Sheboygan council candidates in districts 4, 6 and 10 share the issues important to them ahead of spring election
SHEBOYGAN — With the spring general election right around the corner, all even-numbered districts in the city of Sheboygan have Common Council alderperson positions up for election.
All elected alderpersons will serve two-year terms and be paid about $6,000 annually.
Each of the positions has two candidates running, a number narrowed down to a winner on April 2.
Ahead of Sheboygan County elections with contested races, Sheboygan Press asked candidates questions to introduce themselves and issues important to them.
Because alderperson races for districts 2 and 8 were given a primary election, an introduction to those candidates was given March 11.
Districts 2 and 8 candidates: Learn more about Sheboygan council candidates Roberta Filicky-Peneski, John Belanger, Zachary Rust and Jesse Roethel
Below are the answers given by Common Council candidates for districts 4, 6 and 10. Their answers were lightly edited for grammar and style.
Full list - Sheboygan County candidates: See who's running in the Sheboygan County spring election
District 4 candidates
Name: Debra Yochis
Age: 50
Occupation: Real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Werner Homes; and a property manager
Education: Lakeshore Technical College in Cleveland, Wisconsin
Experience: Worked in real estate for 15-plus years, and in health care for more than 30 years
Why are you running for office? I am running for office in Sheboygan because of my deep passion for the people of this community and the role I have taken as a leader. Through these last few years, I have seen and felt the need for change both within and through the county. I feel called for this position and long to see the best version of Sheboygan, in which I strive to achieve.
What makes you the best candidate? I was born and raised in Sheboygan and raised my six children here. At the age of 14, I started giving back by volunteering as a candy striper. I have also volunteered on the Board of Directors for the Hmong Association and Rebuilding together in the past. Currently, I give my time to Kindred Heart Families, Working Family Bread Basket and the Sheboygan County Food Bank. I also enjoy helping those in need at Sheboygan Area Pay It Forward. I enjoy working with/helping people. I believe that I have a great sense of what solutions need to be reached, and how to successfully achieve them.
What is the most important issue you want to address? Housing.
How would you approach addressing the above-mentioned issue? I would approach this issue with many different departments such as: building inspection/code enforcement, planning and development, the mayor etc. This isn't about "affordable housing" but rather "housing" for both property owners and landlords. I believe we can work together and make Sheboygan the best that it can be.
Name: Robert La Fave
Age: 68
Occupation: Retired machine operator at Vollrath Company
Education: Attended University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Experience: Present chairperson of UAW Citizenship & Legislative Committee; past chairperson UAW Civil & Human Rights Committee; past chairperson UAW Education Committee; executive board member at large UAW CAP Committee (Community Action Program); four-time delegate UAW CAP & PAC International Convention; delegate to UAW Constitutional Convention; United Way Planning & Allocation Committee member; Sheboygan Historical Museum member
Why are you running for office? I have lived in Sheboygan for my whole life and really care about what happens in the city. I think I will bring that commitment and my skills and long experience to the job to continue to make this city a great place to live.
What makes you the best candidate? I love my hometown, where I have lived my whole life, raised my family and earned a living. My belief is that Sheboygan is one of, if not the best, city to live in. Even if we don’t all always agree on certain issues, I truthfully am of a mind that there is nothing that my wonderful city cannot do if we work together. Using common sense, and coupling that with compassion, we can keep Sheboygan a place to be proud of. Common sense is free, compassionate common sense pays dividends. I would work toward negotiated settlements that would be the best for the city as a whole. I would work toward that idea that Sheboygan can get anything done, if we work together.
What is the most important issue you want to address? Though public safety is always a concern as is proper affordable housing, I believe the issue we need to address immediately is our roads. We need to keep them passable and in good repair, but we need to do so with as little interruption to the city traffic flow.
How would you approach addressing the above-mentioned issue? I would keep close ties to our DPW in working to do so. We have a good road and infrastructure plan right now. As an alderperson, I will strongly support moving forward with that plan. It’s what our citizens want!
District 6 candidates
Name: Dean Dekker
Age: 62
Occupation: Head custodian at James Madison School
Education: Graduate Sheboygan South High plus one year at Lakeshore Technical College
Experience: The last six years alderperson for the 6th District; current council president, chairperson of the Public Works Committee, member of the Law License and Public Safety Committee, member of the Marina Parks and Forestry, member Tavern Safety coalition, board member of the Indiana Corridor Neighborhood Association, former president of the Sheboygan Area School District support staff union.
Why are you running for office? I enjoy serving my community and being a part of helping to move our city in a positive and forward direction.
What makes you the best candidate? My experience as a council member in helping community members, leading the efforts to bring road repairs and maintenance of our infrastructure to the forefront after many years of not being a top priority. Also through my leadership as council president we have brought in a new city administrator and a new planning and development director.
What is the most important issue you want to address? I believe the most important issue facing our city is the need to grow our workforce. As a component of that, the need to increase our workforce and affordable housing. Many of the employers in our area have expressed the desire to expand their business but are being held back due to a worker shortage so we need to work with them to address this issue.
How would you approach addressing the above-mentioned issue? To attract and retain workers, we need to continue to have affordable and workforce housing available. The Gartman farm development is a great example of providing for both affordable owner-occupied and rental options. We need to continue to look for opportunities such as this so as the needs continue to arise we can address them. Developments like this not only help address this but also add to the tax base, helping to pay for services and improvements to our entire city without increasing taxes.
Name: Joseph Vugrinovich
Age: 46
Occupation: Shipping and receiving
Education: 12th grade Sheboygan South High
All relevant experience: None
Why are you running for office? I am running for office to change people’s lives and to ensure that the people’s opinions and concerns are included to help build the community.
What makes you the best candidate? I would be there for the people (residents) of Sheboygan and to make Sheboygan a better community to live in.
What is the most important issue you want to address? The most important issue I would like to address is affordable housing for middle-income residents.
How would you approach addressing the above-mentioned issue? The first thing is to increase the minimum wage, due to inflation. Secondly, to have more middle-income housing.
District 10 candidates
Name: Joseph V. Heidemann
Age: 73
Occupation: Retired. My last job was working for RCS Empowers as business development manager. (The best job I ever had, life is about contributing to the betterment of society by helping others.)
Education: Sheboygan County Teachers College, UW Sheboygan and Lakeland College. A genuine interest in talking to people of all races, religions, occupations, and ages has taught me more than any school.
Experience: Currently alderman of 10th District, I was on the Sheboygan Common Council previously. I was also an alderman and mayor of Sheboygan Falls. Having served two communities, addressing issues during different time periods of growth and lack of growth, I have a hands-on, real-time understanding of how the cities must adapt to changing financial issues.
Why are you running for office? I like serving the constituents of the 10th District as well as all the citizens of Sheboygan. I believe all electoral contests should have competition. At the time of taking out my papers, no one else was running. I am pleased the residents of the 10th will have a choice to make.
What makes you the best candidate? I’ve never liked this question. Not knowing much about my opponent, I believe it is presumptuous to assume to be the best. What I can say is that I have experience, that I am on the common council and have been chair and vice chair of many committees. I have in the past had the vote of my colleagues, which enabled me to serve as vice president of council and as Committee of the Whole chairman. I served under eight different mayors in two communities. I have learned a lot about providing services, solving problems, and creating an environment for people to thrive and be happy in.
What is the most important issue you want to address? Affordable housing and the development of the Gartman and Poth farms. We have heard this over and over. What type and size of development will best fit the neighborhood? We all have it in our hearts to make Sheboygan a better place. How does this effect police and fire protection or the DPW in bringing us the services we need at a reasonable cost? I want to see a plan for the future that will avoid mistakes and that will work for a long time.
How would you approach addressing the above-mentioned issue? By making sure we adopt a solid and doable plan when working with developers. By having citizen input from the neighbors. By making sure that the need for this housing is an actual need according to the projected population and workforce. We need to be able to make changes if the economy doesn’t produce as forecasted. As much as in possible, we have to be responsible for getting the right plan in place.
Name: Marcia Reinthaler
Age: 58
Occupation: Director of Customer Experience, Kallista brand of Kohler Company
Education: Bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing with a minor in computer science from Lakeland College (University)
Experience: Twelve years on the SASD Board of Education from 2010-2022, where I served as president, vice president, clerk and treasurer. I also chaired several committees throughout my time on the board. In my professional life of over 38 years at Kohler Co., I obtained a background in finance, business operations and customer service. These skillsets will all contribute to the business aspects of the city workings, government, etc. and will ensure strong communication and interaction with the constituents of District 10.
Why are you running for office? After spending 12 years on the school board, I took a break from local government for my husband and I to build our retirement home. Knowing I wanted to get back into local politics, it was important to remain in the City of Sheboygan. Now that we are settled, I knew this was my time to run for a seat on the city council, not against a person. It is an exciting time to be part of the future of the City of Sheboygan and I want to be an advocate for all the people of our city.
What makes you the best candidate? I am a fourth-generation City of Sheboygan resident. My husband and I raised two children, and now our adult children have chosen to live in the city as well. With my experience on the SASD board and business background, I have the experience to make decisions or learn what I do not know. I want to be an advocate for all the people of our city and have chosen not to accept endorsements or donations from any groups or individuals.
What is the most important issue you want to address? I believe housing to support local business is the most important thing to address as it involves not only attracting individuals and families to our community but also retaining our current population. Right now, we have over 3,000 open employment opportunities in the County of Sheboygan. It will be important to have community input for future development in our city, and specifically in District 10.
How would you approach addressing the above-mentioned issue? I would work with city leaders to (1) obtain the economic indicators to understand current and future needs and opportunities for our housing and business, (2) gather input from the public, specifically in District 10, and (3) meet with businesses to gain their feedback. Based on the different data points listed above, I would look for the trends and common views to make the best decisions with my fellow council members to support the future generations of our city. We are not going to please everybody; however, communication as to “why” the decisions were made will be key.
Have a story tip or public interest concern? Contact Sam Bailey at sgbailey@gannett.com or 573-256-9937. To stay up to date on her stories and other news, follow her on X (Twitter) @SamarahBailey.
This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Sheboygan council candidates in spring election weigh in on the issues
