COVER FEATURE

PRIMARY COLORS

VOTERS IN WAUSAU DISTRICTS 1 AND 4 WILL HAVE CHOICES AHEAD OF THE SPRING ELECTION IN APRIL.

Next Tuesday voters in District 1 and

District 4 will have the opportunity to narrow pools of candidates down to two contenders who will face off in April. While April’s elections will have a ton of contested races, including nearly half the county board seats, there are comparatively few primaries. Th ree candidates vie for District 1, which covers the southeast side neighborhood by the Wausau airport. Th e seat is currently held by Pat Peckham, who is not running in April.

Four candidates will compete for District 4 which covers an area north of downtown. Th e seat is held by Tom Neal, who announced last year he wouldn’t be running in April. Th e candidates represent a wide range of ages, backgrounds and ideas. None of them have served on city council or spent much time in the public eye before this election, though some have experience with municipal government.

District 1 ___________________ Carol Lukens

Carol Lukens is a 57-year-old charter school teacher in the Wausau School District, teaching children grades 6-12, but mostly high school students, she tells City Pages. She’s also worked as a paralegal/legal assistant, working with buyers/mortgagees, real estate agents, sellers, creditors, county and city departments in the course of her work.

Lukens says she’s running for offi ce because she believes strongly in the importance of local government. It’s something she tells her students, and believes in “walking the walk.” She believes a variety of voices is important in a society. “A society can’t exist if we’re all thinking the same thing,” Lukens says.

Lukens says she likes that the city has formed an affordable housing task force and that it’s focusing on public transportation because both issues are something she sees fi rsthand as a teacher. She likes the positivity of the current mayor, though is quick to add that’s not a diss on past mayors.

Lukens says she is hesitant to be too critical of the current council, since things are usually more complex than they seem on the surface and since she has served on school governance and watched a lot of school, city and county meetings; But she says she really wants to focus on aff ordable housing, transportation and employment.

Lukens says she worked with Peckham as a teacher when he was at City Pages, and heard good things about his responsiveness to residents. She hopes to fulfi ll her role similarly if elected, and feels she would bring a diff erent professional background to the council. Th at experience in the public and private sector, plus a willingness to listen, is why she believes voters should choose her in the primary.

LUKENS

John Kroll

Kroll is a 38-year-old energy auditor, helping residents become more energy effi cient. Kroll and his wife came to Wausau from the Twin Cities to move closer to family. Kroll says one of the appeals of Wausau was that it would aff ord more opportunities to become involved in the community, and running for city council is one such example.

Kroll currently serves as the chair of the Sustainability, Energy and Environment Committee, and a resident member of the Citizens Advisory Committee. He’s looking to take his involvement to the next level in running for council.

Kroll is very much in favor of the city adopting a strategic plan, something the city is currently undergoing at the behest of Mayor Katie Rosenberg. Kroll had some involvement in the environmental justice resolution that was pushed by Ald. Tom Kilian. Aff ordable housing is also a very important issue to Kroll.

Kroll says one of the issues he sees is communication — he’d like to see better communications channels between the council, the mayor and residents. Kroll says better communication would be something he’d bring to the table as District 1 alderman. Although Peckham was always available and a good representative, Kroll says, feedback he’s heard is that information wasn’t made as readily available as some residents would like. He’d like to improve that.

Kroll says sustainability is really important to him, and something that is a major part of his vision. He brings the perspective of a young father, something that sets him apart from the other candidates and makes him a representative of the demographic Wausau is trying to lure back to the city. He cites his experience with city staff and representatives, and experience serving on city committees, as reasons to vote for him.

KROLL

William Bublitz

Bublitz is a 67-year-old retired resident who worked jobs as diverse as working in a foundry, a printing factory, in restaurant management and for a phone company. He’s lived on the SouthEast Side for fi ve years, and in Wausau since 2007.

Bublitz’s main concern is aff ordable housing, and he feels the city has done a lot for high-end apartments to bring in workers in that pay range (but feels the city hasn’t done enough to bring in the appropriate jobs to that level); but he feels not enough has been done in affordable housing.

He also feels strongly about sidewalk maintenance and safety. He cites issues with the crosswalks available to cross Sturgeon Eddy, especially for those in wheelchairs. He says there aren’t enough city workers to keep the sidewalks clear, and not enough bus drivers; he’d like to take a serious look at the city’s employment levels and recruitment tactics.

He likes that the city started the aff ordable housing task force and that it passed the A Community for All resolution.

Bublitz also says he’d like to see more things for young people to do in Wausau. He mentions getting a movie theater back or holding dances. He cites the video game arcades of his youth as an example of having a place for young people.

Bublitz says he wants to be an active force on the council, and cites his love of Wausau more than his hometown of Fort Atkinson. He feels he can put more time into the job than other candidates since he’s retired. He says he would like to get back to common sense, which he says is greatly missing. (We have did not receive a headshot from Bublitz.)

District 4 ___________________ Doug Diny

Doug Diny is a 60-year-old industrial salesperson. He’s lived in District 4 and Wausau for 22 years. Diny has been something of a regular on the city council scene since around 2016, attending meetings and sometimes speaking at them. “I got more involved when I saw the $4.1 million the city was going to give to CBL,” Diny told City Pages, referring to a deal with the former mall owner and its plans to use the funds to move Younkers from one wing to another to free up the building HOM resides in now. Diny felt the city has had troubles with how it handles economic development, citing Riverlife and its dealings with Mike Frantz as another example.

Diny liked that the city is taking a proactive approach to aff ordable housing, citing Mayor Katie Rosenberg’s initiative to create the aff ordable housing task force. Diny himself lives in the East High Apartments; its owners recently announced that it would be cutting its subsidized housing stock.

Diny’s biggest critique of the city is its transit system, something the city recently hired a consultant to study and make recommendation for improvement. He also cites staffi ng shortages, especially in police and fi re (as well as transit) as a major issue.

Diny said he often disagreed with Neal, who isn’t running in April, especially on economic development issues; but always thought he listened and was respectful. “He was always respectful, even when I would zing him with rough emails,” Diny says.

Diny cites his business and military experience, his 22 years in the district and his knowledge of city government from attending so many meetings in suggesting voters choose him.

DINY

Jesse Kearns

Kearns is a 42-year-old inside sales rep for Heartland Business Systems of Little Chute, a technology company with Wausau offi ces. Kearns was born in Wausau, and lived in Wausau at various points in his life between stints in La Crosse, Maui and Madison. Th e Community for All discussion sparked

Kearns’ interest in local politics, and he started attending meetings to find out more. “It was interesting to me that some of the constituents would be against the ideal being put out there,” Kearns told City Pages. But Kearns says he was impressed with the civil, well-thought out discussion on the council about it.

Kearns, who told City Pages he has known council member Tom Kilian all his life and appreciates his and the city’s efforts toward diversity and inclusion. That hasn’t been part of Wausau’s long-term history, he says.

Kearns says one of the focuses he would like to see on the council is employment opportunities, which he says is lacking. Focusing on employment more in the development process would be an important step. “It’s about more opportunities to the people of Wausau, rather than just a business owner,” Kearns says.

Rent prices were something that shocked Kearns when he moved back to Wausau from Madison — that it was similar was quite a surprise. Like Diny, Kearns says focusing on affordable housing should be a priority.

Kearns told City Pages he thought Neal, who currently holds the District 4 seat, was always respectful but sometimes a little too reserved. Kearns says that he would take more measured risk; for example, he cited the A Community for All resolution as something the city was a little too tentative on.

Kearns says voters should choose him because while his opponents might be more bound to continue with what is currently acceptable and stay in the box, he’s more likely to take some risks and try new things. “Let’s put everything on the table and have a discussion.”

Vada Perkins

Perkins, 50, spent most of his time in the army and public health, is the executive director of regulatory policy and innovation at Bayer Pharmaceuticals. He’s lived in Wausau since 2016, and District 4 since 2017. After retiring from the Army, his wife was from Wausau so they decided to move here. Perkins says he’s running because he wants to help shape the city’s priorities and take what he’s seen work in other cities he’s lived in and apply it here.

Perkins says he feels the council has largely tried to do what is best for the city, even when things have gotten a little contentious lately. The dialogue and discussion is good.

But, there is a lot a city can do and only so much in resources, Perkins says. He wants to see the city focus on things such as keeping taxes low to not drive residents to other communities, focusing on keeping families in Wausau and focusing on the long-term picture — not just 2-3 years but more like 20-30 years. Perkins says national and international businesses were built here, and the city should focus on helping make that a reality again. “This place is Silicon Valley before Silicon Valley,” Perkins told City Pages. Transparency and engaging with the public is very important to him. He’d like to see more fiscal responsibility in city finances.

Perkins says his background and experience set him apart from Neal, and he feels it’s very important to acclimate to the community. Perkins joined a curling club here as part of that effort.

Perkins says he’s not necessarily a better candidate than the other three, but feels he’s the right candidate for the job. He cites his focus on fiscal responsibility, focusing on families and encouraging entrepreneurship.

PERKINS

Kathryne Tracey

Tracey, 34, is a former lawyer turned yoga instructor. Tracey and her husband moved to Wausau and District 4 from London two years ago, and she currently teaches yoga at the YMCA. She grew up in suburbs in Milwaukee but liked the idea of having a small-town feel, TRACEY living near downtown and being able to walk to nightlife. She’s running because she wants to help the downtown maintain its vibrancy.

Tracey says the city has done a good job being supportive and attracting new businesses, and making sure the RiverLife area is supported. She feels Neal, the current officeholder not running this term, did a good job listening to residents and helping them address their concerns.

As for things to improve, she’d like to see the city avoiding things that get headlines for the wrong reasons, and following common sense as opposed to letting things get mixed up with personal agendas.

As someone newer to the community and the youngest of the four running, she feels she would bring a fresh perspective. She wants to maintain a progressive view on business (not politically but in terms of being forwardthinking) and focus on bringing big-city amenities to Wausau.

Tracey cites her strengths in negotiation from her law background, and feels she will be good at helping people of different backgrounds and perspectives work together. Tracey told City Pages that she’s an open book and is always happy to listen to residents’ concerns and issues.