Three vying for county board seat in District 30 primary
By Alexa Zoellner azoellner@dailyunion.com | Posted: Thursday, February 15, 2018 4:45 am
KOSHKONONG — Three candidates are seeking the District 30 seat on the Jefferson County Board of Supervisors in the Tuesday, Feb. 20, primary election.
Voters will decide which two of them will appear on the April ballot. Candidates are incumbent Supervisor Gary Kutz, former District 30 Supervisor Walt Christensen and newcomer D. Jae Ames.
The district includes Wards 4-6 in the Town of Koshkonong and Ward 1 in the Town of Sumner.
The candidates were asked to provide the Daily Union with information on their background, experiences and top issues of concern related to being a county supervisor. Here are their responses in alphabetical order by last name.
D. Jae Ames
A newcomer to county politics, D. Jae Ames is a past Town of Koshkonong Board of Supervisors member and chairperson. Currently, he is on the Town of Koshkonong Plan Commission and regularly attends board meetings.
“With over 18 years of researching and making decisions on agenda items, I understand the importance of the issues that District 30 has, as well as the county as a whole,” Ames said. “Police, fire protection, the challenges of state-imposed revenue caps, loss of tax base due to FEMA buyouts, annexation and road bypass construction, to name a few.
“With that said, I believe it is every elected official and every municipal employee’s responsibility to manage the taxpayers’ dollars efficiently,” he continued.
Sometimes it is not about getting more money, but how you spend what you have, Ames noted. Other times, there are cases where money is needed to fix a problem.
As a “fiscal conservative,” he said, he would like to be involved.
A small business owner for more than 10 years, Ames said, he understands the public and customers’ “appreciation for a job well done.
“Sadly, good municipal employees seldom, if ever, get appreciated for a job well done,” he said. “I would like to change that. If any county employee comes up with a way to save money, it should be acknowledged and funds can go to help fund shortfalls in the budget.”
Ames said his top three issues of concern are:
• Law enforcement.
Laws are nothing without enforcement, he said.
“The general disregard for stop signs, stoplights, speed limits, repeat offender drunken drivers, texting and driving, etc. (are problems),” he said, noting that his comment is based on a citizen’s observations. “As I drive from job to job and work on town roads, there is hardly a day that goes by that we do not witness a close call on the roads. It seems like we don’t have enough police officers on the roads. Sometimes we go weeks without seeing a patrol officer.
“When I attended the Town of Sumner’s board meeting and brought up this issue, it did not take long to hear about drivers coming through Busseyville doing 55 mph in the 35 mph zone,” Ames continued. “A lady explained how, that night, her husband had a car come around the corner on Highway 106 on his side of the road. Her husband had to stop to avoid being hit head-on.”
There are people who know when law enforcement shift changes occur and “take advantage,” according to Ames, who said he would like to see if he can “help make our roads safer to travel.”
• Opioid and other drug use.
Ames pointed to the police logs and articles in newspapers of robberies and break-ins as indicators of opioid and drug use being a “big problem.”
“It is obvious the drug companies have a big role in what is happening and should cover the expense of the opioid problem,” he said. “It appears that a question needs to be asked: if we are spending the majority of the Sheriff’s Office resources on drug issues, what is left for other law enforcement issues?
Ames continued: “I don’t think anyone at the Sheriff’s Office has an easy job, but there definitely is a need for more enforcement.”
• County spending.
“The Highway Department has buildings and land that have not been used for years,” Ames noted. “I know at least one town would like to purchase a site. If sold to the town, the property could still benefit the public.”
Ames proposed that the proceeds for the sale of that property could be used to help fund the issues the Sheriff’s Office faces regarding enforcement and opioid and other drug use.
Walt Christensen
Walt Christensen first was elected to the Jefferson County Board in 2008. In 2016, he was ousted by Kutz, but he continued to serve on the Town of Koshkonong Board of Supervisors.
Christensen said he is running for the county post again because, as a nearly 30-year resident of Jefferson County, he appreciates the county and its resources.
“I like the physical beauty, our location in the world and the many friends I have here,” he said. “I am running to give back something to the county from which I’ve gotten so much.”
Each county department adds to citizens’ quality of life in its own way, Christensen said, noting that he intends to support the people working in those departments.
“I’m running because Jefferson County residents need a full-time, active, rather than passive, watchdog to protect their interests,” he said. “I was the watchdog that interrupted a city project to make Fort Atkinson meet with, and address, Town of Koshkonong residents’ flooding concerns. I opposed plans in the county which risked fragmenting the county farm by sitting the highway shop there. The new highway shop now stands where the county’s Countryside Home once was.”
When Enbridge wanted to increase oil flow in its pipeline, Christensen said, he was the one who wrote the opposing county resolution that brought the company to Jefferson County to meet with residents.
Also, he pointed out, his testimony at a legislative committee hearing helped derail an effort to take some of the county’s annual $900,000 utility property tax revenue.
“These events, where I was a central player, are not widely known because they were handled not with yelling, arm-waving theatrics, but with a low-key, calm and professional approach that got the job done,” Christensen said. “I am running to apply my eight years of Jefferson County Board experience to the new problems we face. To that, I will add the problem-solving skills I learned as a mechanic.”
Jefferson County now is facing new problems, he pointed out. As bad as any issue is the increasing levels of drug addiction, especially to opioids.
“Drug addiction leads to job loss, disruption of family, children’s separation from parents, divorce, crime and death,” Christensen said. “All of those impacts require some county involvement and cost. Perhaps someday, science will produce a compound to stop addiction or an effective psychological treatment, but until then, success comes in case-by-case increments. It is a tough slog for our county professionals and they get all the help that the county board can give.”
Another critical problem he cited is how to maintain financial strength when state law “severely restricts revenue.”
“This conflict has brought about improved and more efficient ways to run the county and its programs,” Christensen said. “It has also caused the loss of some county services to residents.”
Christensen’s third major issue of concern is one he says the county has been working on for many years: the desire of residents to protect the natural resources, farmland and rural quality of life while under pressure to develop those lands for financial gain.
“Jefferson County residents have, many times, chosen to protect their county’s natural beauty and ag economy rather than sell,” he said. “Residents do appreciate the variety of outdoor activities in the county. With this, I agree.
“I believe the best way to a strong and lasting local economy is to take a gradual and incremental development approach,” Christensen continued. “Research shows that large-scale developments and the big infrastructure they need may give a short-term boost, but do not pay enough in taxes to provide for future maintenance costs. Jefferson County has resisted the urge to develop in the manner and rate of nearby counties and that approach has kept our county the tourist-attracting gem that it is.”
Gary Kutz
Incumbent Gary Kutz first was elected to the Jefferson County Board of Supervisors in 2016.
He has served on the Solid Waste Committee, Wisconsin River Rail Transit Committee and the Infrastructure Committee.
Kutz has owned his own business, GK Farm & Home Maintenance for 36 years.
He said he is seeking re-election because he enjoys talking with residents and taking their views back to the county board committee discussions.
“I would like to see through the plan for the county flood mitigation properties purchased with county, state and federal funds,” he said. “I have been to meetings on this and have spoken with many county residents regarding their concerns and have worked to the best of my ability to relay their concerns to the county departments working on this project.”
He said he enjoys working with people who have the residents’ best interests in mind, while also working to keep costs and services balanced.
“My belief is to get more work done for fewer tax dollars spent,” Kutz said. “I always try to meet problems head-on without dwelling and wasting time on the same outcome. It would be an honor to be elected again to serve on the county board as District 30 supervisor.”
Kutz said his top three issues of concern are:
• The opioid crisis.
“This is taking a huge amount of our county resources, Sheriff’s, Human Services and Health departments’ time and energy, along with many of our young residents’ lives,” he said.
• Aging infrastructure and increasing state mandates for more services.
“For example, the HIPPA Act requires individual private offices for any interviews,” Kutz said. “Through the cooperation of several departments, offices were found instead of constructing new.
“Keeping up with the ever-changing technology and finding room for the storage of information and hardware are a few of the challenges,” he continued. “Also, the roads and bridges are always in need of our tax dollars.”
• Having an emergency management plan.
“With climate change, I believe having an emergency management plan is important to the county and towns of Jefferson County,” Kutz said. “I have attended several meetings concerning FEMA regulations to recover