Servant of God Servant of Peshtigo Nominee for Town Board Supervisor II
Key Issues
Free Speech and Community Engagement
The past two years have been stifling to the Townspeople in regard to getting involved and being heard. Many residents feel discouraged and powerless to help make meaningful change in the Town. I plan on revitalizing our Town's spirit by creating a more welcoming and open environment during meetings. I will invigorate Peshtigo residents by helping them utilize their unique talents to solve emergent issues.
Public comment during meetings should be at least 30 minutes, allow 5 minutes per person, allow any topic, and allow time donations. A fair queuing of speakers needs to be established so that everyone can be heard, where Town residents are given priority.
I will advocate for the creation of a committee that fields resident grievances and networks with local talent to provide solutions to emergent Town issues. We need to embolden more community leaders to further assist the Board in improving our Town.
Clean Water Initiatives
The current approach regarding PFAS contamination in our Town is merely tangential to the root problem Peshtigo residents are facing. The Town is currently focused on drawn out litigation against JCI, a multi-billion dollar company, who is content to perpetually stay in court while our Town continually incurs legal costs. While this approach is essential to achieving justice for the Town, it does not put clean water in our pipes and taps.
The Board is convinced that the $1,667,000 EPA community grant for clean water solutions is inaccessible and that our only recourse is to wait for a program that perfectly fits our scenario. I believe that unless we proactively work with the EPA, the State Assembly and Senate, and the Wisconsin DNR, such a program will never come to fruition.
As a businessman, I know how to effectively negotiate tangible deliverables with professionals and agencies. I am prepared to aid in planning a decentralized point-of-entry community water system project that complies with the Federal requirements laid out in 42 USC 300j-12 so that Peshtigo can finally tap into those EPA funds. I will also work toward obtaining a waiver for the associated 20% cost share or get cost share funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant program or the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Program.
Even if EPA funding does not pan out, I am determined to work with Wisconsin lawmakers and the DNR to qualify this Town for the funding of an effective clean water project.
Maintaining Our Roads
The safety of our roads is one of the most important aspects of Town management. Peshtigo is blessed with locally-owned businesses that provide exceptional road maintenance services. Whether it's snow removal, easement management, or filling potholes, I will do everything I can to maintain and grow business relationships with those that tend our roads. I will also ensure fair and competitive bidding of Town contracts.
Additionally, I will strive to provide more transparency to residents regarding the Town's agreements with local businesses and road maintenance schedules and policies.
Collaboration with Wisconsin Lawmakers & County Representatives
As someone who has a decade of experience with professional networking, both online and in-person, I am eager to represent our Town across the area by cultivating relationships with Peshitgo's County and State representatives. These are some of the key individuals I plan on cultivating professional relationships with:
- State Senator Mary Felzkowski (Senate District 12)
- State Assembly Representative Jeffrey Mursau (Assembly District 36)
- County Board Member Thomas E. Mandli (Town of Peshtigo Ward 1)
- County Board Member Jon Baumgarten (Town of Peshtigo Ward 2)
- County Board Member Tom Gromala (Town of Peshtigo Wards 3 & 4)
- County Board Member David Buechler (Town of Peshtigo Wards 5 & 6)
Zoning Freedom & Fairness
The Town of Peshtigo offers its residents a quiet and peaceful lifestyle surrounded by woodlands, rivers, and friendly neighbors. This way of life is the foundation of the Town's culture and it is something I have personally enjoyed since I became a resident in 2023. Peshtigo homesteads enjoy a greater freedom and independence from bureaucratic overreach compared to what is found in cities and suburban HOAs.
However, this freedom is balanced with comprehensive zoning ordinances to ensure that we maintain a respectable level of civility. This Town is frequently faced with issues regarding gunshot disturbances, littering, animals at large, and abandoned vehicles.
I will work with the constable, the zoning administrator, and board of appeals to ensure that this balance is maintained. If and when the Town Board appoints zoning officials, I will ensure to only confirm individuals who best represent the interests of our desired way of life.
Budget Clarity
After carefully examining the Town of Peshtigo's 2025 budget I have come to the conclusion that our local government is in desperate need for someone with an eye for budgeting precision. The Town's budget spreadsheet requires a higher level of specificity and accounting.
As a Supervisor, I will draw on my years of business administration experience and my degree in economics to ensure that our budgeting documents and plans are precise and comprehensive. For a small Town like Peshtigo, I stand for conservative spending to meet the immediate and contingent needs of our infrastructure and administration. I will also constantly seek out funding opportunities that make sense for the further development of our Town.
Digital Modernization
Though our Town is small and rural, I believe we deserve the best digital appearance and reputation that modern technology can provide. I have 3 years of experience in managing software developers and designing technical systems and processes. I will advocate for specific technical developments to improve our Town's digital reputation and facilitate a higher standard of transparency.
I will work to get our local government's website and official emails to a .gov domain so our Town can stand out as a legitimate entity of the United States. This process is relatively simple and will cost the Town nothing.
I will also introduce modern digital publishing standards to our local administration to ensure that published documents are not controlled solely by the Town. With free and open source technologies like IPFS, we can assure the Townspeople that all Town documents, once published online, stay published forever in their original form.