East Side Highway Commissioner Jimmie Dorsey knows a lot about roads, and not just because of his past six years as commissioner, he said.

Add to that decades of highway construction experience and leadership positions with county and state highway organizations, he said, and he has a full perspective of what it takes to keep folks driving on safe arterials.

"I have a lot to add to this district," said Dorsey, running to keep his zone 3 commissioner seat in the May 17 highway district elections. "We (the other commissioners and I) have accomplished a lot of things in the last six years."

Like completely rewriting the district's professional manual, he said, clarifying the objectives of every employee.

"We worked with our legal staff to improve things," Dorsey said. "It gives employees a clear understanding of what their rights are as employees, and what's expected of them."

The commissioners have also obtained several grants for transportation projects, Dorsey added.

"That's less that the taxpayers have to pay for," he said.

Dorsey, 70, knows first-hand the steps for building and maintaining roads, after 25 years working with the Washington State Department of Transportation.

"I started off with field crew during surveying, and during my time I worked my way up," said Dorsey, originally from California, who lived most of his life in Snohomish and Spokane, Wash., before moving to Harrison in 1992.

Dorsey also worked as a highway engineer consultant for seven years, during which he contributed to federal and Washington state projects.

Dorsey was in the Marine Corps for five years prior to his highway work, he said.

He is currently board chairman of the Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization, and is on the board of directors and the executive committee for Idaho Association of Highway Districts.

Dorsey acknowledged the highway commissioners have fielded complaints about their approval of three local improvements districts totaling half a million dollars, now subject to review by the Kootenai County commissioners.

He stands by the decision, he said, pointing out that LIDs are to fund a match of one-time federal funding that will pay the bulk of three crucial road overlays in Coeur d'Alene and Harrison.

"It was a hard decision on us, but it was an opportunity to do major work at minimal impact financially," Dorsey said of accepting the funds allocated by the state. "To our knowledge, at no other time has ITD (Idaho Transportation Department) offered end-of-the-year funding to local entities. It's safe to assume it's never going to happen again."

Not everyone is protesting the LIDs, he added.

Many district residents have approached the office about forming LIDs to fund other transportation projects.

"They want to see how they (LIDs) work to do improvements on their own roads," he said.

As for future road projects Dorsey wants to see, he said, that hinges on whether the county commissioners approve the LIDs.

"If the LIDs are turned down, our 5-year capital improvement projects, anything that doesn't have grant funding will be eliminated," he said, adding that the savings will be used to provide the match funding. "We are going to do the (overlay) projects. They are very needed."

Dorsey was appointed commissioner in 2004, when the then-commissioner retired, and was elected to his position in 2006.

Dorsey and his wife, Carol, have three children.

He wants to ensure quality of the roads is maintained, he said.

"I feel I'm very qualified to do the job," he said. "And I enjoy it. We've got a terrific crew."