On May 20, the Ledger Dispatch e-mailed each candidate for Amador County supervisor a list of six questions. They were asked to choose five. Here are their answers:

Name: John K. Gonsalves

Age: 47

City: Jackson

Profession: Businessman/county planning commissioner

Running for: District 1 supervisor

Q: According to school district records, the county sent 53 percent of its students to public California universities or community colleges in 2006-07. What other educational options need to be pursued and will the county ever have a community college?

A: The Amador Community College Foundation was formed, with then-District 3 Supervisor Richard Vinson's leadership, and established an educational coalition consisting of Cosumnes River College, the Amador County Unified School District and the county of Amador. Through their leadership the Amador Learning Center was established and currently provides local onsite higher educational opportunities, including classroom and online instruction as well as assessment testing. We need to continue efforts with the Amador Learning Center, ACUSD and CRC to create a formal alignment. The possibilities include television educational channels with real-time interaction; Internet-based education, satellite classes and, with dedication and perseverance, even a community college.

Q: According to 2005 statistics from the California Employment Development Department, 75 percent of the county's job opportunities paid below the self-sufficiency wage for a single parent with two children, while 41 percent paid below that level for adults in a two-parent household. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated 9.2 percent of the county's population was living in poverty in 2003. Is Amador doing enough on the economic development front? If so, cite examples. If not, what would you do to bring in better-paying jobs?

A: The per capita income in Amador has consistently ranged 15 percent below the national average. The 2008 self-sufficiency hourly wage for a single parent with two children is $23.24 and $13.37 for parents with two children. One of the trade-offs for living in Amador County continues to be a lack of better-paying jobs, but I don't think it has to stay that way.

Amador needs a stronger focus on economic development. Results-oriented strategic planning in collaboration with the county, the Amador Council of Tourism, the chamber of commerce and the Amador Economic Development Corp. could produce amazing results. As supervisor, I will increase efforts to attract light industry and offer incentives to create viable economic development and keep our workforce in the county, which in turn will result in fewer commuter miles and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Q: A Capital Region Healthy Futures Project study projects that the 55 and older group will make up 40 percent of the county's population in 2020, up from more than one-third in 2005. Is Amador becoming a bedroom community for retirees and can it survive as one?

A: Baby boomers collectively hitting retirement age has been a well-documented fact. And as modern medicine continues to improve, retirement ages are on the rise annually. As the cost of living continues to outpace income, working fixed-income seniors are becoming the norm, not the exception. No community or county nearing a 50 percent senior population on fixed incomes can adequately survive. That's why it's imperative that regional thinking and planning be pursued for future economic development with a general plan that strongly supports and manages those efforts, including residential growth and light industry that will encourage our next generations to stay here.

Q: According to a Capital Region Healthy Futures Project survey of seventh-, ninth- and 11th-graders, the county far outpaces the state when it comes to students experimenting with drugs and alcohol. Do you think these numbers are accurate? If so, what should be done about this?

A: Knowing that the drug and alcohol statistics were collected by surveying the students creates an element of challenge toward accuracy, but you also have to wonder why, if no one saw their answers, they would want to report falsely.

Last year at a county workshop hosted by our local law enforcement agencies and superior court, the public asked what the No. 1 offense or problem was in the county. They unanimously replied: drugs and alcohol. And the greatest challenge for Judge Susan Harlan was that when sentencing students, there was nowhere to send them for help. This has to change. The county needs to investigate referral programs in other counties and the supervisors need to raise the priority addressing this issue. Regarding enforcement, the sheriff is already on the right track with the new task force program.

Q: What's the most important thing to maintain about Amador County and what's the most important thing to change?

A: The answer to the second question is the solution to the first. In listening to all of the folks whose doorsteps I've stood on in these last few months, fighting to maintain our rural way of life is a No. 1 request. The best way I know to support that effort is through logical and comprehensive planning at the county level. The general plan update is an important change that is nearing completion and long overdue. Land use, housing, transportation and open space are all elements of the general plan update that will need to be carefully considered to preserve our rural and historic community atmosphere. We must balance our need for economic development while maintaining our valued rural quality of life in Amador County.

Check back tomorrow for a Q&A with District 1 candidate Ken Berry.