With the experience he gained during two years as an ASU student regent, Ed Hermes said he's now ready to supervise Maricopa County.
The former student regent on the Arizona Board of Regents, which oversees the state's three public universities, jumped into the race for the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors last month.
If elected, the Chandler democrat would represent District 1, which covers Tempe, parts of Mesa, Chandler, Ahwatukee and Queen Creek.
But he faces tough competition in incumbent Fulton Brock, a Republican who was first elected to the board of supervisors in 1996.
Brock ran unopposed and was re-elected to the board in 2002 and 2004.
A 2006 graduate of ASU, Hermes studied history and political science and served on ABOR from 2005 to 2007.
"I had a really good time at ASU," he said. "My time there definitely prepared me for leadership in the future."
Now the director of internal affairs at the Arizona Department of Agriculture, Hermes said one of the most important issues to him in the 2008 election is sustainability and making wise decisions about the county's growth.
"Maricopa County is the fastest-growing county in the nation," he said. "The next four years and what the county does will affect the next 40."
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has a huge effect on sustainability issues in Arizona, Hermes said, because an estimated 3 million people will move into the county in the next 10 years.
ASU and ABOR have taken the lead in environmental awareness in the state, Hermes said.
He hopes to help Maricopa County "grow in a smart way, so the next generation will have water, clean air and won't have to sit in traffic for hours and hours," he said.
While he was on the board of regents, Hermes said he helped manage the Universities' combined $3.2 billion budget.
Maricopa County's budget is about $2.5 billion, according to the county Web site.
With the state's estimated $1.7 billion budget deficit, making sure each penny of the county's budget is spent well and not frivolously is one of his priorities, he added.
Berta Goh, a family and human development sophomore, said she is acquainted with Hermes through mutual friends and is excited about his candidacy.
"I've been trying to get my friends to vote for him," she said. "He's a good person, and he would make a great supervisor."
Goh said Hermes' speaking ability, how he handles situations and how he presents himself to people would make him a good candidate for the position.
"He'll do good at it," Goh said. "It's just what he does."
Right now, Hermes is unopposed in the Democratic primary for the District 1 seat of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and expects it to stay that way.
Hermes said his campaign is also confident it can pull out a win in the general election on Nov. 4.
"I'm just focused on where I can make the most positive change right now," Hermes said.
Reach the reporter at: leigh.munsil@asu.edu.
