Challenger in city’s 6th District hopes to preserve green space
By Brandi Makuski
Stephen Sawyer said he hopes to bring his passion for infill development to the Stevens Point City Council.
Sawyer, 61, is running for the council’s 6th District seat. He’s been a criminal defense lawyer for 23 years.
A native of the Milwaukee area, he attended college in Fort Collins, Colo., then joined the United States Navy. Over the next eight-and-a-half years, he served as an officer and helicopter pilot in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq War. Later, he flew a regular flight schedule to and from the Pentagon and performed search-and-rescue missions off the coast of Florida.
He later obtained a law degree from Notre Dame, where he graduated with honors.
Sawyer moved to Stevens Point in 2002 when his wife, also a defense attorney, got a job in the area. He’s served on the city’s redevelopment authority for five years, an experience he said opened his eyes to local issues.
“I really enjoyed being involved in that aspect of city government,” said Sawyer. “I know the city council deals with lots of different aspects beyond what the redevelopment authority does, but it got my interest in being involved in the decisionmaking process, putting in the time to research the issues, and arguing for the right one. It makes me feel like I’m giving back to the community.”
Sawyer said he’s most passionate about preserving green space whenever possible.
“I’m interested in how the city builds, and where they choose to build—I’m particularly interested in saving green space,” he said. “I know they’ve talked about building a new jail and courthouse complex; I’m very interested in having the city, if they do something like that, build either where there’s an existing building, or have been buildings in the past, so we’re not overdeveloping natural habitat.”
Sawyer believes Stevens Point is a “fantastic place for outdoor activities and enjoying nature.”
“I just want to try and make sure we, as a government, continue to value the natural resources and the spaces that are currently undeveloped,” he said. “That doesn’t necessarily mean I’d be against a new development that would bring in new jobs, but if we have a choice, I’d like to think we’d build where there are existing structures.”
Constituent input is important to Sawyer, but he doesn’t believe every decision needs to be “polled out.”
“Not every issue is a referendum issue. So I think there is a place for a representative in government to do more intense research into an issue, and take constituent input into consideration, then make a reasonable, rational choice,” he said.
Sawyer is challenging Alderman Jeremy Slowinski in the city’s 6th District. You can register to vote for the April 7 election here.
