Candidate Q&A, Shawano County Board District 23
Incumbent District 23 Shawano County Board Supervisor Ray Faehling is being challenged in the April 7 election by Aaron Damrau. The district includes the town of Fairbanks, village of Tigerton and Ward 2 of the town of Germania. The Shawano Leader requested biographical information and posed five questions to each of the candidates. Their answers are below.
Aaron Damrau
Age: 31
Address: W17425 County Road M, town of Germania
Family: Single
Occupation: Attorney
Education: University of Minnesota Law School; University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, history and political science major
Community involvement: Tigerton Area Historical Society board member; Tigerton Clinic Association, board of directors and clinic manager; Waupaca County Bar Association president.
Ray Faehling
Age: 79
Address: N3103 Split Rock Road, Tigerton
Family: Wife and two sons
Occupation: Retired from Shawano County Sheriff’s Department
Education: 12 years and two years at tech school out of Green Bay
Community Involvement: American Legion
Why are you running?
DAMRAU: I want to make a positive impact on our community and bring new ideas to the county board.
FAEHLING: Because I want to and I want to continue with what I’ve been doing so far on the county board.
Why should voters choose you over your opponent?
DAMRAU: I have a background in law and government and can come to the board with fresh ideas.
FAEHLING: I have no reason why they want to choose me over the opponent. Maybe a little more experience.
What would be your top focus or priority on the board?
DAMRAU: Codify county ordinances and making it accessible to the public like other counties have done.
FAEHLING: To make sure we pass that Second Amendment business. That’s a top priority right now. I’m on the tribal affairs committee and on the solid waste committee, just so that we maybe get along good with all the tribes we have to deal with.
Is the county doing enough to control spending and taxes?
DAMRAU: The county is limited in the amount of taxes it can raise and needs to prioritize its tax spending.
FAEHLING: I believe they are. Except when they bought these iPads for us. That’s what we were supposed to use for voting, but now we have a different thing set up at your desk when you come in. They spent money on the iPads. They could use them for voting. That’s what it was supposed to be. But then they bought this other outfit. Dumb, I think, wasting all that money.
Do you support making Shawano County a Second Amendment sanctuary?
DAMRAU: I support the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms. I believe the current wording of the proposed resolution leaves the county open for a lawsuit and it can be improved.
FAEHLING: The Second Amendment was made for our protection, and it’s our right to have guns to protect ourselves. I have lots of guns, and I am not going to give them up. They’ll have to bring in a lot of people to be able to come and confiscate them.