Village Spillage

Well, it looks like I may have goaded at least one candidate into running for Whitefish Bay Village Trustee.

Thomas Fehring, 60, of N. Woodburn St., is the latest to file to run for the Whitefish Bay Village Board.

While I've never met Thomas per se, he's a faithful reader of this blog, and he's emailed me on a few topics I've written about. I will have an interview with him in the next week or so.

I'm very pleased we now have an actual race, three candidates for two spots on the Village Board.  Incumbent David Fee and newcomer Julie Siegel are also running.

At the moment, Katie Pritchard is expected to be the lone candidate for Board President.   

There is still time, however, for more candidates. 

While the filing date for nomination signatures is January 2nd, a candidate needs to file a form before asking for the 20 required signatures.  (Read this blog post for details.)  So let's say you've thought about it over Christmas, and decided to give of yourself to your fellow villagers.  Plenty of time.  If you make it to the Village Hall, file your candidacy papers this Friday .. get your 20-30 signatures over the long weekend, you're all set.   (And again, email me if you need signatures.   My wife and I will sign your form.  All you need is 18 more!)

I do want to take a moment and give some thoughts on the people who've served, or are thinking of serving.  Bless you.  Really, I mean it.  I've thought about running, and have spoken to others about having them run, too.  The #1 reason for not volunteering is not the hassle of a campaign, not the once monthly meetings.  It's the untold hours of your time that you would give up, the committee meetings, plus the certainty of villagers calling you at night, taking time away from your life, your hobbies, your work, your family.  All for $600/year?

It's amazing to think 25, 50 plus years ago, serious men (mostly) would strive to be leaders of their communities.  Now, our lifestyles are different.  Our children engage us in ways unthinkable decades ago, soccer, dance, hockey, etc.  We try to maximize our family time at all costs.   Stepping forward, volunteering to lead your community and its governmental needs falls far down the family priority list.

So I salute those who've held these positions, past, present, and future.   Thank you for your service.
 

There are two open spots for Whitefish Bay Village Trustee for the April 2008 election, and currently, exactly two candidates.  I've been told incumbant David Fee is indeed running again, and as interviewed last week, newcommer Julie Siegel has filed papers for the other open spot.  Additionally, Katie Pritchard, the current President of the Board, will also be running.

While all are good candidates, I strongly believe that competition is necessary for democracy to function well.  3 runners, 3 winners is not a race. It gives citizens no chance to compare and contrast, and pick the better woman or man.

There's time left for someone else to step forward.  I've done some leg-work for you, and found that the deadline for filing is January 2, 2008.  However, you do need to submit a Registration Statement before you can get the ball rolling.  Below are the rough steps, but be sure to contact the Village for the exact rules.

1. Go to the Village Hall and pick up a packet .. here's the links to most of what you'll receive:
   * Ballot Access Checklist EBIS-7
   * Declaration of Candidacy - EB-162
   * Campaign Registration Statement - EB-1
   * Nomination Paper for Nonpartisan Office EB-169
   
   * Here's the Election Admin Manual for Candidates
2. You need to submit the Campaign Registration Statement before circulating nomination papers. 
3. You need a paltry 20 nomination signatures of Whitefish Bay residents.  Of course, you should get more, just to be on the safe side.
4. Get it in to the Village Hall by 5pm on Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008.

So .. do you have ideas on how to fix Silver Spring?  Have something to say about our zoning rules?  Historic preservation or tear-downs?  Care about WFB's infrastructure and parks?  Ideas on public safety, or tax rates?  

I know the holidays are right around the corner .. but 20 signatures is a piece of cake.  You've gotta know 5 neighbors on your block, easy.  That's a10 signatures if there's two adults in each household.  Linger around Winke's, Sendik's, or the Library, and you're bound to find 10 more friends, willing to sign.

Bring it by my house, my wife and I'll sign it.  I'm in the book!

Now's your chance to share your voice and lead.

If you're not interested .. think about who might be.  Forward this article to them, and ask them to think about running.  There's time left.

You might have missed this blurb on the WhitefishBayNOW website:

As of today, Julie Siegel, 42, of 5267 N. Diversey Blvd., is the first to file for one of the two seats available in April on the Whitefish Bay Village Board.  Incumbent Kenneth Berg announced he will step down. The other incumbent is Trustee David Fee.

With the dearth of village coverage from the print media, I'll step up to write about the April election in Whitefish Bay.  It's an odd position, and I remind all that I am not a journalist.  I will be as fair as possible in these beginning months.  I'll try to talk to each candidate and get their views on Whitefish Bay and its direction.  I will, on occasion, interject opinion, and will probably write endorsements at the end of the process. 

JULIE SIEGEL

I contacted Julie Siegel, our first candidate for the two spots on the Whitefish Bay Village Board of Trustees.  I spoke to her for about 45 minutes, and asked her a range of questions, from her educational background to specific issues that will be discussed in this election. 

Julie grew up in Shorewood, and moved to Whitefish Bay 16 years ago.  She has a Finance degree, as well as a Masters degree in Social Work from UW-Milwaukee.  She has previously worked in Real Estate, and had been working at St. Michael's as a social worker, but left her job two years back to attend to her family.

Her husband, Roger, works in real estate and has been recently been appointed to WFB's Community Development Authority (CDA).  Her father, Samuel Dickman, is the Village Board President in Bayside.  She said she'd considered running for Trustee before, and explained her father had encouraged her to investigate recently.

I asked about how her nomination process went .. she said her kids laughed at (with) her as she went into Sendik's and bumped into people she knew, to get the 20 signatures required for nomination.

Why is she running?  "I love Whitefish Bay," she said, "I love living here, it's a great place with good schools and a quality community."  She mentioned the 4th of July Parade and Great Pumpkin displays as some of her favorite civic moments. 

I asked for her thoughts on the re-development of Silver Spring.  She had attended the Panel Meeting in November, and found Joe Bartolotta's ideas on Silver Spring to be helpful.  She wasn't sure what she would like to see on Silver Spring, noting that, as Bartolotta had, rents are prohibitively high for restaurants to be successful.  She was generally accepting of creating a Business Improvement District (BID) Board, but wasn't sure if it was for the Trustees to form.  As an alternative, she suggested having one realtor in charge of marketing the district.

Generally, she said, it was important to keep the scale appropriate for any new buildings on Silver Spring, and that anything new be considerate of the immediate neighbors.  I did ask if she believed the "pace" of action on Silver Spring was too slow, too fast, or just right .. she had no comment because she was "new to the process". 

We also spoke about another issue that has concerned Whitefish Bay over the last few years, namely, the handful of homes that have been torn down to make way for new, bigger homes.  She didn't have a specific answer, but suggested that as long as the new homes fit the scale of the neighborhood, and that the developer is following the zoning regulations, it was acceptable.

Finally, she said she was going to research the issues of Whitefish Bay by talking to the Village Manager, and by going door to door to get a feel for what residents think is important.  She ended with the idea that she would work hard for the village, that she was open minded and willing to listen to concerns and find out answers to questions she didn't know.

---

Admittedly, this is a very premature interview with of a candidate who had just filed nomination papers, and hadn't formed positions on the issues that face our Village.  I appreciate the time she gave to me, and will try to follow up with Siegel later to hear more specific answers on her vision for the village.

I would also like to add that Whitefish Bay needs candidates for these positions.  Government doesn't work well with politicians who run unopposed, when voters have no choices, and no ability to pick the better woman or man.    As Ken Berg leaves the board, he takes with him some 15 years of experience, and leaves a big hole to fill.  Whitefish Bay faces serious issues each year, and we need some of the best and brightest to step forward and lead.

I will find out the specifics, but I believe the deadline to file nomination papers is the first week in January, 2008, so the clock is ticking!

Again, this blog post is far off the WFB beat.  Just something on my mind.

Ever thought about cleaning your Heating/AC ducts?  I'm certain my 80+ year old house has never had it done.  So I succumbed to the advertisements that tell of the horrors that are lurking in heating vents.

There are some fly-by-night companies out there, offering sub-$100 cleaning specials, then hit you with fees .. no thanks.  I found a duct cleaner from Angie's List called "Air Quality Controllers".  I was happy with their service, so I'm giving them a little plug here.  At the time, they had a flat rate of $287/house, no extra fees.

They bring in this gigantic box that houses a super-powerful vacuum, cut a hole in a duct in the basement, and attach the hose to your ductwork.  (Don't worry, they patch it up nicely afterwards).  This creates a super vacuum that sucks everything in vents down, into the box.  They then go around to each register, supply and return, with a compressed air hose that flutters and spins, knocking crap into the vent, down into their vacuum. -- That way, they don't create a mess around the house.

When it was all done, maybe 1-2 hours, the amount of crap they took out of my vents was absolutely disgusting.  They filled an entire garbage bag with lint and fluffy crap.  Not a small garbage bag, mind you, a giant outdoor garbage bag.  I was only angry at myself for not doing it sooner.

So .. as you're sitting in your 50+ year old home right now .. let's face it, if you haven't done it in the past 5 years, your house probably has NEVER had it done.  No one was performing duct-cleaning 5+ years ago.   -- Do a little test .. go to one of the return ducts in your house and unscrew the vent and reach in there.

The picture at the right is the crap that was in one of my 80+ year old vents.  Once it was cleaned out, you could actually "hear" the difference, as air flow was increased a ton without all that fluff in there.

 I know, it's gross.  Go check a few of your return vents.

I was at work the other day and the topic of Bayshore came up with two of my co-workers, both women.

Neither lived close, but had visited Bayshore.  Both didn't like it, one said she'd never go back.  Both preferred Mayfair.

Honestly, that came as a surprise to me, as so many in our area do indeed like Bayshore.   I've been there 20 odd times since it opened last year, and it always appears brimming with activity.  That being said, my concerns were echoed by my friends, that the layout was troublesome. 

Generally, they didn't like the "town" aspect, with clusters of stores on "city" streets.  It takes too long to get from one store to the next, and for 4-6 months of the year, they didn't want to be walking around outside.

Can't say I disagree.  While Bayshore has done a lot of things right, and has a clean, interesting architecture that's certainly garnered acclaims .. its functionality is not for everyone. 

It boils down to how you want to shop.  Some are browsers, some are purchasers.  If you're a browser, wandering a mile at Bayshore may be a delight.  If you're a purchaser, with something specific in mind, Bayshore and its meandering layout is a pain in the butt.  I admit, I am a purchaser.  I'm guessing there's some gender stereotypes that go along with that idea.

In the end, I believe Bayshore would have had more customers and higher revenue if they'd stuck to the traditional mall format, and not pushed away people who find the theme irritating and stay out.

Would it have been as pretty, "modern", and "town centery"?  No.  Would it have appealed to a greater crowd, willing to drive a few miles to shop, and sucked more people away from Mayfair?  Yup.    I don't think it's a flop, judging by my anecdotal visits, but it clearly isn't optimal for all.

Back in August, I read in Milwaukee Magazine:

Sam Rowen, 31 is said to be pondering a run for the 22nd Assembly District seat being vacated by Democratic Rep. Sheldon Wasserman, who will attempt to unseat state Sen. Alberta Darling in 2008. Sam now works as legislative aide for Milwaukee Alderman Mike D'Amato.

But now .. the JS reported:

Milwaukee Ald. Mike D'Amato, who has represented the city's east side since 1996, will not seek re-election in April.  His departure sets up a scramble for a seat that covers one of the most politically active parts of the city. Already, five have filed to run, including D'Amato's aide, Sam McGovern-Rowen.

So .. Since Wasserman is running for State Senate vs. Alberta Darling .. and Rowen isn't running for Wasserman's seat .. who is?  

UPDATE: Ok, I did some Googling.  I've found two candidates:

Whitefish Bay's own Sandra Pasch .. Website: http://sandrapasch.com/

And Rosemary Ponik, from Brown Deer.  (No known website.)

 Both are Democrats.  No Republicans have registered to run for the 22nd district.