Consider running for local office

This is the story of Pete. Pete is a pothole. He is one of many in Wisconsin. He is caused as weather and traffic combine to breakdown the road surface and compress or wash away subsurface materials.

Pete fills up with water when it rains and snow and ice in the winter. Local motorists have learned to give him a wide berth when they drive down the road. Others drive over him causing uncomfortable rides and spilled drinks.

Pothole Pete has been around a long time. Occasionally road crews will come by and fill him in. For a while the road is smooth again, but within a few months he is back. It will take rebuilding the road to make Pete go away, but there are a lot of potholes like Pete and road projects are expensive. After all, there is only so much money in the municipal budget and a lot of projects to get done.

At first you didn’t mind Pete and his pothole pals. After all, you are only driving on the roads. But lately you have noticed that there seems to be more pothole than road as you travel too and from work.

You get your tax bills and notice that you are paying more than in the past and wonder where that money is being spent, since fixing your road doesn’t seem to be on anyone’s to-do list.

As you drive around your community you notice other things that aren’t being done or that could be done. It is not just Pete the unfriendly pothole, but you notice the passed-down Chromebook your children bring home from school appears worn out, with some keys not quite working. You talk to other parents and hear about things that need to be replaced but don’t seem to ever get done. You see your children’s teachers at the store paying for classroom supplies out of their own pockets.

You wonder where your tax money is going. You see and hear a lot about the people in places like Madison and Washington, D.C., but they don’t seem to be the ones finding answers to fixing your road or making sure your local school is using resources effectively. They seem mostly to be concerned with hearing themselves talk and telling you to vote for them.

What then is a person to do when they care a lot about their local schools and community?

Have you thought about running for local office to be a member of your municipality’s board or council or to serve on your local school board?

It is at these boards and councils where the decisions are made then priorities set. You may still find that there are bigger problems than Pete the pothole or that all parts of the school budget are being stretched thin. At the same time by being part of the discussion and part of the decision making you have a voice in making change happen and can at least bring attention to the problems and concerns you see.

Nomination paperwork is being circulated for school and municipal boards. The paperwork to run for local office is available from your municipal clerk or school district office. People have until 5 p.m. on January 7 to turn in their nomination to get on the April ballot.

It is time to get involved in local government, if for no other reason than to make Pete and his pothole pals go away once and for all.

The Central Wisconsin Publications Editorial Board consists of publisher Kris O’Leary and editor Brian Wilson.