Shuda talks about listening to the public, unnecessary road work

Verbatim questions and answers between the Metro Wire and Dean Shuda, candidate for the city’s 8th District. Shuda is challenging incumbent Thomas Leek.

Q: Let’s start with something cliche; why are you running?

Shuda: Because there was a news reporter who came down here two years ago and we started talking about the council, and she convinced me it was a complete disaster and I decided to run.

Q: Are you serious?

Shuda: Yep. I just started to get more of an interest in what was happening and started to pay attention. And it was just as bad as it was described to me. And there was the whole thing with Hwy. 66 (Stanley St.) when there were 100 people against it and 10 people for it, and we did it anyway, I knew there was a problem. It’s concerning.

Q: In your view, what is the function of the City Council?

Shuda: In simple terms, just to make sure that everything is running well That the city managers are doing their job, that the city is moving forward, but also knowing what the constituents are looking for. In my opinion, the constituents just want to see their city to grow at a moderate pace and to provide the services that they’re expecting. They don’t want disruption in their lives; they just want everything to run smoothly. It’s pretty simple, I think. To just make sure that taxes are being spent appropriately. That’s what I’m getting from people when I go door-to-door. They all have little issues here and there, sidewalks or snowplowing, but largely it’s just people wanting to live their lives without interference.

Q: That dovetails nicely into my next question: You’ve been out there knocking on doors and talking to people, what are you hearing about concerns or praises in local government?

Shuda: There are some people who really don’t know what’s going on and they don’t care to know. Then you have people who are concerned about the big things, like the Church St. renovation. And you have people who are at the ground roots of what’s happening—swales, ADUs…so there are all different concerning levels. It’s been very interesting. What I have picked up is that people do want to talk. This door-to-door has taken more time than I could’ve imagined because some of these people will invite you in to sit down and they want to talk, it does get quite in-depth at times. It’s been quite a pleasure getting to know their concerns, it’s been very enlightening. It’s just been very time-consuming.

Q: Do you believe the city council is doing its job well?

Shuda: I think by the book they are doing their job. But there’s also the matter of, you think they’re doing the job of the constituents they want, if that makes sense.

Q: What local news outlets do you utilize to keep up-to-date on city matters, county business, and other local matters?

Shuda: (laughing) There’s only one who’s actually local.

Q: We’re asking everybody. There have been a lot of changes to the local media and we’re trying to gauge how everything views them.

Shuda: The Metro Wire is the only one that’s daily information that’s current. The other place I’ll look is social media, but you really have to discern people’s opinions from facts, sometimes.

Q: How can the city improve communication with the public? Sometimes I get the impression that people might be confused about where they can go for information.

Shuda: That is so tough…25 years ago, all you had to do is open up the Stevens Point Journal. Now, it’s so dissected, I mean, we have multiple news outlets, multiple radio stations, multiple newspapers, we have social media. Where is the one place you can go? You can go to the city website, and if you can manage through it and find what you’re looking for, but you have to be pretty diligent in doing that. So it’s quite diluted. If something big happens in my district, going forward, I’m going to take it upon myself to, in some way, somehow, get the information to the people so they know what to expect and why it’s happening, whether it’s through mailings, or email, or going to their homes. As their representative, I’d better let them know if it’s going to affect their lives.

Q: The press is responsible for reporting to the public what happens in local government. In your view, how has the press changed?

Shuda: I think they make headlines because they have to get interest in the article when it’s literally a headline that doesn’t really pertain to the article. So it’s maybe some misinformation in the headline and the story might have a slant to it.

Q: Would you still be running if there were another challenger for this seat?

Shuda: I don’t know.

Q: Do you feel like the city is being transparent enough in relation to its current projects and plans, and if not, why?

Shuda: To be honest, I don’t think I can really answer that question because I’m not part of it, so I don’t know if they’re holding back information or not.

Q: Do you feel you’re getting enough information to make decisions on certain projects, as a member of the public?

Shuda: I don’t think the information is going to be handed to me. I think I have to do my due diligence and do my research to make sure my questions are answered.

Q: Outside of the Bus. 51 project, is there a citywide project you’d like to see addressed?

Shuda: There are various projects. There’s the bicycle bridge (the Plover River Crossing) on the east side that’s an issue. I know there are some people around McDill Pond who have brought up having to pay an extra $800 a year for the upkeep of the area. It’s just interesting that a lot of people enjoy that area who don’t live there, and some people feel like maybe they’re being billed twice as city residents. The other thing is, taxes. The way city taxes are going up the way they are, it would be nice if the city could put together a little chart on the website explaining why they are going up. You really gotta look for it on the city’s website. They could make it easier.

Q: Why do you think there is so much controversy over some of the Vision Zero elements proposed in the community, like additional bike lanes, road diets in some areas, and some of the pieces of the Bus. 51 project?

Shuda: I think because the majority of people don’t see the need to do it. I think if you research what their reasons are, they do have their reasons for doing it. First of all, people don’t like change. And number two, people just don’t see the need. The Stanley St. thing—there’s not an overwhelming need for people to access point A to point B by bike. There are a lot of other ways, safer ways, that are already there for bikes as opposed to a main thoroughfare. I live on this street, as a kid, and now, working…safety, really? Safety isn’t riding my bike next to cars traveling even at 25 miles an hour. I don’t find that safe.

Q: You own a business on Stanley St. Have you heard complaints from funeral-goers, or other customers to your business, about the lane reduction?

Shuda: Yes, especially people trying to turn left, going east. We have, for the most part, an older clientele, and there are times when, even I will take a right and go around, and take another right to go east on 66. It’s hard for me to fathom Church St. like that. And going around the neighborhood here say that they’ve kept track of the number of people on bikes in the past few years, and those numbers are pretty low.

Q: Were you surprised when the council voted down the Kevin Flatoff petition?

Shuda: No. Because everything leading to that point, they were very solid in voting for doing what they passed in the first place. Even after a couple of open forums, they heard all the issues the public had, and they didn’t seem to waver on what they voted for all along. So to have one swing vote change over, no, I certainly was not looking that they’d change their ways.

Q: For some people coming to city council, they believe their voice no longer matters. They’re jaded. What would you say to those people?

Shuda: That’s tough, when, as one of the people told me, ‘Why would I keep coming only to bang my head against a brick wall?’ if they’re not going to listen, why waste their time? I would say, ‘You’ve just got to keep diligent in your beliefs. If you really believe in something, you just have to keep going at it.’ We’re going to find out in this referendum what the majority really is. That’s the way it’s supposed to work. I don’t have an agenda, so I’m going to be open to listening and doing what is right, not what I want.

Q: We’ve seen a lot of changes in local government in recent years, and today there seems to be a disconnect in the definition of ‘want’ versus ‘need,’ so how do you compromise with an individual who sees ‘X’ as a need, but you only see it as a ‘want?’

Shuda: If I had an answer to that, I’d be running for more than alderperson (chuckles). Because every ‘want’ is being rephrased as a ‘need’ because of some reason for the sake of political correctness.

Q: What, in your mind, needs to be changed about local government?

Shuda: This is a cop-out, but I will know more if I’m elected. I’m sitting on the outside right now…once you get on the board, on the inside, you find out sometimes there are reasons that weren’t apparent from the outside. What I’ve found in my experience is, once I got on the Kiwanis club board or the County club board, I prided myself in letting people know what those reasons were, and whether they agreed or disagreed, at least they understood. As long as you’re forthcoming with honest answers, I’ve found that people, for the most part, may not agree but they are willing to live with it.

Q: Is there anything I didn’t ask that you feel is important to include?

Shuda: We could go on for six hours and still not cover anything. If people want certain answers, or they want to talk to me about anything, I’ve lived here all my life. It’s like K.B. Willet used to say, Stevens Point is a great place to work, play, and retire in. I’m easy to find. That’s my goal.