Age: 49
Address: N7372 Bowers Road, Elkhorn
Education: Associate’s degree, Waukesha County Technical College
Office sought: Walworth County Board District 2 supervisor
Resident: 35 years
Occupation: UPS Logistics
Previous political experience: District 1 Supervisor for seven terms (resigned in fall of 2015 because of purchase of farm in District 2), chairman of Zoning Committee for three terms, vice-chairman of County Board, Finance Committee, Public Works Committee, Human Resource Committee and Lake Beulah Management District
Age: 72
Address: 6070 N. Railroad St., Lyons
Education: St. Mary’s High School, class of 1962
Office sought: Walworth County Board District 2 supervisor
Resident: 72 years
Occupation: Owner, Ye Olde Hotel Bar and Restaurant in Lyons
Previous political experience: County Board supervisor since 1974, various committee appoints as County Board representative
Organizations: Lyons American Legion Post 327, Burlington VFW Post 2823
By Tracy Ouellette
SLN Staff
When Rick Stacey purchased a farm on Bowers Road last year, it meant he had to resign from the Walworth County Board District 1 supervisor position he had served in for seven terms. It also meant he had moved into District 2, which has been served by the longest running supervisor in the county – Joe Schaefer.
Schaefer has been the District 2 supervisor since 1974. Before he was elected to the County Board, the seat had been held by his father for 20 years and his grandfather for 28 years before that. “It’s been in the family for 90 years,” Schaefer said.
Stacey said his only reason for running for the District 2 seat on April 5 was because he felt there were still things he wanted to do at the county level.
“It was a tough decision to run again,” Stacey said. “Joe’s been on there a long, long time and I consider him a friend. It was something I really had to think about.”
Schaefer said he was “a little disappointed” Stacey decided to challenge him for the seat at first, but he understood the desire to serve.
“Rick and I get along very good,” Schaefer said. “I can’t criticize him, he’s a good guy. We’ve always got along. Sure, I kind of wish he wouldn’t have done what he did, but what are you going to do.”
Schaefer said he is looking forward to serving the district as long as the constituents want him to and his attendance record shows his dedication to the county.
“Attendance is important,” Schaefer said. “Shrinking the board to 11 members is probably the best thing we ever did. There were too many meetings that lasted too long. With the guidance of our wonderful County Administrator Dave Bretl and the department heads and great staff, we run a pretty good ship.”
Stacey also said reducing the size of the County Board was a good thing.
“I supported downsizing the board, it was just such a blessing to go from 20 to 11 members – much more efficient,” Stacey said.
Both Stacey and Schaefer said there were issues the board would need to tackle in the coming months, with infrastructure being at the top of the list.
“Infrastructure is a huge deal for the county,” Stacey said. “The state has cut a lot of money for county-owned bridges, in Sharon they had to close a bridge. There’s zero funding for that and we need to figure out how we’re going to fund that. We don’t want to live in a county with unsafe bridges.”
Schaefer said the budget challenges facing the county were an ongoing issue, but was confident in the ability of the board and administration to find a solution without putting an undue burden on the taxpayers.
“We’ve been running on a zero budget for the last four years,” Schaefer said. “And it’s due to the hard work of the administration and department heads who work with the board so well. It’s my goal to maintain a zero budget in the years to come but continue to strive to maintain the high standards and high values in the county by maintain the bridges and roads and public buildings we’ve put together in the last 25 years.”
Stacey agrees, saying he considered himself a “fiscal conservative” citing his voting record on the board to keep spending down and pay off debt.
“I don’t think we’ve borrowed since 2011,” Stacey said.
Stacey said one of his passions while serving on the board was his work on the Zoning Committee.
“I’ve helped a lot of people with issues with zoning along with the staff at the county. I have to give them a lot of the credit,” Stacey said. “I’d also like to see more streamlining with the Land Use Department.”
Schaefer said he’d also like to see the county hold down the land use fees.
“We have 224 fees in the Land Use Department and keeping them down so landowners don’t have to cough up a lot in fees is important,” Schaefer said.
Both candidates said they still had things to accomplish on the County Board and were looking forward to another term.
“I still have stuff I want to do,” Stacey said. “I’ve made some very tough decisions over the years to keep our taxes from rising and I’d like to continue that.”
“It’s going to be a tough election and whatever the voters decide there will be no hard feelings. I would definitely call Joe and congratulate him if he wins.”
“I’m bring 42 years of experience to the board,” Schaefer said. “I don’t miss many meetings and attendance is a must when you have a small board.”
District 2 serves the towns of LaFayette, Lyons, Spring Prairie and Troy and part of the City of Burlington.
Joe has been a known and steadfast contributing member of the District 2 Board for years, like his father and grandfather before his service. I don’t understand why an aspiring new resident thinks that it is time to replace a known and valued Board member with one who believes himself to be so justified “because he felt there were still things he wanted to do at the county level.” If he had not accomplished the “things” he had wanted to do in the past there is little (no) reason to believe that he will accomplish them, in his new District (District 2), in the future. Joe is the one deserving of continued service. God bless Joe!!!