Kontos Column: Are you paying attention to the County Executive race?
By Dan Kontos
The spring primaries are over, and two contenders for that position have advanced: Eric Olson and John Pavelski. I think that this is important, and I think you should too.
Current County Executive Chris Holman was knocked out of the running in the primary, bested by the two gentlemen I mentioned. A swing of just 432 votes would have kept him in the running, so the margins were tight in that contest.
While he didn’t win reelection, Chris was a thoughtful, respectful, and conscientious leader. He wasn’t fond of making public splashes and went out of his way to connect with members of the County Board and other elected officials. While we had our differences, I liked him, and wish him the best. Honestly, he will probably be happier returning to private life.
The position of County Executive is an important one, but one that most people know very little about. In short, the Executive runs most of the executive functions of the County – hence the name. Outside of a few other elected offices, the Executive is the head of the government at the county level.
In 2005, the voters of Portage County approved a referendum to create the position of County Executive. This effectively removed the control of county operations from the County Board. We can discuss the value and effect of this at some other time, but the net result was the establishment of a new co-equal branch of county government, and the need for the voters to elect a person to fulfill that role.
So, what do we know about these two new contenders? One will undoubtedly be assuming the mantle of office here very soon, and we have to decide who will best fit in that role. I assert that one of the best sources to evaluate each candidate is by looking at their own words. So, let’s do just that.
Pay particular attention to what they say, what they don’t say, and how they characterize certain aspects of their lives in a way they would hope you find appealing and accept at face value. All people vying for public office do this. We just need to be aware of it.
As an aside, I am not endorsing either candidate. I don’t know either of these men, except to have possibly met them at some time. Before this election, I would not have been able to pick either one of them out of a crowd—or a police line-up for that matter.
I am merely reflecting upon my observations and giving my opinion; that’s what I do. I am, however, satisfied that what I have deduced below is based on a logical and demonstrable set of facts. You can, and should, feel free to confirm or discount my opinions on your own.
Blindly taking things at face value can be a chancy proposition, especially in the modern world of free speech suppression and false narratives. Remember that only deceivers and tyrants need to censor. Truth tellers welcome the opportunity to debate.
In no particular order (except alphabetical), let’s first look at Eric Olson. I have read his official campaign website, as well as several sources where he explains his qualifications and goals (examples include: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7).
He starts out with lofty rhetoric, stating, “I am drawing on decades of experience in local government and community building. My background is well suited for this leadership position.” Typical boilerplate which I don’t necessarily fault him for, but what are exactly those experiences that he boasts about?
Well, he says that he worked for over 15 years as a university extension educator, taught courses at UWSP in land use, served on the Portage County Parks Commission, chairs the Stevens Point Deer Committee, participated in meetings about the local food economy, created the Central Wisconsin Resiliency Project, and volunteered on the City of Stevens Point Sustainability Task Force.
Eric also says he co-chaired the Portage County Hunger and Poverty Prevention Partnership, served on United Way investment teams, helped lead fundraising for United Way at his employer, volunteered at fundraising events for CAP Services and JusticeWorks, and smaller-scale community initiatives (e.g., Central Wisconsin Invasive Species Partnership).
To be sure, he goes into more details than I did, but these are the highlights. My question to you is this what you want your county executive’s background to look like? Perhaps it is.
So, another fair question is, why do you want this job? Olson says, in a nutshell, that he thinks Portage County has untapped potential. That we could take advantage of opportunities to make progress on important issues. He also says that he’s a tireless advocate for the common good and has dedicated his life and career to serving our community. He believes that it’s important to have an elected leader who represents and serves all the people of Portage County, and wants to strengthen our community through government transparency and civic engagement.
Sounds nice on the surface, but what does that really mean? You be the judge, but I thought it was frankly light on substance. In fact, I find the majority of his comments lacking in details. He may very well have specific areas of concern to work on, and a detailed plan to accomplish that, but don’t you think that the run-up to an election would be the ideal time to lay this out? Again, don’t take my word for it, read it for yourself and then decide.
Finally, he touts as his endorsements: the Wisconsin Conservation Voters, the Portage County Democratic Party (despite this being a non-partisan position), and several labor organizations like the Stevens Point – Portage County Labor Council, IBEW Local 388, AFSCME local 348, and AFT local 6505. Take that for what it’s worth.
Next is John Pavelski. I have also read his official campaign website, as well as several sources where he too explains his qualifications and goals (examples include: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6).
First, I note that he never submitted answers to the League of Women Voters’ traditional questions. While I never thought the LWV had particularly hard-hitting or probing questions, they are useful for providing a rather bland baseline perspective on the candidate. I think that this was an unforced error on John’s part to skip this.
Next, he lays out the principles for his candidacy. To start, his banner heading is, “Let’s Put Integrity in Government”. Does he assert that the current county government is lacking in integrity? I am curious about what he means, and if he can provide examples.
He lists as his goals to make sure public safety is always a top priority, implement a constant improvement culture by training and empowering county employees, creating public-private partnerships to improve public accountability and economic health, potentially privatize certain areas of county services, and maintain a balanced budget (which is essentially already required by state law). He does flesh out some of these ideas a bit more than I did, so I suggest you go and look for yourself.
John lists his qualifications for the job as being president of Pavelski Farms, planning, developing, and serving as general contractor for the largest state-of-the-art potato load-out facility in the Midwest, serving as director of operations for a local vitamin manufacturing company (Ortho Molecular), and serving as general contractor for a national manufacturing and sales facility.
He also says he started his own organic poultry business, and after retirement, part-time farms organic hay, works in real estate, and does workplace communications consulting.
John does boldly state that the top reason that he asks for your vote is due to the many mandates coming down from the federal and state level that take our freedoms away at a local level. While it is true that they are legion, I’m not sure what effect a county executive will have on this. Perhaps the lofty yet extraneous commitment as his top reason for running is something that forces him out of his lane a bit.
John lists no endorsements but does state that he is not connected to any special interest group and has the ability to work with all political parties and represent Portage County as a whole. Take that for what it’s worth as well.
There you have it. Hopefully, sufficient information to spark your interest and curiosity enough that you will dive in yourself. Please do.
With that, perhaps I will see you at the polls on April 5th. Until then, let’s meet in the opinion section to talk about all of it, boldly, unafraid, and with a healthy respect for each other. God bless.
Dan Kontos is a paid columnist for the Metro Wire. He chooses his own topics and his opinions do not necessarily represent the staff of the Metro Wire. He lives with his family in Whiting.
We are seeking a liberal columnist. Anyone with interest should email [email protected].