Kronenwetter has nine candidates aiming for three village board seats
Kronenwetter has nine candidates aiming for three village board seats
And one drops out of the county board race
This year, Kronenwetter is seeing an historical election — the most candidates ever to run for village board since the village has been in existence.
Nine candidates filed to run for only three seats. That sparked a primary election Feb. 20 in which voters will select six of those candidates to move on to the April 2 election.
In the race we see three incumbents, along with some candidates who had been on the board previously who are running again.
Kronenwetter has been an interesting place lately. The village staff, which had been relatively stable for a long time, suddenly in the period of 2020-2022 experienced an exodus with staff positions turning over multiple times within a short period. Many of those employees went to other municipalities and have been there for some time now.
The Wausonian investigated that situation in our multi-part series Big Trouble in Little Kronenwetter.
The village spent a year and a half trying to find a new administrator, and had multiple candidates fall through until elevating its public works director to the position. And most recently, one of its board members, Ken Charneski, filed a lawsuit against current and former staff.
Seven of the nine candidates responded to our survey (and only six provided headshots). I’ve listed them in the order The Wausonian received them. An (I) indicates they’re an incumbent, meaning they are running for re-election.
There is also a primary that will appear on the ballot, but like the District 4 City Council race, one of them dropped out after the ballots were printed, and no longer considers himself a candidate. More on that below.
Kim Tapper
Age: Did not respond
Occupation: I am a retired citizen in Kronenwetter.
What prompted you to run?: I am running for office to promote business growth in our village and create a lower tax rate on the citizens.
What do you see as Kronenwetter’s biggest challenge?: Kronenwetter’s biggest challenge, in my view, is to make better decisions for the taxpayers in this village.
What do you see the role of a board member to be?: Board members need to respect the village employees, committee members and chairs and the voices of the people in this community. I would like to ask the citizens of the village to please attend meetings and let your voices be heard. The board needs to know what the residents of the village would like to see or expect in their village.
Ryan Leff
Age: 32
Occupation (or principal occupation if retired): Purchasing and Materials Manager
What prompted you to run?: In the 6 years that my family has lived in the village my wife and I have both played active roles in the village through our committee involvement. Over the years I have watched current trustees push their personal agendas and use village resources to their own benefit. I hope to get the opportunity to represent our community and be a voice that’s interests are truly for the betterment of the community.
What are the biggest challenges Kronenwetter faces right now? What will be your top priorities?: The biggest challenge Kronenwetter recently had was the lack of a village administrator. Now that that seat is filled I think we can make some progress forward on numerous projects and strategic initiatives.
Some of these include maintaining current tax rates, water rate increases, infrastructure and also listening to members of our village.
What do you see the role of a board member to be? How should that board member interact with the public and with village staff?: A trustee should play a supportive role in being a voice for the people and a leader for village staff. Village staff deserve to be treated as professionals with respect. The current treatment towards village staff by some trustees has been unprofessional at the least. I want village staff to feel they have my support and we can work together collectively.
Sean Dumais (I)
Age: 47
Occupation: Business owner
What prompted you to run again?: I am asking for the privilege of serving the Village for another term because I believe I can still continue to bring a willingness to serve and an ability to remain focused on the community and not the noise created by personal infighting, political positioning, or negative media attention.
What is the biggest challenge Kronenwetter faces?: In my opinion the biggest challenge the Village faces is overcoming the poor state our Village is in both from an infrastructure and growth standpoint as well as a respectable employer standpoint all due to a long history of weak, ineffective, politically motivated leadership with no forward thinking or accountability that has put personal positioning and popularity ahead of the Villages best interest. My top priorities are to continue to push for accountability and making decisions that benefit the Village as a whole.
What should be the role of a village trustee?: The role of a trustee is 1) making well thought through and researched decisions to make votes that are best for the Village no matter how uncomfortable the topic is or how unpopular the media may portray it 2) Setting the course of the Village so staff have a clearly defined goal to achieve while they steer the Village in that direction 3) to provide a stable and well-planned future vision based on our mission statement.
The second part of your question I am not sure about. It insinuates that there is some alternative way to interact with staff and citizens that is different than anyone else. All people, regardless of what title you choose to place on them, should be treated with dignity and respect. That is a core human value and I believe my time as a trustee has proven that is how I treat everyone.
Aaron Myszka
Age: 38 years old
Occupation: Warehouse Supervisor
What prompted me to run: I am running for my family. I have two little girls ages 3 and 1 and I want them to continue to have a great place to live.
Biggest challenges/ top priorities: I want to ensure all residents have good water and quality sewer conditions. We need to invest responsibly in our infrastructure keeping public safety as the main focus. We need to keep things affordable for all residents while making the necessary improvements, so we don't pay more down the road.
Role of a board member/ interaction with staff: My role as a board member is to help set policy that is best for all residents. I will take pride in my responsibilities and keep an open line of communication, collaborating with other trustees to find and solve all the important issues. The public should be well informed of what business is being conducted and all village staff should be treated with respect. Being a village trustee is a privilege and should bear the highest of ethical standards.
Cindy Lee Buchkowski-Hoffmann
Age: 51
Occupation: Registered Nurse, Healthcare Leadership, Nursing Supervisor, Healthcare field for the past 24 years.
What prompted you to run? Our country as a whole is in decline. I am taking this opportunity to serve locally to bring a fresh set of eyes/ears/values to the board. I will bring a more conservative approach to the table to balance the board. To make great changes you need to start at the local level.
What are the biggest challenges Kronenwetter faces right now? Like other local governments, trying to do more with less is a common theme. I feel the increasing fees for sewer/water services is a challenge.
What will be your top priorities? My priorities will be based on the needs of the village.
What do you see the role of a board member to be? Board members are the conduit of the people who live in the village. They need to actively listen to the people and consider unbiased solutions that serve the needs of the people and the village.
How should that board member interact with the public and with village staff? Keeping open, honest and respectful lines of communication are key in any setting.
Ken Charneski (I)
What prompted you to run, or if you’re an incumbent, run again?: I am a lifelong resident of Kronenwetter, and as a trustee of 6 years so far, I would like to continue to provide my knowledge, effort and abilities for the benefit of Village residents.
What are the biggest challenges Kronenwetter faces right now?: The current course of deficit spending ($700-900,000 more in expenditures than it received in revenue for 2023) seems to be leading the Village toward a financial squeeze that will eventually be reflected in higher property tax bills. Along with that, the 2024 budget has a $400,000+ deficit, built into it to start with. It is obvious to me that this practice of annual deficits cannot be sustained.
When capital projects like road rebuilding come due, and the money is not there for them as it should have been, it will become necessary to borrow for those projects. If you don't like the sewer rate increase, you certainly will not like the tax rate increase caused by new Village debt. My goal is to prevent that from happening.
What will be your top priorities?: To achieve a balanced budget, for starters (see above).
I also have concerns about the current lack of neutrality in Village election practices. We need to maintain public trust in the election process.
I plan to work with the new administrator and other Board members to help get any staff issues straightened out, and to get the organization up and running on all 8 cylinders; hopefully better than ever.
What do you see the role of a board member to be?: First and foremost - to honor the oath of office by doing the job to the best of my ability and impartially. As a practical matter as a trustee, it involves individual fact-finding, research and citizen input, and working with others in an honorable and respectable manner in any interactions, deliberations, or decisions.
How should that board member interact with the public and with village staff?: Respectfully, honestly, without partiality or personal bias, and with tolerance for differences in personality types of others. In other words - by applying the Golden Rule (treating others as you yourself would like to be treated), and all in the public's best interest.
Scott Dauel
Age: 46
Occupation (or principal occupation if retired): Self-employed, Mechanical/Industrial Inspector
What prompted you to run, or if you’re an incumbent, run again?: I want to bring a no drama non-biased voice to the village board. I see great opportunities for our community as far as businesses and families to grow and flourish in our village. I feel as someone that gives back to the community, this is the perfect opportunity to get involved with the village and the community that I love and to serve its citizens and staff with responsibility and respect.
What are the biggest challenges Kronenwetter faces right now? What will be your top priorities?: I see the biggest challenges facing Kronenwetter to be maintaining a low tax rate, and utility challenges related to growth.
I hope to bring a fresh approach to solving problems & challenges for the villagers without their being concern of internal conflict preventing forward progress that we can all benefit from.
My priorities will be public safety, maintaining lower taxes, focusing on utility and infrastructure needs for future demands, planning ahead for village growth for businesses and families to invest in our village, and upgrades to our parks for young families with children to enjoy.
What do you see the role of a board member to be? How should that board member interact with the public and with village staff?: I see the role of the board member to be a direct representation of the public. The board member should interact with the public with dignity and respect, honesty, transparency & clear communication. Listening to the public voices, responding to concerns in a timely manner with resolution is critical to maintaining a good relationship with the public. As for village staff, the same approach should apply, they should be treated with dignity, respect, and given effective open communication from the trustee’s so their hard work and dedication can be successful.
The Wausonian did not hear from the following candidates on the ballot: Joel Straub or Tim Shaw. They were two of the candidates who were on the board when The Wausonian conducted its investigation into why so many senior staff were leaving the village.
Marathon County Board (District 15)
Voters in District 15, which covers a large area of Kronenwetter, technically has a primary with three candidates running for office.
The Wausonian learned last week that one of those candidates, Alex Vedvik, who currently serves on the Kronenwetter Village Board, has chosen not to run after all. But, similar to District 4 on Wausau’s City Council, it’s too late to have his name removed from the ballot because there is a deadline where ballots need to be printed.
So voters in much of Kronenwetter will see three names on the ballot: Incumbent Joel Straub and challengers Randy Fifrick (a former county board member) and Alex Vedvik. But only Fifrick and Straub should be considered candidates as Vedvik told The Wausonian some personal issues arose in his life and he won’t be able to dedicate himself fully to the position.
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