Before you go out to vote this coming Tuesday (you are, aren’t you?) you either already know what the issues are or you are a little fuzzy about them. This primary election is about fundamentals. You have one of the clearest choices ever.
Choice #1: You can vote for the incumbents and accept how the Mount Pleasant Village Hall has been managed over the last few years by voting for those already holding their Trustee positions. Ummmm, bad choice.
Choice #2: You can vote to oust the current incumbents. Take a minute to read why:
For a number of years a number of current trustees have been making decisions in secret.
Here is a good example: The good old boy network headed by ex President Gleason brought in his old Racine Police partner Kurt Wahlen to be the Village Administrator without even posting the position and checking out potential candidates. Some of the trustees, weren’t even notified of this ahead of time by Mr. Gleason. They held a “closed session” and out of that came the new Village Administrator. They may claim that this “closed session” was legal but since when do you hire someone without first posting the position being available in public for all to see? A total lack of transparency occurred.
Then the Highway V fiasco. Since when does one municipality charge its citizens for development in a totally different municipality? That is the core issue before those who live currently on Highway V. It is quite understandable that development occur. But why is the Village of Mount Pleasant looking at assessing those who live on Highway V just so the Village of Caledonia can get water and sewer for its development? And the range of that cost goes from tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars. I’m not kidding. The current makeup of the board has been extremely tight lipped about this subject. Currently only Gary Feest and President Jerry Garski have understood this precedent is wrong. The other trustees, including the current incumbents aren’t talking at all. This is a major issue in this primary race for trustees in Mount Pleasant.
Public safety is another big issue. How long it takes for a fire truck or ambulance to reach your house is a huge deal. If you live on the Southeast side or the Northeast side of Mount Pleasant, good luck to you if you have a fire or have a heart attack. Those of you on the Northeast side near 31 and 38 will be “served” by a fire station in Franksville. WHAT? And those of you who live near Lake Michigan on the South side will be “served” from a fire station at Old Green Bay Road. Common sense says they won’t reach you in time (4 minutes) if you have a heart attack. I think we can do much better. They argue that it would cost millions of dollars for a new Fire Station. Well, we have 26,000 households in Mount Pleasant. A million bucks divided by 26,000 is $38.40 per household. Tell me who would say no to that. Even if the cost were $3 million we are talking only $115. What is your life worth? The current “MAJORITY” of Trustees are doing nothing to fix this problem. I guess they feel your life isn’t worth protecting.
So, your choice is to either stay at home, vote for the incumbents or you can vote to protect the Village of Mount Pleasant. I plead with you to NOT vote for Anna Marie Clausen or Rick McCluskey. They are a huge part of the problem and certainly not part of the solution. In my opinion, I can assure you if they win the primary and the general election, they will make decisions that will hurt you. The Highway V folks already know this. Remember, if they can do this to Highway V residents, they can do it to you.
Vote for 2 in the race for Trustee Seat #2: Terri Isaacson, Ken Otwaska, Don Schulz as well as Jon Hansen and John Martini for Trustee Seat #6. Your peace of mind will be rewarded.
This opinion by Rees Roberts.