Two races appear on the Neenah ballot tomorrow: Winnebago County Executive and Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Here are the candidates and a bio for each one:
Winnebago County Executive
- John Daggett
- Jay Schroeder
- Mark L. Harris (incumbent)
Here are the Appleton Post-Crescent profiles of the three County Executive candidates:
Mark Harris (incumbent)
Address: 2425 Sandstone Court, Oshkosh
Age: 53
Occupation: Winnebago County executive
Political experience: Winnebago County executive, April 2005 to present; member of Winnebago County Board, April 2004 to April 20057; member of Oshkosh City Council, April 1999 to April 2005, including one year as mayor.
Campaign Web Site: www.Harris4Exec.com
Why are you running?
It has been my pleasure to serve the people of Winnebago County as their county executive. With their support, I hope to continue. My experience as an attorney and CPA has helped me lead the county through challenging times. Some of the accomplishments of the past four years include: proposing balanced budgets; increasing county reserves; maintaining services with a smaller, efficient workforce; increasing investments in public infrastructure including roads, Park View Nursing Home, and UW-Fox Valley; reducing the waiting list for the developmentally disabled and the frail elderly; expanding energy conservation and renewable energy including solar and landfill gas.
What are the key issues?
The county must maintain a healthy fiscal position while operating within revenue restraints. Several decisions must be made that will address a growing jail population and increasing demand for human services for the elderly, disabled and neglected citizens. The county must expand coalitions with other municipalities in areas such as family care, emergency communication and waste management. The county should look for opportunities to attract additional employment and should continue its efforts to conserve energy and use renewable sources such as solar and landfill gas.
Jay Schroeder
Address: 1295 N Lake St., Neenah
Age: 46
Occupation: Loan administrator
Political experience: Menomonie City Council, two terms; Town of Menasha supervisor
Campaign Web site: www.schroeder-winforwinnebago.com
Why are you running?
Change we can believe in. The economy is the No. 1 concern on people's minds today. Bailouts, bailouts. When does the taxpayer get a bailout? As individuals, we're tightening our belts. After hearing my opponent in 2006-07 try to explain why we need a $7 million sales tax scheme to fund a $700,000 budget shortfall, I decided to review the budget and came up with over $1 million in cuts that I proposed to the County Board. To its credit, it adopted some and together the County Board and I avoided the sales tax scheme. Together, we can.
What are the key issues?
Accountability. My contract with Winnebago County states: I will not propose a sales tax in the next four years. If passed, I will veto it. If Mr. Harris would have had his way, we would have paid over $39 million in new taxes from the sales tax scheme. The Winnebago County executive salary will be increasing over $7,700 for 2009-10, which is a 9 percent raise. What taxpayer is getting that increase? I will not accept any pay raise while in office. My opponent can't claim he opposed it when he sat in on the meetings where it was proposed and never voiced an objection.
John Daggett
Address: 717 Bowen St., Oshkosh
Age: Not listed
Occupation: Self-employed
Political experience: My political experience is directly related to my former civilian employment for the U.S. Army.
Campaign Web site: None
Why are you running?
The county is losing to the point that the foreclosure rate on people losing their jobs and houses is in direct relation to the ineptitude of the county to care for the people of Winnebago County. Many parts of the budget are excessive and wasteful, including money for the airport, which is stupid. Millions of dollars are paid to keep an airport open and no real revenue to show for the investment. The airport should be leased to the U.S. government and some type of government facility could be using it. I want to turn this county around, to give a chance to all. Yes, to help those who need help and to create jobs and cut wasteful spending.
What are the key issues?
To restore Winnebago County as a good place to live. We must increase the tax base in these troubled times and cut the pork. Winnebago County does not need to be spending money on more jails and prisons. Now is the time for change because the economy is still sputtering. The only way for change to be effective is to stop the direction the economy is going. I plan on working more with the governor and obtaining our share of the economic stimulus that the U.S. government is offering. This will improve Winnebago County and will create more jobs.
Wisonsin Superintendent of Public Instruction
- Rose Fernandez
- Todd Price
- Van Mobley
- Lowell E. Holtz
- Tony Evers
From the Appleton Post-Crescent web site, here are the candidate profiles for all five candidates for the four-year term of Superintendent of Public Instruction:
Tony Evers
Age: 57.
Home: Madison.
Family: Wife, Kathy; three adult children.
Education: Bachelor's degree, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1973; master's degree, UW-Madison, 1978; doctorate degree, UW-Madison, 1986.
Career: Teacher and media coordinator, Tomah, 1976-79; elementary principal, Tomah, 1979-1980; principal, Tomah High School, 1980-84; superintendent, Oakfield Schools, 1984-88; superintendent, Verona Schools, 1988-92; administrator, Cooperative Education Service Agency in Oshkosh, 1992-2001. Deputy state superintendent, 2001-present.
Priorities: Increase graduation rates, have safe and respectful classrooms, make the school finance system more adequate.
Web site: www.tonyevers.com
Rose Fernandez
Age: 51.
Home: Mukwonago.
Family: Husband, Javier; five children.
Education: Bachelor's degree, Northern Illinois University, 1979; master's degree in nursing, UW-Madison, 1989.
Career: Pediatric nursing assistant, patient care manager of the Emergency Department Trauma Center, and trauma nurse, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, 1979-2001; owner of RollNRack, a company that sells a tool invented by her husband for firefighters to use transporting and draining the heavy rolls of big fire hoses, 2003-present.
Priorities: Reform the Department of Public Instruction, reward quality teachers and dismiss poor performers, emphasize alternatives to traditional classroom instruction.
Web site: http://changedpi.com.wehostwebsites.com
Lowell E. Holtz
Age: 51.
Home: Beloit.
Family: Wife, Susan; five children.
Education: Associate degree, Concordia College-Milwaukee, now Concordia University-Mequon, 1978; Bachelor's degree, Concordia University-River Forest, Ill., 1980; co-op in educational administration, UW-Whitewater and UW-Madison, 1986-1989; master's degree in educational administration, UW-Madison, 1989; doctoral degree in educational leadership, learning and service, Cardinal Stritch University-Milwaukee, 2004.
Career: Elementary school teacher, Plainview, Minn., 1980-83; Whitewater police officer, 1984-89; principal, Cambridge School District, 1989-95; principal, Peshtigo School District, 1995-2002; superintendent, Palmyra-Eagle School District, 2002-06; superintendent, Beloit School District, 2006 to present.
Priorities: Work more closely with the business community and reform the educational system to emphasize problem solving, collaboration and career and technical education.
Web site: www.holtz4kids.com
Van Mobley
Age: 40.
Home: Thiensville.
Family: Wife, Susan; two sons.
Education: Bachelor's degree, Vanderbilt University, 1990; master's and doctorate degrees in history, UW-Madison, 1999.
Career: Market analyst, Holmes Oil Co., 1990 and 1991; loader, United Parcel Service, 1992 and 1993; graduate assistant, UW-Madison, 1995-1999; lecturer, UW-Milwaukee and Carroll University, 2000; assistant professor of history and economics, Concordia University, 2001-08 (currently on leave for campaign); director of community and government relations, Concordia University, 2005-08; marketing partner, Do-Mo Capital Management, 2007-present.
Priorities: Work to ensure that mandates are funded and, if not, remove them to give schools more flexibility, emphasize the value of a technical school education, work with the University of Wisconsin and technical college board to oppose tuition increases, reform Milwaukee Public Schools.
Web site: www.vanmobley.com
Todd Price
Age: 45.
Home: Kenosha.
Family: Wife, Ginger; two children.
Education: Bachelor's degree, UW-Eau Claire, 1986; master's degree in guidance and counseling, UW-Stout, 1988; UW-Madison, master's degree in curriculum and instruction, 1995; doctorate degree, UW-Madison, curriculum and instruction, 1999.
Career: Instructor/graduate assistant, Louisiana State University, 1989 and 1990; research assistant, UW-Madison, 1990-1992; instructor/graduate assistant, UW-Madison, 1995 and 1996; executive director of WYOU community access television, 2000-2002; guest lecturer, UW-Madison, 2000-04; assistant professor, National-Louis University, 2000-07; associate professor, National-Louis University, 2008-present.
Priorities: Making schools safer, changing the school aid formula, improving school testing, dismantling No Child Left Behind and representing K-12 students' interests as a member of the UW Board of Regents.
Web site: www.toddprice.org
Primary elections are notoriously low-turnout, so your vote counts more!