2022 Meet the St. Croix County Candidates
Get to know the candidates this season by reviewing our quick reference page. Each candidate's response is under each question to allow our community to compare the responses provided.
If you are interested in a candidate's answer to a specific question, simply click the + icon next the candidate's name to reveal their answer.
Spring Elections are schedule April 5, 2022. Find more information at https://www.sccwi.gov/1003/2022-Spring-Election
What will be your top three priorities if elected and why?
My three top priorities are as follows:
First to maintain the high level of performance essential services that St. Croix County provides residents, and those doing business in the county. This includes properly staffed and funded public safety, Health and Human Services, Courts, and Transportation departments. I will continue to work closely with the administration and other board members to ensure this is done with an emphasis on efficiency and wise use of tax dollars.
Second Promote the economic growth of the county to the benefit of all. I will work to strengthen St Croix county as a destination for families and business wishing to grow with us. To enable that I believe we need to provide transportation options such as ride share, an inter city link shuttle between River Falls, Hudson, and New Richmond to link the city ride shares, this will help workers get to employment in these towns, and can supplement ADA services already in place. Further out there is early planning and discussions around a fast rail service linking Eau Clair with Saint Paul, with stops in the county. This could be a real economic driver, and I am attending those meetings to ensure we get the best possible results. Other elements I want to drive are County wide Broadband access, and streamlining permits in county right of ways for telecom cables. Finally housing that employees of our businesses can afford. preferably near work or on our transit lines.
Third but not least I want to protect those things we love about our county: Safe clean drinking water, beautiful parks and trails, our scenic vistas, and the rural open feel of the county.
Public Safety/District Attorney Office and Emergency/Disaster Services. Civil order and respect for law enforcement encourage a peaceful and thriving society. Agencies able to handle natural and civil emergencies are a must in our modern world.
County Taxation and Budgets. Government at all levels should not tax residents beyond the concrete needs of maintaining civil order and fully functioning infrastructure.
County-wide Infrastructure and Broadband. To encourage county-wide growth and community success, the digital highway must extend into and beyond all communities within our county. This allows for residents to not need to leave their community for opportunities, but to grow within them.
My top three priorities as County Supervisor for District 5 are collaboration, stewardship, and engagement. The county provides a number of critical services to residents and businesses on a daily basis; each of these services are important to the people/businesses who are served. As County Supervisor I believe it is necessary to engage with stakeholders to listen to their needs, find opportunities to work with partners when beneficial to accomplish those service outcomes, and ultimately serve as a good steward of public resources to ensure that the results are feasible and effective within the constraints we are operating within.
Enhance the ability for all of law enforcement to better deliver true justice.
Lead the charge in delivering responsible tax savings to our taxpayers.
Find ways to make the county open to more business development to help offset the expense of the new building expansion.
How do your priorities specifically impact the St. Croix Valley?
I believe my priorities reflect those of the residents and others who have responded to county surveys, and in correspondence I have had with them. I believe that these priorities will encourage and nourish sustainable economic development far into the future, while protecting the quality of life we enjoy.
St. Croix County is the fastest growing county in WI. County government must support policies, budget decisions and enviro-infrastructure projects that allow people and businesses to grow, thrive and provide an environment of peace and security for all residents.
I believe that my priorities apply to a number of issues that impact the St Croix Valley. For example, there has been significant discussion about funding for the Hudson Joint Area Library in recent years. As a significant asset to a number of communities in this area, it will require open engagement and collaboration between members and external partners to define and enact a successful long-term funding solution.
Another specific priority that I believe is critical for St Croix County and the St Croix Valley is the continued expansion of broadband access. The past few years have showed us how critical this is for work, education, health care, and everyday activities. By engaging with community stakeholders, we can work together to achieve access goals.
And finally, it is critical that we are good stewards of our amazing natural resources in the St Croix Valley, including the St Croix River. Through collaboration and partnership, we can continue to draw visitors to this area which ultimately supports our local businesses, and still protect this natural resource for current and future generations to enjoy.
The priorities I have set will help deliver justice and keep us safe.
What is your vision for the St. Croix Valley?
My vision for St Croix County is that all parts of our county benefit from access to solid infrastructure and efficient services. That our towns villages and cities retain their unique qualities and that the voices of all stake holders are heard and listed to craft solutions to our problems.
St. Croix County strives to create local opportunity, planned growth, economic diversity and a safe and secure living environment for all residents now and for future generations.
We are so fortunate to live in such a beautiful and unique area. My vision for the St Croix Valley includes the recognition and continued enhancement of those elements of our communities that make our area amazing, and the promotion and growth of partnerships to address the issues that we are facing and can improve. Thriving communities benefit from exchange and recognition of different ideas and perspectives that ultimately come together for the overall common good. Establishing and maintaining open lines of communication to work through these differences ultimately benefits the community as a whole.
Make this a safe place to live, work, raise a family, and retire.
According to the 2021 Chamber survey, two of the issues facing our businesses is housing and transportation. If elected, what will you do to support the community in these areas?
I am actively working as a member of the transit committee with representatives of Hudson city government to provide a ride share service solution for Hudson similar to those in River Falls and New Richmond. In addition I am advocating for an inter city link shuttle that would connect New Richmond Hudson, and River Falls ride share so that workers can get to jobs.
On the housing front it is somewhat more complicated but I think we at the county level should be working with potential developers to make worker housing easier to implement possibly by tax incentives, or streamlined permitting. In addition we should be looking into Federal or State programs for potential revenue sources.
I would support local community efforts to attract developers and plan for housing construction that fits local needs and environments. Same for transportation. Currently residents can get anywhere in Hudson in minutes, and to other cities in the county in about 30 minutes. Care must be taken to not overcommit to imagined transportation solutions begging for a perceived need.
Housing and transportation are critical issues that impact both residents and the business community. However, while as a County Board we have been discussing these topics, these are not issues that the County can address on its own. I believe that a successful approach to these issues will necessitate collaboration and partnerships between government, the business community, and non-profit organizations in the St Croix Valley. Each segment of the community has different insight and resources to contribute to a solution, and only by working together can these ideas be blended to create the outcomes being sought. I look forward to these future discussions.
I will allow the private sector to operate with far less government interference. Government's continued intrusion has created a vacuum in the ability to have the free markets work properly. Inflation and other factors lead to people's inability to afford the American Dream. I will be an advocate for people to control their own lives, and drive their own destiny.