Election could be time for addressing issues

By Jennifer Eisenbart

Editor

With several different controversies over the last year – including a switch in policing contracts and a bungled revaluation process – four candidates have lined up for the Village of Waterford Board race.

Incumbents Don Houston, Ronald Kluth and Jim Schneider are being challenged by Andrew Ewert, a first-time candidate for a Village Board.

The top three vote-getters will end up filling the open positions.

The revaluation by Associated Appraisal, designed to revaluate all properties in the village, was approved by a 4-3 vote in July of 2014, while the switch to the Town of Waterford for police services was voted on last summer.

Andrew Ewert

Age: 44

Occupation: Employed by Follett Higher Education Group, liaison manager with Gateway Technical College.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Iowa.

Political experience: None, but ran unsuccessfully for the Waterford Graded School Board last year.

Organizations: St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Motorcycle Safety Foundation, Milwaukee Croatian Tamburitzans, Croatian Eagles Soccer Club, WE Sports Club, Waterford Area Conservative Continuum, Racine County Republican Party.

Family: wife, Linda, and two daughters.

Calling himself a constitutionalist and a fiscal conservative, Ewert wrote he is seeking a spot on the Village Board in order to keep a diverse range of perspectives.

Like all the candidates, Ewert isn’t happy with the Village of Waterford revaluation process, which Associated Appraisal is still struggling to complete.

“I believe that it shouldn’t have happened, given we’re in a weak/recovering economy,” Ewert said. “I don’t think it benefited anyone.”

Ewert struggled to understand why the Village Board decided to do the revaluation now.

“You should be doing re-appraises with a strong economy, not a weak one,” he said, adding that Associated Appraisal should be held accountable for the problems it caused in the process.

Ewert also felt it was a mistake to switch from the Racine County Sheriff’s Department to the Town of Waterford for police services.

“I thought it was a mistake,” he said. “We’ve had 38 years with the Racine County Sheriff with no problems.”

Ewert is also struggling with the costs associated with a new squad car that will need to be purchased in the next year and dispatching costs.

Don Houston (inc.)

Age: 47

Occupation: Owner/operator of Big Bill’s, auto dealership in Milwaukee.

Education: Greendale High School, plus college classes at University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee

Political experience: Two terms on Village Board

Organizations: Absolutely Waterford Economic Restructuring Committee, Chairman of the Downtown Heritage Committee and member of Public Works Committee.

Family: wife, Joann, with teenager daughter.

Houston was one of the Village Trustees to vote against the village-wide revaluation.

“I didn’t think it was a good idea to begin with,” said Houston, adding that the revaluation was unnecessary and the cost of $70,000 was high.

“Moving forward, we have been working with the contracted company to resolve the mess,” Houston wrote in his written candidate form.

But Houston stands behind the decision to switch from the Racine County Sheriff’s Department to the Town of Waterford police.

“I feel it’s a good thing for Waterford,” Houston said. “To have local police station presence and to work with the town.”

Those objecting, he said, haven’t “done their homework.”

“In the long run, it’ll save quite a bit of money,” he added.

Ronald F. Kluth (inc.)

Age: 67

Occupation: retired firefighter

Education: Associate’s degree in fire tech from Milwaukee Area Technical College, also took law enforcement and other classes.

Political experience: Village trustee for last five years.

Organizations: Member of the Chamber of Commerce, co-founder of All-American River Kazoo Band, founder of the Union House social club, National Eagle Scout Association, girls varsity basketball coach at Brookfield Academy.

Family: wife, Kathy, and two children.

Kluth explained in his candidate biography form that he voted for the revaluation because the state was mandating an upgrade to a digital system – which was coming with the revaluation from Associated Appraisal.

“As you know, Associated Appraisal didn’t do their job in a timely and professional manner,” he said. “I would like to hold them accountable.”

Kluth said the discussion on making a policing switch had been ongoing for years. So far, he added, things have gone well and the first part of the year is so far under budget.

“Everyone who thought we were going to pay more and more and more, we’re not,” Kluth said.

He did say that the most critical issue facing the village is keeping emergency services “top notch.”

“In the last two years, the fire department has been restructured to have a workforce complement around 75 persons and is able to leave the fire station in under two minutes,” he wrote.

He added he felt the village needed to continue to work on maintaining its streets and parks, and to revitalize the downtown area.

Jim Schneider (inc.)

Age: 78

Occupation: retired

Education: Bachelor’s degree and master’s degree, both in business, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.

Political experience: Currently Village Trustee.

Organizations: Citizens for the Preservation of Fox River, member of St. Thomas Aquinas parish.

Family: wife, Joan, two grown sons and two grandchildren.

Schneider stepped up to fill the vacancy created when Stephen Denman abruptly resigned last summer.

Schneider beat out a group of other candidates for the position, which was handled by the board appointing a spot.

Schneider said in his candidate profile the village needs to find ways to encourage both businesses and people to locate to Waterford, and also to deal with a number of infrastructure programs coming down the pike.

“All these and more require that we develop a strategic plan to insure we are making sound, fiscal responsible decisions regarding our future,” Schneider wrote.

Schneider said all the Village Board members have gone on the record to say what happened with the revaluation was flawed.

“That’s what we’re in the process of getting fixed now as we speak,” Schneider said, adding that the president of Associated Appraisal will be coming before the board to “make sure this never happens again.”

As for the police contract, Schneider said all police officers must meet qualifications.

“They should all be equal in qualifications,” said Schneider, adding that there will be more of a local presence.

“We’re going to have a place to go to,” Schneider said. “Economically, we’ll have to see.”

Editor’s note: The Village of Waterford issued a press release last week regarding an error in its candidate profile for Andrew Ewert.

     The corrected profile and the rest of the village’s profiles can be viewed at www.waterfordwi.org.