Address: 6070 N. Railroad St., Lyons
Age: 46
Resident of town: 46 years
Occupation: Owner of Ye Olde Hotel Bar and Restaurant and Herbie’s Hangar Doors in Lyons
Education: Bachelor’s degree Hospitality/tourism, minor in political science, University of Wisconsin – Stout
Office sought: Walworth County Board of Supervisors, District 2
Political experience: None
Organizations: None given
Family: Married with two children.
Reason for running: To provide the constituents of District 2 a fourth-generation of community service with fresh and efficient representation by keeping budgets fair, balanced and reducing debts
Address: N6451 Cobb Road, Elkhorn
Age: Wouldn’t provide
Resident of area: Since 1975
Occupation: Retired (Jan. 1) business owner
Education: Lake Geneva High School graduate; licensed designer HVAC, Milwaukee School of Engineering
Office sought: Walworth County Board of Supervisors, District 2
Political experience: Walworth County Board member, 1998-2004, 2017 to present; State of Wisconsin, administrator for Safety and Building – Department of Industry, Labor and Human Relations
Organizations: Lakeland School, Walworth County Board committees – Finance, Lakeland Health Care Center, Public Works and Health and Human Services; previous member of the Kiwanis Club, Lions Club and Rotary Club
Family: Married with two grown children
Reason for running: Key issues – new communication project, protecting property and value, outdoor air quality, save farmland
By Tracy Ouellette
SLN Staff
Although Bill Norem’s challenger for the Walworth County Board District 2 seat on the April 7 ballot is a familiar name to many, the Joe Schaefer (II) running is actually the son of longtime Walworth County supervisor Joe Schaefer, who passed away a couple of years ago.
Schaefer, 46, is owner of the Ye Olde Hotel Bar and Restaurant and Herbies’ Hangar Doors in Lions. Repeated attempts to interview Schaefer for this article were unsuccessful.
Norem sat down for an interview with the newspaper at the end of February.
Norem was appointed to the District 2 supervisor seat after the elder Joe Schaefer died in 2017. Norem was a County Board member from 1994 to 2004. After his 2017 appointment, he served the remainder of Schaefer’s term and was elected to the District 2 seat in 2018.
“I was not going to run this time because (former) Sheriff Graves was going to run, but he decided not to,” Norem said. “Then the town clerk was going to run, but she decided not to. With (County Administrator Dave) Bretl retiring I felt my experience would be helpful for the board.”
Norem was against the proposed gravel pit in the Town of Spring Prairie that was voted down last month by the County Board.
“There are a lot of these pits around and many of them go bankrupt,” Norem said. “The outside air quality is also a big concern with these pits. HVAC can take care of indoor air quality but not outdoor and these pits create a lot of dust and traffic.”
Norem added that the county and Spring Prairie area would receive little benefit from the gravel pit.
“It’s all going to Foxconn and we’re getting nothing out of this,” he said. “They want to tear up our farmland and roads and we don’t benefit from it.”
Norem said he attended all the meetings at the Town of Spring Prairie during the discussions about the pit, but didn’t speak because he wasn’t a township resident.
“Almost ever pit that’s been opened has been a bad deal because they just don’t clean up,” Norem said.
Protecting the value of the surrounding homes and the way of life in the area was what prompted Norem to vote against the gravel pit when it came before the County Board in early March.
Serving on the board
Norem said serving on the County Board is a responsibility he takes seriously and his happy to dedicate his time to.
“Being a board member sounds simple, but it’s not,” Norem said. “You have to do a lot of reading and know what’s going on. We have an excellent staff at the county who really know how to do their jobs. They don’t need us telling them how to do their job, just for us to ask them questions and help them get done what needs to be done.”
Norem said the most important thing about working in government was to be honest.
“I’m pretty straight forward,” he said. “I learned as a teenager you don’t lie about anything because it will follow you around. So, I’m going to be upfront with people, even if it’s painful, but I respect people to much to be anything else.”
Norem added that being the owner of a local business for many years taught him the importance of listening to others and working together.
“I’d rather be right and lose than be wrong and win,” Norem said.
Public health and safety
With the coronavirus COVID-19 response, Norem said the County Board is not meeting at the moment unless it’s an emergency.
“We had a special meeting to deal with it when it first happened in the middle of March,” he said. “The country formed a committee under the direction of the administrator and Sheriff’s Office with the Health and Human Services Department, the nursing home, all the department head and others to stay on top of things.”
Norem said the county declared a “state of emergency” to allow for rapid response in the fast-changing environment.
“Everyone is working together in an appropriate response and it’s a good group of people,” Norem said. “I’ve worked with these people in the past and we have some really dedicated, talented people who are not bureaucrats but thoughtful and professional people who know what they’re doing. We’ll get through this just fine.”
