Election 2022 — Shawano County Board of Supervisors District 16

In the April 5 general election, voters in Shawano County District 16 will be deciding on one seat between two candidates for representation of District 16 on the Shawano County Board of Supervisors.

The candidates will be vying for the seat, after John Ainsworth opted not to run for re-election. David Heideman and Dawn Bahr will be running against each other for the spot.

NEW Media sent questionnaires to the candidates in order to provide candidates opinions on key issues that the county has dealt with and discussed in recent years.

What qualifies you to be a member of the Shawano County Board of Supervisors?

Heideman: I used to live in Waupaca County and I was on the town board in the Town of Union. I think that background qualifies me. I have been on several other county committees in Waupaca County, for planning and zoning. I feel that I could listen to the needs of the public and adequately serve in that position.

Bahr: What makes me qualified is that I come from a farm and business background. We dairy farmed for 22 years, where we made a profit, even in lean years. After we sold the cows, we cash-cropped for a little bit before buying the South 40 in Shawano. We ran that for 10 years. Both of those businesses that we went into were having some troubles and we turned them around. I am from the private sector. I do believe that government should come from people — the private sector. I want to be there and be a new set of eyes and breathe some life into the board.

The Shawano County Board of Supervisors has had thorough discussions revolving around pay for county employees. How do you believe that county employees should be compensated?

Heideman: I know that costs have gone up with inflation. I know that they did just increase the pay for some of the positions. County employees should be compensated according to inflationary rates. Otherwise, in terms of seeing greater increases, I would say no.

Bahr: The last meeting that I went to, there was a lot being said about this topic. They were saying that the employees were getting paid less than other areas this size. I can’t make a good argument either way, because I don’t know what areas they are comparing Shawano to. I don’t have enough information as I should to form an opinion.

The Shawano County Board of Supervisors has discussed purchasing new police vehicles, as well as, creating a replacement plan for the vehicles. Should the county look at continuing to purchase new vehicles and setting up a replacement plan for the vehicles?

Heideman: From what I have heard of listening to the county board meetings, it sounds like there is a need to update some of the police vehicles. They also talked about creating a long-range payment plan for police vehicles and capital equipment. I think that is something that they should do — having a long-range plan. If they create a long-range plan — then if someone says, “hey, I need this,” — it will be in the budget. If they know in the future that something has a ten year life cycle or whatever it is, they can adequately plan for budgeting for that.

Bahr: I saw an awful lot of cars in the parking lot when I went for the meeting. I don’t know if they are advantages to each particular police officer having each car. I don’t know. I understand the reasoning for trading those cars in on a regular basis, because eventually, they start to nickle and dime you. I don’t know the resale value of a police car. There are whole lot of variables in that.

What is Shawano County doing well in your mind and how can the county continue to excel at this?

Heideman: The county has done well with listening to the needs of the community. To continue this, the county should continue to listen to people and see what their needs are. They should continue to be fair for people’s rights as land owners. I think that they need to be fair for both lake property owners as well as property owners, who are not on a lake. Listening to people’s ideas and being fair is important to me.

Bahr: Honestly, I am not as informed as I would like to be. I try to catch up online and there is so much information. I am not really seeing where they are being horribly good or horribly bad. I see Shawano as kind of a diamond in the rough. You don’t want it make so big like a Green Bay or an Appleton — you want to keep that smaller town feeling. You want to give people opportunities to be here. There is actually a good base to that. The companies that we have here are hiring, that is a good thing.

What is Shawano County not doing so well in your mind and how can the county change that to be better in the future?

Heideman: I don’t want to say anything that they are not doing well. There are always things that they can do to improve. I guess that the county can always improve with how they are spending the taxpayers’ money. I know that there are several things coming up with, say the library in Shawano. They should make sure that it is done appropriately — just being careful with that budget.

Bahr: I am not seeing a whole lot of farm representation on the board. We are still a big farming community and I am quick study. I am very good with money. I am willing to listen to what everyone has to say. You can never get too much information. You can’t have the same people on the board every time, because it could get stagnated. This one won’t vote against that one. That won’t be me. I don’t have any baggage and don’t owe anyone anything.