Election 2012: Pierce County Board

All 17 seats on the Pierce County Board are up for election April 3. There are races in seven of the districts. Four are in the River Falls area. Here are the local races:

District 12

Wards 1 and 3 of the village of Ellsworth and Ward 2 of the town of Ellsworth

Dale Auckland

Age: 62

Occupation: Retired Real Estate appraiser; owner of Harringtons Greenhouse

Family: Wife Beth Auckland; five children

Prior elected office: No answer

Civic involvement: Member of Knights of Columbus

What do you see as the main challenge facing the county at this time, and what help can you offer?

Improve communication. Everyone’s busy so not everyone can make a town meeting, but knowing what’s going on is something many have shared is important.

Working to help small business thrive in our community.

James E. Peterson

Address: 200 N. Northview, Ellsworth

Questions: No reply received

District 13

Ward 3 of the town of Oak Grove and Wards 1 and 2 of the town of Trimbelle

Dan Reis

Age: 66

Address: N5945 1000th St., Ellsworth

Occupation: Retired educator/ farmer

Family: Three grown children

Prior elected office: Former town treasurer; District 13 Pierce County supervisor, 6 years; chairman of county human services and building committees; member fair, parks and finance and personnel committees

Civic involvement: Executive committee, Farm Technology Days in Pierce County

What do you see as the main challenge facing the county at this time, and what help can you offer?

The No. 1 problem facing Pierce County and the country is economics ($). Everyone has needs. Some just have more or more crucial ones.

Here there lies a balancing act that we all must address (needs verses wants). Example: If the roads and the buildings are in need of repair, when do we repair them? These decisions at times can be painful when compared to the needs of human services and law enforcement.

The Board of Supervisors needs to make all of these decisions with some input from the public and need to hear from (you) the public. I've six years of experience on the board and believe we are making progress with the help of an excellent staff, meeting the needs of Pierce County. Please get out and vote.

Glenn Spiczak

Age: 47

Address: N6088 1000th St., Ellsworth

Occupation: Professor, astrophysics, UWRF Physics Department

Family: Divorced; two children

Prior elected office: Vice-President, United Falcons-AFT for UWRF for past year

Civic involvement: Big Ring Flyers (cycling club); We Bike River Falls, founding member; Society of Physics Students, member; Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium, UWRF institutional representative

What do you see as the main challenge facing the county at this time, and what help can you offer?

I believe the main challenge facing Pierce County is ensuring that essential services are provided to those who most need them while at least adequate services are provided for others. Unfortunately, providing top-notch services in key areas deemed most important may be a luxury that we cannot currently afford, though we should not lose sight of this longer-term goal.

All of this must be done while keeping property taxes and public fees at an affordable level for the escalating number of residents struggling to keep themselves and their families afloat. People’s needs are increasing while resources are dwindling, which is not sustainable.

I do not have any magic solution, as real life issues are complex, but I will look into all options, even “crazy” ones, to come up with and implement the best ideas possible.

District 17

Villages of Maiden Rock and Plum City and the towns of Maiden Rock, Union and of Salem

Mel Pittman

Age: 57

Address: W950 270th Ave., Plum City

Occupation: Dairy farmer

Family: Wife Patricia; three grown children; two grandchildren

Prior elected office: Pierce County Board, 8 years; Wisconsin Association County Extension Committee district president, 4 years; WACEC, state board treasurer, 2 years; dairy co-op board of directors, 12 years

Civic involvement: Hiawatha Valley 205 Toastmasters; Pierce County Farm Bureau (past president, 3 years); Farm Technology Days 2010, executive chairman; Ag Advisory Committee, UW-RF CAFES, 5 years

What do you see as the main challenge facing the county at this time, and what help can you offer?

The main challenge is to operate within a balanced budget for the next two years. The expenses for the county will rise faster than our tax revenue because of our slow economy and probable reductions from our state and federal partners.

The County Board needs to continue to control expenses in the future by scrutinizing programs, yet maintaining necessary services to Pierce County residents. So far our county has been able to accomplish this with no employee layoffs (unemployment).

With my experience as a successful businessman, I know the county must live within its means. My knowledge of the county business and my ability to address and deal with the tough issues will result in good decisions for Pierce County.

Oake C. Gregory

Age: 38

Address: 221 Main St., Plum City

Occupation: Elder and convalescent care provider

Prior elected office: None

Civic involvement: Offering service and volunteering are important aspects of my life. Examples include working with challenged youth, orphans and environmental issues.

What do you see as the main challenge facing the county at this time, and what help can you offer?

I understand the three main challenges our county faces to be: Meeting the need for greater fiscal and budgetary foresight and constraint; overcoming hurdles to community involvement in our county’s governance; exercising wisdom and long-term thinking in county decisions.

My three priorities are: (1) To see that the county wisely uses its resources, spending within its means. Our county should not increase its budget and tax levy while decreasing services when people in the county are having to tighten their belts and get by with less. (2) To see the County Board meeting moved to a site which accommodates community involvement. County residents should feel free to comfortably participate in our county’s governance and decision making. (3) To plan for our county’s future. With wise planning we can look forward to a future in which our county has a stronger economy with more good jobs, less crime, greater health and stronger communities.

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