Age: 67
Address: 2501 Michele Lane, East Troy
Education: Badger High School, Lake Geneva, and 42 years of increasing responsibility spanning two careers
Office sought: Walworth County Board District 1 supervisor
Resident: 32 years in Walworth County, grew up in Lake Geneva
Occupation: East Troy Village Board president, owner of Randy Timms Consulting, owner of Randy Timms Photography. Retired from full-time employment, which included 18 years in healthcare materials and facilities management followed by 24 years in manufacturing sales administration. National sales manager and vice-president of sales
Previous political experience: Appointed to East Troy Village Plan Commission in 2001. Elected to East Troy Village Board in 2004; elected president of board in 2013.
Organizations: Prior experience includes a variety of roles in different organizations including amateur radio operations for emergency weather (SKYWARN) systems, church Chairman, elder, and deacon, secretary and treasurer for archery club, volunteer for Lakeland Counseling Center
Age: 40
Address: 2896 Main St., East Troy
Education: Bachelor of Arts, journalism, UW-Whitewater
Office sought: Walworth County Board District 1 supervisor
Resident: 35 years
Occupation: 601 pipe fitter, KS Energies, New Berlin; owner of tree removal/trimming business
Previous political experience: none
Organizations: Boy Scouts of America, Pi Kappa Alpha
By Tracy Ouellette
SLN Staff
The District 1 seat on the Walworth County Board of Supervisors has been open since last fall when longtime board member Rick Stacey moved out of the district.
District 1 serves the Village of East Troy, the towns of Troy and East Troy and part of the Village of Mukwonago.
Two newcomers to county-level governing are facing off at the polls on April 5 – Alex Alger and Randy Timms.
Timms is the East Troy Village Board president and has a long history of serving at the municipal level. Alger has never run for office before.
Alger said it was Stacey who encouraged him to run for the County Board.
“I’ve known Rick for quite some time,” Alger said. “We were friends back when he first ran 12 years ago, I believe. He told me I’d be good on the board.
“I had some concerns at first, but Rick put at ease,” he continued. “His big thing was the County Board needed young blood, someone to represent people who are working and thinking the same way I am, to get things moving and bring it into the 21st century. I think, the people in there might be a little stuck when their prime was.”
Timms said he was encouraged to run by many area residents and local business owners to run for the board when the seat opened up. After serving on the East Troy Village Board for 12 years and in the role of board president since 2013, Timms said he had a lot to offer at the county level.
“I have 18 years in health care and 24 years in professional sales that I can bring to the board,” Timms said. “Many people have expressed confidence in my leadership ability and style and I’ve been encouraged by many at the county level to run for the board.”
Timms said he has been watching the County Board meetings online to stay informed of the issues and had made a few phone calls to county officials in recent months with questions on a few things.
Alger said he’s been involved in many different clubs and organizations, along with several different professions and his ability to work with people would be an asset to the board.
“I understand a lot of different people and represent a lot of walks of life,” Alger said. “I have different type of thinking to bring to the board.”
Alger said he concerned with the lack of funding for infrastructure in the county, especially the bridges.
“I know that the state is pulling back some of the funding for bridges and somehow the counties and local municipalities are going to have to come up with the difference to fund these projects,” he said. “It’s going to be a challenge.”
Timms said funding for bridges and roadway were at issue everywhere.
“It’s the whole country,” Timms said. “Our infrastructure is aging and the money isn’t there to fix it. We have to figure out how to keep the bridges safe for traffic and people.”
As an experienced board member, Timms said the key to solving these types of problems begin with healthy debate with everyone bringing ideas to the table for the board to consider. He said it was important for board members to be able to express themselves clearly and be able to work together without it becoming personal.
“It’s fine to battle over whatever, but if you lose the battle, it’s over and done and you have to move on,” Timms said. “Unfortunately, there are too many boards that do that, people who hold grudges have a difficult time making good decisions. I shouldn’t be holding a grudge about a former decision and it shouldn’t affect the next decision – we should embrace our differences.”
Alger said his life experiences and education have taught him to appreciate diversity and differing opinions.
“I’m a very open-minded and fair person with a lot of different life experiences where I feel I can see where a lot of people are coming form,” Alger said. “I want to represent the average person. I want the county government to be a friendlier process for the residents. Sometimes when people have to deal with the government, the hair stands up on back of their neck. I don’t want it to be that way.
“If there’s a problem, there’s always a way to solve it. It’s our job to figure out a way to accomplish it. There’s always a way to get done what you need to get done,” Alger continued.
Timms said as a board member, he would be committed to full involvement and with his retirement last year, he had the time to do the work of a supervisor.
“People are elected to govern because it’s assumed they have good skills and valuable input, to sit on your hands and never contribute is wasteful,” he said.
