Tim Ryan tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
The predominant issues facing the city of Shawano seem to be of common concern to most residents, based on what mayoral candidates say they’re hearing from the public.
Whether the city is on the right track to addressing those concerns or significant changes need to be made in the city’s direction appears to be a hot topic in the mayoral race.
Vacant buildings, attracting new business and creating jobs would seem to be at the forefront of voters’ minds with less than two weeks before they go to the polls in a Feb. 16 primary to choose from a field of six mayoral contenders.
Those contenders are Rich Belongia, Jeanne Cronce, Kasey Hohn, Jim Oberstein, Brian Retzlaff and Sandy Steinke.
Incumbent mayor Lorna Marquardt is not running for another two-year term after 14 years in office.
The candidates will get a chance to state their views at a forum Monday starting at 7 p.m. in the auditorium at Shawano Community High School.
The messages they’ll be bringing will vary based on the feedback the candidates say they are getting from the public.
“They want change,” Oberstein said. “They want new ideas; something different; a new direction. Not the same old thing that’s been going on here for years.”
Filling empty buildings, bringing new stores to Shawano’s downtown and bringing in business that will pay good wages are priorities Oberstein said he is hearing from the city’s residents.
Hohn said there was no specific thing he has heard people want to see changed, but he said people feel change is needed.
“They feel we’re stuck in a rut,” he said.
Hohn said he has gotten a positive response from people who feel the city needs a younger person at the helm who can relate to a younger generation.
Retzlaff said residents he has talked to are saying they want to see some new and fresh ideas from the city, not just from the mayor’s office but from the Common Council as well.
“They feel the city hasn’t been moving forward, that it’s idle,” he said.
Retzlaff said there is a feeling in the community that the city has fallen into a complacent, “happy where we are” mindset.
Belongia said there is a sense from people he has talked to that city government has not responded to the city’s needs, particularly the needs of the business community.
“They want change. They want a whole new direction,” Belongia said.
Belongia conceded that one of the business community’s main concerns — the lack of people applying for open jobs in the city — is not a problem that the city can solve.
“I’d like to see more response on the community’s part,” he said.
However, Belongia said, there is a sense that the city should be doing more to attract new businesses, particularly shopping options for such things as clothing and accessories.
“We’re losing millions of dollars to Green Bay, Appleton and Clintonville for basic necessities,” he said.
Each of the candidates cited filling empty buildings and bringing new business to the city as priorities they’re hearing from the public, but views apparently differ on whether the city’s efforts along those lines have so far been sufficient.
Some feel the city is already doing what it can, according to Cronce.
“I’ve been hearing a lot of positives,” she said. “People feel Shawano is in a good place.”
Cronce said residents are telling her Shawano needs more industrial and business development, but, she said, few people she has talked to are criticizing the steps the city has taken so far to make that development happen.
“There’s not a lot of complaining,” she said. “There’s not a lot of negativity.”
Some candidates are also taking note of what they’re not hearing from the public; including topics that generally might be considered to be standard in a municipal election.
“Nobody has brought up taxes,” Steinke said.
Instead, she said, residents are telling her their priorities are filling empty buildings, encouraging the city’s youth to stay in Shawano, and bringing in new retail business such as clothing and home goods stores.
The candidates will get a chance to expound on these and other issues at Monday’s forum.
Voters in the Feb. 16 preliminary will winnow the field down to the two candidates who will be on the spring election ballot on April 5.