BISMARCK — Bismarck resident Dustin Gawrylow announced his intention to seek a seat on the Bismarck County Commission. Gawrylow is a political consultant and lobbyist by trade and specializes in Taxpayer Advocacy – having served as the Managing Director of the North Dakota Watchdog Network since 2012, and Executive Director of the North Dakota Taxpayers’ Association for four years prior to that.
“I’ve spent the last thirteen years representing taxpayers, big and small, at the legislative level, the local Bismarck/Burleigh level, and elsewhere around the state,” said Dustin Gawrylow. “My work as a taxpayer advocate over the last thirteen years gives me an established and proven track record of standing up to an ever-expanding government. I know what to ask our taxpayer-funded public employee to get the real story.”
Gawrylow has served on the City of Bismarck’s Special Assessment Task Force (SATF), originally appointed by former-Mayor Mike Seminary to the position, and reappointed by current-Mayor Steve Bakken.
Gawrylow was also recently re-appointed by Mayor Bakken to a 2nd three-year term on the Bismarck Renaissance Zone Authority (RZA), which acts in an oversight and advisory role on matters regarding the issuance of tax incentives in the downtown area.
“The county commission really was not on my radar until the last few months. After having several hours of discussion with community leaders, many of whom I’ve been on the opposing side of issues, it has been made pretty clear to me that there is a need at the county commission level for someone who has a grasp on the interaction between federal, state, county, city, schools, and parks,' said Gawrylow. "My record of standing up to government officials and powerful special interest groups on behalf of taxpayers, no matter how uphill the battle may be, puts me in as good of a position as any to try to bring some sanity to the way local government serves its taxpayers.”
