We’re all looking forward to 2011 being a great year for our Village of Little Chute, the Fox Valley, the great State of Wisconsin and all of the United States of America !
Last year, we saw quite a commitment by ordinary people to participate in government at all levels, debate issues with civility and propose workable solutions to vexing problems. This spring, we see this trend continuing, with considerable competition for the spring elections. We will have a Primary election on February 15 for Village President, County Executive and County Clerk. We’ll have a General election on April 5 for these offices, plus the election of three Village Trustees.
There are three candidates for the office of Village President. The Village Presidency is a non-partisan office. Since there are more than two candidates for the office, there WILL be a Primary election for this office. The candidates for Village President are (in ballot order):
- Mike Vanden Berg
- Chuck Fischer
- Steve Ransbottom
There are six candidates for the three offices of Village Trustee. The Village Trustee offices are non-partisan. Since there are six candidates for the three Village Trustee offices (exactly two candidates per office), there WILL NOT be a Primary election for these offices. The candidates for Village Trustees are (in ballot order):
- Brian Joosten
- Bill Peerenboom
- Bob Berken
- John Elrick
- Don Van Deurzen
- Skip Smith
There are six candidates for County Executive. The office of County Executive is non-partisan. Since there are six candidates for the office of County Executive, there WILL be a Primary election for this office. The candidates for County Executive are (in ballot order):
- Michael A. Marsden
- Jack C. Voight
- Anne Strauch
- Tom Nelson
- Charles Kramer
- Michael R. Thomas
There are three candidates for County Clerk. The County Clerk is a Partisan office. The election for this office is normally held in the fall of the year, along with other partisan elections. In this case, though, the current County Clerk is resigning. This election is to fill the remainder of the 4-year term expiring January 2013.
Since this is a partisan office, there WILL be a Partisan Primary between the two Republican candidates. The Democrat in the race is running uncontested in the Democrat primary. The Democrat candidate will face off against the winner of the Republican Primary in the General Election on April 5. The candidates for County Clerk are:
- Amanda Dietrich (Democrat)
- Lori J. O’Bright (Republican)
- Aaron C. Pluger (Republican)
We’ll be following all of these candidates, their positions and views, up through the April 5 General Election.
As we consider the upcoming political races, and look back on 2010 for guidance, it’s striking how many important questions raised throughout 2010 are still left unanswered. Often, when our leadership struggles with a challenging problem, there are one or two important questions that go to the heart of the issue, questions that are at the core of the problem. Sometimes these important questions are obvious. Sometimes though, it’s a struggle to identify the core questions. And sometimes, even when we do manage to ask the core questions, they don’t have straightforward answers.
Some of the core-questions in the Spring elections are:
- The Economy: How do we encourage the growth of businesses that create jobs in our communities?
- Government Finances: Taxes, Fees and Unfunded Mandates – what do they buy us and are they fair and effective?
- Transparency: How free is the access to public information? How much do we really know about how our government is working? Or not working?
- County Social Services: How do we control costs while assisting children, the elderly, the sick and the disabled? Are there others who can’t help themselves, who need government assistance? Are there other avenues to help those in need?
- The Village’s Downtown area: How do we develop the downtown area east of the Village Hall? How do we retain existing business and attract new businesses and business startups to the downtown area?
Here at LittleChuteMatters.org, we will strive to identify core questions, seek out areas of agreement and identify differences between the candidates. We invite all of our readers to help clarify the issues that face us, ask core questions about the issues, debate the issues with one another, and advocate common-sense solutions that work.
The Editor
