Story originally printed in the Winona Daily News or online at www.winonadailynews.com
Published - Sunday, September 08, 2002
County Board offers three three-way races
Four of the five county commissioner seats on the Winona County Board could change in the fall election.
Three of the five county districts have three candidates each and that will require a primary Tuesday during to narrow the list to two in each district.
In recent years, big issues tackled by the board have included the county courthouse renovation, feedlots, rural addressing and ongoing budget decisions.
One of the big-ticket items the 2003 county board will have to deal with is the question of whether to build a new jail and, if so, for how many prisoners.
In District 2, incumbent Kathryn Buswell is stepping down, and the candidates vying for her seat are: Patrick Brown, Michael Haney and Dwayne Voegeli, all of Winona.
In District 3, incumbent Jerry Heim will be opposed by Charles Meyer of Rollingstone and Ron Wenzel of Minnesota City.
In District 5, incumbent Judy Gilow will face Spencer Madsen of Twin Bluffs and Marcia Ward of Dakota.
DISTRICT 2
Patrick Brown thinks he has an advantage over the other candidates because he comes from the private sector, having worked as a manager for Winona Lighting for 18 years. "I bring experience as the manager of a local business," Brown said. "I've balanced budgets, made tough choices to keep expenses down."
He points out at least one of his two competitors doesn't have experience dealing with budgets.
Brown, 38, doesn't think the members of the past county board have done a poor job. He is running because he thinks he can do a good job.
Brown is married and has a 14-month old son.
Michael Haney believes citizens should hold the county board accountable for its decisions. "I want to be the accountable commissioner," he said at a recent public forum. Haney is regional manager for Job Service for Southern Minnesota. He is married with four children. His experience gives him knowledge of public sector budgets, staffing and bargaining, he said.
He applauds the board for establishing a budget committee to monitor and manage the public dollars. He is willing to explore new jail options, including a regional jail, and is in favor of charging criminals for room and board. "There shouldn't be a free ride for the criminals," he said. Citizens should vote on the jail issue, he said.
Haney is a former human rights commissioner and a volunteer Boy Scout leader for 35 years, and has been an officer or board member of a large number of civic and professional groups.
Dwayne Voegeli lists a number of reasons why he is running for office: kids, families, local businesses, family farms, safe water and a wiser use of taxes. "The biggest reason is I want to make a difference. I like people. I want to lend a hand and help out." Voegeli, 35, married with two children, teaches history and economics at Winona Senior High School.
He is concerned about wells being contaminated with nitrates and the large number of child abuse cases. He would favor higher taxes to solve such problems. "It's cheaper to build fences at the top of a cliff than build hospitals at the bottom of the cliff," he said at a recent forum.
Raised on a dairy farm, Voegeli believes he understands rural issues and favors the county controlling large feed lots.
"I'm energetic and a great listener," Voegeli said. "I seek out people's opinions, a diversity of opinions."
DISTRICT 3
Jerry Heim is completing his third term as a county commissioner. "One of the things they like about me in my district is I get all I can for my district and I always stick up for my district.," Heim said. "I'm strong on health for senior citizens, funding for senior citizens."
A 65-year-old retired farmer, Heim, has 11 children and 22 grandchildren.
Heim says he serves the people to the best of his ability, is always available to them and will run down answers to questions they have. "The number one thing in this county is to get back in the courthouse. Then things will level off," he said.
A member of the road and bridge committee, he says the biggest problem he has seen this year is that roads are being resurfaced that didn't need it and "the roads that should have been done aren't getting done."
Charles Meyer says he has had a rewarding life and he wants to "give back"; that's why he's running. Meyer, 68, a dairyman his whole life, says his business background will help him in office. "I know how to handle money and what to do when money is short," he said.
Meyer lost to Heim in the last election and says, because he's sometimes disappointed by Heim's performance in office, he has chosen to run again. Married, with five children and 13 grandchildren, Meyer serves on the Winona County Planning Commission and Feedlot Study Committee. He owns and operates Quarry Hill Compost. He has also served on various civic and church boards and is past president of his Lions Club.
"I think the jail is going to be an issue, the biggest in my mind," he said.
Ron Wenzel says he is going to bring his business background to the job of county commissioner while his opponents come from farm backgrounds. Wenzel, 58, married with two sons, co-founded Riverside Electronic of Rushford and Lewiston and until recently was employed as a manager for Omni Engineering.
"We've got the jail to think about very soon," Wenzel said, and a big issue in his mind is to keep the taxes down; to keep a watchful eye on the county budget. He is shooting for tax stabilization, he said. "I'm going to be a watchdog."
"Winona County is a very dynamic community," he said. "Economic diversity is what we have." And that is what he wants to maintain.
Wenzel has been on the board of directors of Minnesota State College-Southeast Technical and Winona ORC Industries.
DISTRICT 5
Judy Gilow has served eight years as a commissioner because she wants "to make a difference," she said. "There are so many issues. It takes someone with a strong voice to get people to work together to solve problems."
Gilow, 56, who has six children and eight grandchildren, and operates a paint contracting company with her husband, lives on a 160-acre farm and laughs at comments saying she is in favor of factory farms. She supports all farming here and sees a need to keep a balance of livestock and row crops. She initiated the Feedlot Study Committee, she said, and supported its recommendations.
Gilow also helped establish the Rural Addressing Committee, the Solid Waste Committee and the Winona Area Joint Coordinating Committee which later became PHASED.
"I believe I have the experience and leadership qualities to move Winona County forward. When elected, you need a vision for the future years," she said.
Spencer Madsen, 35, is married, lives near Twin Bluffs and teaches English at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. The feedlot issue is what first attracted him to seeking county office. "I first realized that the county was getting out of the livestock-regulating business," he said. People who opposed factory farms weren't being given a voice, he said.
He comes to the campaign with a goal of "protecting the environment" and "giving people access to government." He sees his role as opening dialogues and providing access. "My time in office will be driven completely by the people's will," he said.
He has created a Web site, www.winonacounty.org, that offers information about his campaign and demonstrates how a county Web site could help county residents access information.
Marcia Ward raises 100 ewes in rural Dakota and is the mother of four. She became interested in county government over the issue of 4-H funding. A lifelong 4-H participant and leader, Ward (and "a lot of people") were upset that the county board did not immediately fund a 4-H position when requested. "If we can't control things on the local level, how can we expect them at the state and federal level?"
With her husband, she is the past owner-operator of Tasca Ward Tire and Honda in La Crosse. She sees budget issues looming on the horizon with additional cuts to state funding in the offing. She dislikes increases in property taxes and thinks all taxes should be identified on tax bills. She feels there is a "lot of lack of confidence" in the current board in how it handled courthouse funding.
Ward serves on the Site Based Team at Winona Senior High School, the District Athletic Advisory Committee and is president of the Winona Booster Club.
Contact Reporter David Krotz at dkrotz@winonadailynews.com or call 507 453-3524.
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