South Side to Elect New County Supervisor
On Feb. 15, Bay View and near South Side voters will decide which of three candidates will advance to the April 5 general election for District 14 County Supervisor. The three candidates are salesman Gregory Dickenson, community activist Jason Haas and business owner Steven Kraeger.
“I feel that this area has previously had good representation and I feel that we need to continue that,” Dickenson said. “I want to be able to serve the people around me with honest, effective and responsive representation.”
His top issues are the parks, transportation and seniors’ issues.
“I don’t support selling the parks, but I would be open-minded to public-private partnerships, vendors in the parks,” Dickenson said.
He supports taking the parks and mass transit off of the property tax rolls, an idea that county voters approved in a November 2008 advisory referendum. But he didn’t think that the state Legislature would approve the change.
“In the meantime we need to be smart with our limited resources,” Dickenson said. “We have to make sure we’re being as efficient as possible with our facilities and our resources.”
Dickenson said he would only support an increase in the sales tax if it directly resulted in a decrease in the property tax.
“I would love to see dedicated funding for mass transit,” Dickenson said. “I only support the sales tax increase if there’s a corresponding property tax decrease. It’s a two-way street. I would like to have discussions with other entities over a regional transit authority, but that’s not on the table right now.”
He said he wants the airport to stay under county control.
Dickenson also said he wants to preserve programs for seniors, such as meal sites and keeping the Milwaukee County Transit System and Transit Plus affordable for seniors and the disabled.
To learn more about Gregory Dickenson, go to greg4countyboard.blogspot.com.
Jason Haas, a community activist and stay-at-home father, said he is running for the county board to continue the sort of active leadership demonstrated by its most recent supervisor, Chris Larson.
Clean parks, better transit and economic development top his list of issues.
He said that preserving the parks, especially those in the 14th District, will help promote community safety and involvement.
“If we let the parks slide, if they become fallow or are not maintained, then people don’t use them and the neighborhood around the parks suffers,” Haas said.
He said he supports increasing the sales tax to support the county’s parks, transit system and other assets.
“I’m not at all optimistic that we are going to get it in the next two or four years, given the current state Legislature and the new governor,” Haas said. “But we have to try. Without that we are going to face even more difficult choices.”
In the meantime, Haas said bus ridership could increase if one-way fares were lowered from $2.25 to $2, or if one-way fares were greatly reduced but free transfers were eliminated.
“If we lower it far enough, even to a dollar, I think we could see a surge in people riding,” Haas said. “I haven’t seen the figures on whether it would be feasible, but it’s an idea we need to explore.”
Haas said he would like to increase urban redevelopment, especially of the county-owned Park East land. He said that more urban agriculture could be established in the district, just as it has thrived at Sweet Water Organics in the north side of Bay View. He also supports the aerotropolis proposal, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation to improve the airport and the businesses around it. He said that broadening the tax base through business growth would reduce property taxes for homeowners.
To learn more about Jason Haas, go to www.haasformilwaukee.com.
Mimicking Gov. Scott Walker’s slogan, Kraeger said that he wants Milwaukee County to be open for business.
“It would be a shame if Wisconsin is open for business and Milwaukee County is not,” Kraeger said.
Kraeger’s top issues are balancing the county budget, the Hoan Bridge and constituent services.
Kraeger said that the county budget isn’t being adequately audited right now and that he would “audit, audit, audit” the budget if he is elected.
“You can’t throw money at it without an audit,” Kraeger said. “Without taking [the budget] apart, you don’t have any ideas for cutting.”
He said that he didn’t have any suggestions for reducing the budget without doing a line-by-line audit.
Kraeger said that although the Hoan Bridge is not owned or operated by the county, he would like to see county officials push to have the bridge repaired so that it doesn’t collapse, as it did in the 1990s. He said the bridge is far more dangerous than drivers realize and that he doesn’t trust the state’s promise to fully redeck the Hoan this year.
“I’m not holding my breath,” he said.
Kraeger said he is “absolutely against” raising the sales tax to pay for county services, even with a corresponding decrease in the property tax, since it would encourage people to shop in other counties.
“I can’t imagine Walker breaking his campaign promise and approving it,” Kraeger said.
He said the county could raise revenue by making the county “open for business.”
“If you increase sales, revenue goes up even without a sales tax increase,” Kraeger said.
To learn more about Steven Kraeger, go to www.milwaukeesupervisor-stevenkraeger.com.
http://www.expressmilwaukee.com/article-13752-south-side-to-elect-new-county-supervisor.html
Gregory Dickenson
Gregory Dickenson, a former intern for Ald. Bob Donovan who’s currently working as an appliance salesman, said he decided to run for the county board to maintain the quality services expected by county residents. “I feel that this area has previously had good representation and I feel that we need to continue that,” Dickenson said. “I want to be able to serve the people around me with honest, effective and responsive representation.”
His top issues are the parks, transportation and seniors’ issues.
“I don’t support selling the parks, but I would be open-minded to public-private partnerships, vendors in the parks,” Dickenson said.
He supports taking the parks and mass transit off of the property tax rolls, an idea that county voters approved in a November 2008 advisory referendum. But he didn’t think that the state Legislature would approve the change.
“In the meantime we need to be smart with our limited resources,” Dickenson said. “We have to make sure we’re being as efficient as possible with our facilities and our resources.”
Dickenson said he would only support an increase in the sales tax if it directly resulted in a decrease in the property tax.
“I would love to see dedicated funding for mass transit,” Dickenson said. “I only support the sales tax increase if there’s a corresponding property tax decrease. It’s a two-way street. I would like to have discussions with other entities over a regional transit authority, but that’s not on the table right now.”
He said he wants the airport to stay under county control.
Dickenson also said he wants to preserve programs for seniors, such as meal sites and keeping the Milwaukee County Transit System and Transit Plus affordable for seniors and the disabled.
To learn more about Gregory Dickenson, go to greg4countyboard.blogspot.com.
Jason Haas
Clean parks, better transit and economic development top his list of issues.
He said that preserving the parks, especially those in the 14th District, will help promote community safety and involvement.
“If we let the parks slide, if they become fallow or are not maintained, then people don’t use them and the neighborhood around the parks suffers,” Haas said.
He said he supports increasing the sales tax to support the county’s parks, transit system and other assets.
“I’m not at all optimistic that we are going to get it in the next two or four years, given the current state Legislature and the new governor,” Haas said. “But we have to try. Without that we are going to face even more difficult choices.”
In the meantime, Haas said bus ridership could increase if one-way fares were lowered from $2.25 to $2, or if one-way fares were greatly reduced but free transfers were eliminated.
“If we lower it far enough, even to a dollar, I think we could see a surge in people riding,” Haas said. “I haven’t seen the figures on whether it would be feasible, but it’s an idea we need to explore.”
Haas said he would like to increase urban redevelopment, especially of the county-owned Park East land. He said that more urban agriculture could be established in the district, just as it has thrived at Sweet Water Organics in the north side of Bay View. He also supports the aerotropolis proposal, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation to improve the airport and the businesses around it. He said that broadening the tax base through business growth would reduce property taxes for homeowners.
To learn more about Jason Haas, go to www.haasformilwaukee.com.
Steven Kraeger
Steven Kraeger owns a trucking business and specializes in road building and sewers, but he said he would sell his business if he is elected. He has run for state Assembly, the county Board of Supervisors and Milwaukee Common Council in the past, but has never been elected. Mimicking Gov. Scott Walker’s slogan, Kraeger said that he wants Milwaukee County to be open for business.
“It would be a shame if Wisconsin is open for business and Milwaukee County is not,” Kraeger said.
Kraeger’s top issues are balancing the county budget, the Hoan Bridge and constituent services.
Kraeger said that the county budget isn’t being adequately audited right now and that he would “audit, audit, audit” the budget if he is elected.
“You can’t throw money at it without an audit,” Kraeger said. “Without taking [the budget] apart, you don’t have any ideas for cutting.”
He said that he didn’t have any suggestions for reducing the budget without doing a line-by-line audit.
Kraeger said that although the Hoan Bridge is not owned or operated by the county, he would like to see county officials push to have the bridge repaired so that it doesn’t collapse, as it did in the 1990s. He said the bridge is far more dangerous than drivers realize and that he doesn’t trust the state’s promise to fully redeck the Hoan this year.
“I’m not holding my breath,” he said.
Kraeger said he is “absolutely against” raising the sales tax to pay for county services, even with a corresponding decrease in the property tax, since it would encourage people to shop in other counties.
“I can’t imagine Walker breaking his campaign promise and approving it,” Kraeger said.
He said the county could raise revenue by making the county “open for business.”
“If you increase sales, revenue goes up even without a sales tax increase,” Kraeger said.
To learn more about Steven Kraeger, go to www.milwaukeesupervisor-stevenkraeger.com.
http://www.expressmilwaukee.com/article-13752-south-side-to-elect-new-county-supervisor.html
Three vie for Chris Larson's seat on Milwaukee County Board
By Georgia Pabst of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
January 30, 2011
Parks, transportation and the county's finances are the key issues facing the 14th District on Milwaukee's south side, say the three candidates running to fill the remaining year of former Supervisor Chris Larson's County Board seat.
Two of the candidates - Jason Haas and Steven Kraeger - are making their second bid for this office. Both ran against Larson in 2008.
The third candidate, Gregory Dickenson, is making his first run for public office.
The seat opened when Larson won his race for state Senate in November.
The two top vote-getters in the Feb. 15 primary will face off in the April 5 general election.
Haas describes himself as a liberal. Kraeger said he considers himself a conservative alternative, while Dickenson says he's a centrist or independent.
"We have to be smart in how we use increasingly limited resources with increased efficiencies and looking to alternative sources of revenue," said Dickenson. He favors a 1-cent sales tax increase that won voter approval in an advisory referendum in 2008. That measure called for raising money to fund parks, transit, emergency medical services and property tax relief.
He said he's not sure county government needs to be eliminated or drastically reduced as some have suggested. But he does believe that the county could explore more efficiencies, such as better coordination of plowing roads with the City of Milwaukee and the suburbs. Highway maintenance, law enforcement and the joint purchases of supplies and goods with other governments might be other avenues to consider, he said.
Dickenson opposes selling any parkland and supports adequate funding for bus service, which many in his district rely on.
Haas said he believes county government is facing "a moment of reckoning."
"Parks, the transit system and social services could be cut to the point where the lives of many are adversely affected," unless adequate funding can be found, he said.
He favors dedicated funding for the parks and transit. That could include more public private partnerships, especially for the parks, he said, adding he's against selling parkland to raise revenue.
Haas said he's interested in modifying the structure of county government by looking for ways to merge some services with municipalities.
Kraeger said, "We have to emphasize there are only so many dollars out there, and in the next budget we will get even less aid from the state and federal government, so we will have to make the dollars stretch. We have to change the way we are spending our money."
One of the most important issues in his district, he said, is rebuilding the Hoan Bridge, a main artery from the district to downtown. He believes the bridge needs to be rebuilt, not replaced.
The project should be done in a way that keeps the bridge open during the work, he said.
The bus system is "part of the economic engine in Milwaukee County" that is critical to many in the district for jobs and shopping, Kraeger said. He would like to limit cuts in that area.
He would like to see the county lure more business and manufacturing to the area.
The parks will have to use the dollars that are available, Kraeger said. In some cases, he said, some very small parcels of parkland might need to be sold to generate money.
In addition to running for the County Board in 2008 and 2004, Kraeger has unsuccessfully run for the Common Council and for the Assembly.
The district includes Wilson Park, Humboldt Park and Mitchell International Airport.
Gregory Dickenson
- Age: 24 Address; time in district: 3218 S. Taylor Ave.; lifelong resident.
- Occupation: Appliance salesman.
- Elective offices: None.
- Other government experience: None.
- Education: Bachelor's degree from Wisconsin Lutheran College.
- Family: Single.
Jason Haas
- Age: 35 Address; time in district: 3422 S. Pennsylvania Ave.; five years.
- Occupation: Stay-at-home dad.
- Elective offices: None.
- Other government experience: None.
- Education: Bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
- Family: Married, two children.
Steven Kraeger
- Age: 53 Address; time in district: 4975 S. 15th Place; 28 years.
- Occupation: Owner Steven Kraeger Trucking Co.
- Elective offices: None.
- Other government experience: None.
- Education: Cudahy High School graduate.
- Family: Single.
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Special election set for Larson's Milwaukee County Board seat
The Milwaukee County Board seat being vacated by Supervisor Christopher Larson will be filled in a special election coinciding with the April 5 spring election, under an executive order issued Monday by outgoing County Executive Scott Walker, the governor-elect.
Larson, who won a state Senate seat in the November election, resigned Monday from the board, where he was in his first term representing the 14th District on Milwaukee’s south side.
Two potential candidates have registered for Larson’s seat: Jason Haas, a stay-at-home father and community garden organizer, and Gregory Dickinson, an appliance salesman.
Candidates can start circulating nomination papers immediately, with a deadline of Jan. 11. If more than two candidates gather enough signatures to win a place on the ballot, a primary will be held on Feb. 15, the same day as the regular primary.
Last week, Supervisor Elizabeth Coggs also stepped down from the board, following her election to the Assembly. Walker has called a special election to fill her seat on the same schedule.
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/112507889.html
5 seeking county executive, supervisor posts
Five candidates have launched bids for the soon-to-be vacant Milwaukee County executive post and two county supervisor slots.
The county executive hopefuls are Renae E. Carlson, a lay minister and partner in a local heating and cooling firm, and real estate broker Kenneth Kraucunas. The executive post will open up with the resignation of County Executive Scott Walker, who will be sworn in as governor Jan 3.
Carlson, 48, of West Allis, is a first-time candidate. She said she was motivated to run based on her concern for patients at the Mental Health Complex and abused children. She preaches on a local cable TV program.
Kraucunas has explored bids for several local offices and mounted an unsuccessful recall campaign in 2002 against John Norquist, the Milwaukee mayor at that time.
Several current and past local and state office holders have expressed interest in a possible run for county executive, including former Democratic state Rep. Sheldon Wasserman; Republican Rep. Jeff Stone of Greendale; County Clerk Joe Czarnezki; County Treasurer Daniel Diliberti; County Supervisors Marina Dimitrijevic and Johnny Thomas; County Board Chairman Lee Holloway; and former County Executive Tom Ament.
Two upcoming vacancies on the County Board spawned three hopefuls.
Eyon Biddle, deputy political director for the state council of Service Employees International Union, is aiming to succeed Supervisor Elizabeth M. Coggs to represent a portion of Milwaukee's north side on the County Board. Coggs was elected to the state Assembly.
Jason Haas and Gregory Dickenson declared themselves as candidates to succeed Supervisor Christopher Larson, who represents a portion of the city's south side on the board. Larson was elected to the state Senate.
Haas, 35, is a stay-at-home dad and community garden organizer. Key interests for him are maintaining and improving county parks and transit, he said. He supports dedicated funding for transit, such as a local sales tax.
Dickenson describes himself as a lifelong resident of the Humboldt Park area in a campaign blog. He says he would "fight to maintain the high quality county services taxpayers expect and deserve," including transit.
All five candidates have filed registration statements with the county Election Commission.
The seats will be up for election this spring.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/111016219.html