))perspectives

EDITOR’S NOTE

A Desirably Unusual Election Season

by DEBRA FITZGERALD debra.fitz@ppulse.com

We’re on the cusp of a Feb. 21 primary election. If you live in Gardner, Gibraltar, Nasewaupee or Sister Bay, you have candidates on your ballot running for local office.

Additionally, every voter in Door County has the statewide Wisconsin Supreme Court justice primary election on their ballot. That race has drawn two right-wing candidates (Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Dorow and former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly) and two left-wing candidates (Dane County Circuit Court Judge Everett Mitchell and Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz). You can find a story with their biographies on our website at doorcountypulse.com, courtesy of The Badger Project, a nonpartisan, citizen-support journalism nonprofit in Wisconsin.

The local elections have called a large and diverse field of candidates to serve. Aft er the primary, eight of Door County’s 19 municipalities will have a choice, some for multiple positions.

The past few years, we’ve seen numerous candidates come out for local school board races. I think we can comfortably speculate that control over pandemic restrictions called many to serve. This year, none of the five school boards have a race, though there are enough candidates to fully seat those boards.

At the municipal level, there are numerous open seats due to resignations or retirements (Sister Bay and Washington) or board members challenging the current board chair (the Town of Forestville, Gibraltar and Sister Bay). In Nasewaupee, there are two open seats because the town went from three board members to five, starting with this year. Perhaps people feel more comfortable running for office if it means they won’t have to challenge an incumbent for the seat.

We have asked all the primary-election candidates why they are running. We ran the Sister Bay and Nasewaupee candidates’ responses last week, and in this week’s paper, you’ll find the responses from the Gardner and Gibraltar candidates. If you’ve missed any of those, you can find them at doorcountypulse.com.

Aft er the primary election, we’ll send questionnaires with more specific questions about candidates’ visions for their towns or villages to all the candidates in all the contested races. If you have questions that are pertinent to your town or village that you’d like us to consider, please email those to debra.fitz@ppulse.com by March 3.

That we have so many candidates and races is as desirable as it is unusual. Does it speak directly to an uptick in the civic and political health of our communities? I believe so. Now all we have to do is uphold our end of the responsibility under a representative democracy by participating with our vote in the Feb. 21 and April 4 elections.

Featured Pet

At the Wisconsin Humane Society Door County Campus bozeman is an adorable, almost-3-month-old puppy who’s available for adoption at the Wisconsin Humane Society (WHS) Door County Campus. This sweet pup has an irresistible face and playful nature. restart the 2022-23 ice-fishing season. Even though some spots still had six to 10 inches of ice earlier this week, warm air and Tuesday’s rain severely weakened any that remained.

Like all dogs at WHS, bozeman (wihumane.org/ adopt/animal?id=51913806) has been neutered, microchipped and vaccinated, and he goes home with a certificate for a free veterinary exam and a starter bag of food.

Please make an appointment today at wihumane. org/adopt to meet bozeman at the WHS Door County Campus in Sturgeon bay.

Huge Sturgeon Speared

A 177-pound lake sturgeon – the seventh-heaviest ever on Lake Winnebago – was speared Tuesday. It was a tenth of an inch shy of 80 inches long and likely in the neighborhood of 100 years old. DNR fisheries staff that examined the prize said it was a mature female that likely had 20-30 pounds of eggs.

The upriver lakes were close to their quota, but rapidly deteriorating ice conditions mean it’s likely that fewer spearers will risk going out, even if the season remains open there. More than likely, the quota will have been reached, but the separate Winnebago season could run longer. The big question is, will it be safe to do so?

This One’s for the Bird(er)s Bird lovers are invited to a Bringing Birds Back conference March 24-25 at UW-Oshkosh. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Partnership, Bird City Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, it’s designed to engage those who are concerned about birds to help reverse bird declines at individual and community levels.

Among the presentation topics will be home landscaping with native plants, reducing bird-window collisions and important bird areas. Find the full agenda and online registration at wsobirds.org/ about-wso/news/1883-you-re-invitedbringing-birds-back-conference.