Another major reform of Washington County Government was accomplished tonight. The executive branch of our county's government will no longer be an unelected bureaucracy, accountable only to the County Board Chairman and subservient to the County Board. Instead, we will have 3 equal branches of government, with the head of the executive branch of our government elected by "We The People," the voters of Washington County.
Tonight, I am proud to proclaim that we voted to install the position of County Executive. No longer will County Board Supervisors quietly meet to choose a County Administrator. No longer will discussions about the future of our county be limited to a few contested county board races, while the majority of County Board Supervisors run unopposed. Instead, we will now have a county-wide discussion about the future vision for our county, backed by an election.
"We the People" now get to pick our leader. While I am a County Board Supervisor, I am also one of the voters that comprise "We the People." I am proud of our County Board and the vision we displayed tonight, along with the trust we put in "We the People." Less power is in the hands of County Board Supervisors, and more power is back in the hands of all the voters in our County. Despite an argument that we should listen to members of the Milwaukee County Board and "keep a good thing going," we moved our County forward.
While a few members of our community remain apprehensive about this transition, I am confident that in 20 years, we will all look back at this moment and decide that it was one of the best decisions our County Board made.
I have seen how contested elections can create a great discussion about our government. In December 2017 we had several local candidates running in the special election for the 58th assembly district. In spring of 2018 we had two experienced candidates, former Supervisor Ralph Hensel and myself, running to be the County Board Supervisor for District 3. Both of those races featured a lot of good discussions about the future direction of our county. In the District 3 race, both Ralph and I presented ideas and accomplishments for our County. In contrast, there are some parts of our County that have not seen a contested County Board race in more than 10 years.
The next major reform we need to look at is reducing the size of the County Board.
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