District 10 Councilwoman Keely Fishler is one of three who have already filed non-candidacy paperwork for the spring 2024 election. (Metro Wire photo)

Editorial: The future of City Council, and the city, depends on citizens

December 27, 2023

By Brandi Makuski

The Stevens Point City Council could have several new Council members in April.

Seats in all even-numbered districts are up for grabs on April 2. It’s one of the most important municipal elections in recent history because whoever emerges victorious will oversee several decisions that will bring major changes to Stevens Point. Those issues include staffing concerns in police and fire departments, approving a final design for the remodel of Bus. 51, and more.

The City Council has taken an interesting turn since 2015 when — due to a retirement and several ousted longtime members — seven new Council members were elected to their respective seats. Many were graduates of Emerge Wisconsin, a grassroots organization designed to increase the number of progressive, Democratic women elected to municipal office.

The new Council quickly went to work, voting to reassess whether bicycle lanes were feasible within a planned roundabout at North Point and Division — for an additional charge by AECOM of $15,000 — although had any of them bothered to read through the project’s early phases, they would have known that the issue had already been considered, but discarded.

Soon after, the Council unanimously approved adopting Vision Zero: a Swedish-based road traffic safety project launched in 1997 with a goal of achieving “zero” fatalities or serious injuries involving road traffic. Introduced by former Councilwoman Meleesa Johnson in 2016, the project largely ignores conventional comparison between costs and benefits, placing a monetary value, instead, on life and health.

Though few on the Council were able to explain Vision Zero the following month, the adoption opened the door for sweeping new policies related to safety on city roads, beginning with road diets and bicycle lanes.

This single vote solidified the city’s action on the countywide Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan (approved by county leaders in 2014), set the stage for restriping Stanley St., and brought a major change in city government philosophy. Virtually every decision that followed had to fit within those new safety guidelines.

The Council’s desire to make Division St. North friendlier to bicycles and pedestrians held up new developments of Burger King and Taco John’s on Division St. North for several months. It also caused — and continues to cause — problems for one business owner on Prentice St. North, when parking in front of her store was moved in favor of bicycle lanes.

The desire to prove the viability of bicycle lanes was so strong that some of the Council publicly dismissed department heads’ reservations about bicycle lane installation on Stanley St. A few members of the Council even argued with constituents during public meetings on the issue.

Attention to university student issues would increase, while property owners became the new focus of increased code enforcement, with some on the Council taking on an investigatory role and turning in homeowners for peeling paint and overgrown weeds. As a result, the city’s Community Development Department has grown tremendously while personnel needs in police, fire, and streets departments go unmet.

That Council was like none we’d seen before and ostensibly changed forever how the city government operated. Many of the new Council members sidestepped the businesslike attire previously worn during Council meetings, sporting casual dress and nontraditional hair colors. One even wore a tiara during a Council meeting that fell on her birthday and openly breastfed her newborn during city meetings without covering her chest. It was a less professional, nontraditional feel that seeped into the Council’s discussions and votes, and erased a good deal of the businesslike environment of the Council, and continues to this day.

Compared with past mayoral administrations and Councils, positive focus on police and fire departments and new business attraction has waned. In its place is new attention on social justice issues, stronger code enforcement, creating additional layers of government with the formation of new committees, commissioning study upon study, and something called “transportation equity;” a concept invented by the progressive community organization Community Change that equates public transportation with civil rights.

That “transportation equity” is expected to include bicyclists, pedestrians, and other modes of transportation not always specified. However, the Council has, and continues to, draw the line at ATV/UTV use, prohibiting even a singular route from neighboring town of Hull, from where campers could have utilized an ATV for a quick grocery run inside the city limits to Kwik Trip, or traversing any city land to another section of the town.

Since the shift, the Council has been unable to carry favor with many in the public — causing one group of citizens to override city spending via an unprecedented petition drive and referendum vote — and created enough acrimony for two longtime Councilmen, Mike Phillips and Jeremy Slowinski, to step down from their posts out of frustration. It also caused longtime Police and Fire Commissioner Ron Carlson to resign, after Carlson was informed he would not be reappointed to his role because some on the Council were refusing to re-appoint anyone who was white and a male.

We are hopeful for new candidates in Districts 2, 4, 6, and 10 in April. Candidates who aren’t driven by political or personal motives, and who understand that city department heads are experts in their respective fields and deserve respect. We are hopeful those who run in the April election have strong opinions based on facts rather than personal truths.

If you’re interested, are at least 18, have no criminal background, and live in one of those districts, you need 20-40 signatures from residents who live in your district and a Declaration of Candidacy. You can get the appropriate paperwork online or from the city clerk’s office. Paperwork is due before the clerk’s office closes on Jan. 2.

We’ve put together a few tips for anyone interested in running for Stevens Point City Council:

Elected offices in the city are non-partisan, so stow your politics at the door.
It’s your job to read every news outlet that covers your city.
Get familiar with Roberts Rules of Order. It’s the basis for all municipal meetings and ensures government business is conducted in a fair and orderly manner.
Understand that a bicycle lane is great in the right spot, but they aren’t always popular or sought after, and they aren’t always necessary.
A financial background can’t hurt but understand that municipal finance is very different from balancing your personal checkbook.
Trust the city’s department heads. They are experts in their field. Talk to them, ask questions, and listen to their answers, as often as possible.
Know your city. Many of your potential constituents are blue-collar workers with a family and living on a budget. They are sorely underrepresented in city government.

The city clerk’s office is located at 1515 Strongs Ave. and is open Monday through Friday, from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The spring election is on April 2. If necessary, a primary will be held on Feb. 20.

Good luck.