RACINE — Michael Schrader of Racine has entered the Racine mayor’s race as a write-in candidate in the April 4 Spring Election. He filed Declaration of Candidacy documents with the city clerk’s office last Friday (March 3).
Schrader, 56, of 1636 Chatham St., told the Racine County Eye that he decided to enter the race after viewing a mayoral candidate forum held prior to the February primary election. In that election, the incumbent, Mayor Cory Mason, and Henry Perez, a Racine Common Council member, emerged as the two candidates for mayor on April 4.
“I’m not satisfied with either candidate. They represent the extremes of both sides,” Schrader said.
Schrader, who holds a doctorate in civil engineering and teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, said that equity is “a huge, huge issue” for him.
“The city’s got a lot of issues. The Breakwater (233 Apartments) that everybody’s so excited about, is on contaminated land,” he said. “Those industrial sites should never be used for housing.”
The Breakwater 233 Apartments is a 202-unit, market-rate apartment building being constructed at 233 Lake Ave. The site, which the City of Racine sold to a Madison developer, once held the former Wisconsin Natural Gas Co. office building and facilities that turned coal into heating/lighting gas. The property was put on the market for redevelopment following an environmental cleanup.
Schrader’s second attempt
The write-in campaign is Schrader’s second run for local office. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Racine Common Council 4th District seat in the April 2022 election.
As a write-in candidate, Schrader’s name will not appear on the Spring Election ballot. Voters will be required to write his name on the ballot space for Racine mayor.
The deadline for Spring Election 2023 write-in candidates to file candidacy paperwork with a local clerk’s office is noon on Friday, March 31.
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