LIVE OAK — When Ricky Gamble first decided to run for county commissioner in 2012, he was a political junky.

He followed current debates, watched the news every day, listened to talk radio shows as he drove around Suwannee County and strongly wanted to get involved.

“I’ve always wanted to get involved in politics,” Gamble said. “I knew that if I was going to start, I would have to do it while my kids are young, so I just ran.”

Gamble said he ran without any kind of agenda. He ran, he said, because he was disgusted with the lack of conservative values in government and the secrecy. These two issues are the bedrock of Gamble’s political platform.

Since being elected, Gamble has strived to keep taxes and government spending low. On top of that, since becoming county chairman this year, he has worked to make the governing process more open to the public.

First thing he did as chairman was put the entire county package online, Gamble said. The county package is all the backup information provided to county commissioners prior to board meetings. Before being put online, a person would have to request for the packet to be sent to them.

He brought this up before when he wasn’t chairman but was shot down. There is a risk to the county for putting the information online because if, for whatever reason, the packet is not put online for one meeting, the county opens themselves up for a lawsuit, Gamble said.

“There’s an off chance that that might happen, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take for the people of Suwannee County to be more aware of what we’re doing,” Gamble said.

As far as keeping taxes and spending low, Gamble said he isn’t always on the winning side. Recently, the county raised its millage rate. He was against it, but when the increase passed anyway, Gamble had two choices to make, he said.

“When the votes come in and it’s four-to-one, you have a decision to make,” Gamble said. “Do I keep fighting, screaming and hollering at no one? Or do accept it and figure out how best to make it work for the citizens of Suwannee County?”

Gamble opts for the latter.

With two new board members and him sitting as chairman, Gamble has an easier time these days with getting the vote he wants. He credits the two board members who share his values and who are working toward the same vision for the county.

Apart from more transparency, Gamble said he is focusing on bringing improved infrastructure to the county, particularly near the interstates.

He and the board have been pushing for a sewage treatment plant at the intersection of Interstate-75 and County Road 136. The board has stated at meetings that there are investors interested in that area if only there were utilities available.

“We’re working on getting sewage first because it’s going to be the hardest one,” Gamble said. “I-75 is the gateway to Florida and there’s no reason for us to miss the boat on this. Once we have infrastructure out there, it’s going to explode.”

In politics, though, it’s never easy. Gamble has been working with state and federal representatives to get funding for the project. Another project in the works, he said, is a bike trail coordinated with Duke Energy along the old railroad, which heads north of Live Oak toward the river.

He said he and the board have been working very hard with them to get that going forward. It has been moved to the top of his list of things to get done, he said.

“But my biggest focus is still being an open book for the public,” Gamble said. “I wanted to put transparency in place, so the next chairman doesn’t have to do anything and it’s there long after I’ve gone.”