**Editor’s Note: This is our last story in a series for the Mount Pleasant village trustee candidate election on April 7. We will run the stories again the weekend before the election. Only incumbent Sonny Havn and challenger Drake Miller both returned their surveys. Responses are in the candidates’ own words and have not been edited.
Is the village doing enough to attract and retain companies that offer family-supporting wages? If not, what should be done? If yes, what is being done?
Havn:Â We are doing as much as we can under the circumstances. Companies have a lot of choices as to where to locate with other Villages and Cities willing to offer all types of incentives.
We also offer incentives, however we make sure that they will be paid back through the taxes that the companies pay. Our TIF Districts have been very successful, we want to make sure that growth pays for growth. A big positive is that in the last few years we have turned Mount “UN” Pleasant into Mount Pleasant again. Development friendly with a Board and staff that have a positive attitude. The proof is in the number of companies, big and small, that are locating to, located in and are calling Mount Pleasant home.
Miller: Many long-standing, good paying companies have left Racine county over the years. These were companies that offered long term, reliable employment where employees could consider retiring from with a respectable pension. These days people seem to jump from one job to another, chasing the American dream. Many I believe, never find it. Mt. Pleasant should invest in the residents and bring those kinds of jobs to the village where people can once again find the American dream.
What do you want Mount Pleasant to look like in 10 years?
Havn:Â Continued mix of Farming, Residential, Commercial and Industrial development with orderly growth. Preserving green space and continue to expand our park and recreation system to provide for the quality of life things that keeps companies and our residents in this area.
Mount Pleasant is a great place to call home.
Miller:Â I would like to see more hard working people and good businesses looking to move to Mt. Pleasant rather than looking to move away from it.
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