First Term in Review
On Undertaking a Life of Public Service
I’ll be honest, I didn’t see this future for myself. It actually started with a call to my wife from previous Dane County Board Chair Annaliese Eicher in late December 2021. With about 2-3 weeks to go before Declarations of Candidacy were due, there was no one running for the seat in District 8, a newly created district in the 2020 redistricting process. My wife was not particularly interested in running, but suggested to the Board Chair that her husband, a prior neighborhood association president, might be. I spoke with Annaliese about what I’d be getting into, made a decision about a week before the Declarations were due, and then went out on New Years’ Day (when I knew people would be home) to get my 50 signatures. Unsurprisingly, I ran unopposed. Now, 2 years later, I find myself running for re-election after what (I think) was a modestly successful first term.
Accomplishments
Public Works Committee: On Public Works we have supervision over the built infrastructure of the county - the buildings (jail, airport, and zoo, amongst others), services (for example the landfill and snow removal on non-city roads like the Beltline), and parks. As a member of the committee, I stood up for workers at the Alliant Energy Center, and against mismanagement at the zoo. I combined these stances into my major piece of legislation of my first term - the Dane County Ombuds program that will soon provide confidential, independent assistance for all employees in the county to register complaints, understand the processes at work, and provide much-needed transparency into how workplace disputes are resolved (or not).
Dane County Broadband Taskforce: I am Vice-Chair of the Dane County Broadband Taskforce. The Taskforce has been active in two regards this past term: first, in promoting and providing incentives for the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program (“ACP”). The ACP provides discounts on broadband service and technology devices for qualifying households. The Taskforce received a federal grant to help support adoption amongst qualifying households in Dane County. Second, the Taskforce has been active in helping municipalities connect to service providers and apply for the millions of dollars available for broadband planning and implementation. To aid this endeavor we hired a County Broadband Coordinator, Jaron McCallum.
Alliant Energy Center Redevelopment Committee: The Alliant Energy Center is an aging facility that is in desperate need of update to stay relevant for today’s large-scale events. World Dairy Expo and Midwest Horse Fair are two of the biggest events, but the facility needs upgrades if we want to keep these world-class events. Moreover, we lost CrossFit precisely because the facility wasn’t up to standards. If we want the large touring bands, comedians, and shows we need a facility that can support it. And, finally, the whole campus can be more efficient with its space and be better tuned to the immediate community, the needs of youth sports in Madison, and the region.
Next time, I’ll talk about what I hope to accomplish in my next term. In the meantime, I hope your holidays have been great and we’ll see you again in the new year!!
