Walworth County County Board Chairperson Nancy Russell announced her choice of Bill Norem to serve in the vacant District 2 supervisory seat.
Norem served on the County Board from 1996 to 2004 and served as the County Board chairman from 2002 to 2004.
Russell said Norem’s experience serving on the County Board was the most important factor in her choice.
“In weighing the needs of our board at this time, first-hand county board experience is a critical factor,” Russell stated in a press release. “There is a considerable learning curve to our organization.
She went on to state that in addition to the loss of Joe Schaefer, who served on the board for 43 years, three other experienced supervisors have left the County Board since 2014. They were: Jerry Grant, who served for 16 years; Rick Stacey, 12 years; and Rich Brandl, six years.
“While turnover is inevitable, we have one of our newer boards in many years (just over six years average experience) with four members having served less than three years,” Russell added. “Bill Norem has a thorough understanding of county government and would be able to hit the grounding running. This will provide our newer members with valuable additional time to learn more about our organization and assume leadership roles.”
Russell thanked all of the applicants for their interest in the position.
“We were fortunate to have received applications from 11 residents willing to serve. Rick Stacey subsequently withdrew his application. Each applicant brought attributes to the job. Unfortunately, only one person can be selected to serve,” she said.
Norem will serve the balance of the term left vacant by the death of long-serving Supervisor Joe Schaefer. Russell encouraged all of the applicants to run for the next term, which will begin in the spring of 2018.
Norem’s nomination will be considered by the County Board at its March 14 meeting.
