget.” She said the county needs to responsibly deal with the facility and encourage economic development projects around the airport as well as airports in Fryeburg and Bethel.

Chase said she also supports the continuing operation of the Oxford County Jail and looking into whether volunteers can keep county-owned roads open. She said she supports keeping the Twin Bridges in Riley Township open so that the area can remain open to tourists and for use by Sunday River Ski Resort and the Mahoosuc Land Trust.

Chase also supported strengthening the capacity in and among towns to be able to respond to large-scale emergencies, such as ice storms or floods.

Chase said she has developed relationships at the state, local, and national level from her work that can help to achieve her goals.

“It’s an honor to run,” she said.