Mayoral, council candidates appear at City Hall forum
Mayor Dennis McBride, right, and Alderperson Andrew Meindl appear March 7 at a candidate forum hosted at City Hall by the Wauwatosa West Allis Chamber of Commerce.
Wauwatosa Mayor Dennis McBride faced off earlier this month against his challenger, Andrew Meindl, a first-term District 1 alderperson, in a candidate forum that covered a broad range of city issues.
McBride is completing the final year of his four-year term as mayor and running for re-election for the first time. About a hundred people attended the candidate forum at City Hall on March 7 to see how McBride and Meindl would respond to questions posed by a moderator from the Wauwatosa West Allis Chamber of Commerce.
"Leadership matters. Wauwatosa has never been a better place," McBride said in his opening remarks at the forum before ticking off a list of highlights from his term. They included infrastructure improvements, initial development of a new west-side park, accountability measures at the police department and maintenance of city services without raising property taxes.
Meindl used his opening remarks to introduce himself to voters, noting his background in civil service with the federal government, currently as project manager with the U.S. General Service Administration and in previous roles with the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Forestry Service. "I believe it's time for a fresh perspective leading the city," Meindl said. "The status quo is no longer enough."
Local elections are April 2 at district polling places, and in-person absentee voting runs from March 19 to 29 at City Hall. Visit the city's website for full voting information for the spring election.
All candidates for mayor and Common Council were invited to the city's candidate forum, though only two of the city's eight districts have contested races. Alderpersons James Moldenhauer (D-1), Ernst Franzen (D-4) and Mike Morgan (D-7) are running unopposed, as are newcomers Brad Foley (D-2), Aletha Champine (D-6). Rob Gustafson is the only candidate for District 5 alderman and is seeking to return to the council two years after he lost a close election for District 5's other council seat.
All of the unopposed candidates chose to defer the two minutes they each were offered to speak at the candidate forum, except Foley, who said he wanted to use his two minutes to briefly introduce himself to his prospective constituents.
In the two contested alderperson elections, District 3 incumbent Robin Brannin is facing challenger Michael Indy Stluka and District 8 incumbent Jason Wilke is being challenged by Erik Fanning.
The city's website offers a full list of the candidates for mayor and council, and video of the forum is also available.
Current members of Wauwatosa's Common Council wrote the questions that were posed to the two mayoral candidate's by Jen Puente, president of the Wauwatosa West Allis Chamber of Commerce. Puente selected each question by random drawing, and McBride and Meindl each were given two minutes to respond.
Topics included reckless driving enforcement, the potential tax burden of infrastructure improvements, development of Tosa's west side, advocacy for the city's priorities with state legislators, bike-friendly street planning, expanded housing options and limits on building heights.
One question asked whether the city leaders should put large infrastructure projects to a voter referendum, to authorize long-term borrowing or a tax levy increase exceeding state limits. The city has grappled with how to pay for deferred road upgrades and replacement of lead water laterals, as well as a proposed renovation of the City Hall and library complex in the coming years.
"We have representative government," McBride began, emphasizing that residents who are concerned about city issues and spending should contact their alderpersons and the mayor's office. It is elected officials' duty to listen to their constituents and respond, so a referendum isn't needed on every question, he said.
That said, some projects may require going to voters, he continued. Funding for future City Hall and library renovations, for example, may come from a variety of sources, including private fundraising, and a referendum is one option to cover a portion of the cost.
"We can't afford everything and we can't afford it all at once, but if we do what we're doing on a methodical basis we can get the job done and we will get the job done," McBride said. "When there's a time for a referendum we will submit it to a referendum."
Meindl shared two ideas for easing the cost burden on taxpayers and involving them more directly in decision making for big-ticket infrastructure projects. For fixed-income residents, he identified a model in place in Madison to offset the cost of a referendum. "The city takes a loan from your home and that stops your property tax payments, and then when you sell your home the money is given back," he said.
His second recommendation is an approach known as participatory budgeting. If the city is deciding between a short list of spending priorities, that list can be put to voters to rank those priorities before committing to a project. "I think there's certainly a way we can do this," Meindl said.