Destination: White House

I am excited to announce that I will be a representative for Washington County at the White House.  In August, the White House will be hosting a 1-day conference for local elected leaders from Wisconsin.  This conference will be held in the White House complex (I don't yet know if it is in the East Wing, West Wing, or another building).  Elected leaders at the County and Municipal level are being invited, and so far I know at least 1 other County Supervisor might be attending, schedule permitting.  In an upcoming conference call, which will be held next week, we will learn more about the agenda for the conference. 


I do want to give recognition to the White House for their unprecedented outreach and two-way communication with State and local elected officials.  For the White House to reach out and engage local government officials in a significant and meaningful way, which they have been doing for the last year and a half, is excellent.  I've sat in on conference calls about key issues including infrastructure (roads and utilities), combating the heroin epidemic, and the local impact of trade agreements with Mexico and Canada.  Their conference calls are centered around two-way communication, where they invest the majority of their time taking questions and gathering input, but also share a lot of information with local leaders.  In talking with other County Board Supervisors who served during the Bush's and Obama's terms as President, they have not seen anything close to this level of outreach from the White House prior to President Trump, it truly is unprecedented.


I will be paying my own costs for this honor---Taxpayer costs will be $0.  It is my privilege to represent Washington County at this event, and I am excited for this opportunity.

The County Executive Discussion Will Continue

For those of you who haven't read about it, Supervisors Jenkins, Brandt, and Symicek have together asked that the Washington County Board of Supervisors reconsider the resolution that failed a few weeks ago, to switch to a County Executive.  They have indicated their intent to have this resolution considered by a committee.  Chairman Kriefall, in anticipation of the motion passing, is forming an ad hoc committee composed of Supervisors Jenkins, Brandt, Merry, Bulawa, and Symicek to review this issue and return a recommendation by August 9.  You can read more about it here: Washington County Insider

A few thoughts I have:

1.  I commend Supervisors Jenkins, Brandt, and Symicek for proposing reconsideration of this important issue, and recognizing the uncertainty that comes with a tie vote.  I also commend Chairman Kriefall for setting an August 9 deadline.  For various reasons, it does no good to leave this issue lingering in question for months or years.

2.  I recognize that sometimes efforts like this take multiple tries before succeeding.  In 2016, Supervisor Kelling and I teamed up to bring the idea moving County Board meetings to the evening, so that the public could attend.  While our effort fell 2 votes short, the strength of that vote led to an effort in 2017 that ultimately succeeded.  It was not the first time evening meetings had been discussed, but it was the first time that a vote was held on this issue from a full meeting of the County Board, and that vote paved the way for ultimate success.

Likewise, this is not the first time that the topic of switching to a County Executive has been raised, but it was the first time that the full County Board voted on it.  The support for it was so strong that the vote was tied.  In my view there is a strong probability that, once all the information is reviewed, this ad hoc committee will return a recommendation that we switch to a County Executive, and that the County Board will follow through with that recommendation.

3.  A few members of the community have suggested that the County Board is foolish for willingly turning over some of its power to a County Executive.  Since I don't think of it as our power, but instead think of it as "power" that the voters have chosen to loan to us, I don't fear turning over some of our power.  

In fact, I am not even sure that power is the right word.  Perhaps instead it is a responsibility that the voters have loaned to us, and given us stewardship over.  Does being going stewards of that responsibility mean that we let the voters chose a County Executive?  I think it may.

While we could stay with the status quo, I don't think that is in the best interests of our community.  In our current system, our County Administrator only needs to keep 1 resident of our County happy (the County Board Chairman).  As long as he keeps that 1 resident happy, there is virtually no way for any of the County's other residents to hold him accountable.  On the other hand, being elected would mean that our County Executive would need to go back to all of the residents of our County every 4 years, regardless of whether they live in the cities, villages, or townships in our County.

For that reason, I think the County Board should, as stewards of the responsibility the voters have loaned to us and entrusted to us, chose to switch to a County Executive.  Ultimately, I was elected to be a visionary for our County's future, and no to be a guardian of the status quo.

Another Campaign Promise Kept (and exceeded)

Yesterday I kept another promise from my 2018 campaign.  

In March of 2018 I promised:

I promise that, as long as the History Center remains committed to working towards significantly decreasing their reliance on County Funding, I will be an ally in supporting them and their efforts.

Yesterday that promise was fulfilled beyond expectations.  The County Board finalized an agreement that will support the History Center in becoming a fully self-sustaining member of our community.  This will save the County millions of dollars over the next 25 years, while preserving our history as well as the public use of the old courthouse building.  I am thrilled to join 23 other County Board Supervisors in supporting this win-win solution.

While I was critical of the History Center in 2016, they are now bravely embarking on a new future, one which I am thrilled to support.  They are going to be implementing a variety of changes that the community will find exciting and engaging.  They will also preserve the old courthouse building for future generations and ensure it remains a public resource.  I cannot wait to see them finalize this transformation.