Incumbent faces challenger for Gilman Village president

In the Gilman Village president race, incumbent Jane DeStaercke faces a challenge from Jerry Smith.

Candidates were sent questionnaires. DeStaercke responded. There was no respone from Smith.

Jane DeStaercke

I am a long-time resident of the Village of Gilman who has retired from teaching English at Gilman High School. Aside from my nearly 40-year teaching career, I belong to the Gilman Lions Club, the CBA, Zion Lutheran Church, Gilman Development Foundation, the Aspirus Hospital Philanthropy committee, County Restorative Justice Board, and various other local and County committees. I am fortunate to be able to devote time to these endeavors that support Gilman at both the community and county level.

I have served as the Gilman Village President for the past 7 years and feel that I have helped move the Village in a positive direction. Along with the other Board members, I have helped the Village create a new mixed use TID (Tax Incremental District) to aid growth. We have also just revised our Comprehensive Plan so we will be ready for future positive development. The Village has a good start at creating housing opportunities for our area thanks to this TID. I would like to continue in our quest for exploring and receiving state and federal funds for both housing and downtown development.

Next to housing probably the biggest challenge for Gilman and any small community is providing affordable utilities for residents. I pledge to investigate all the funding sources that we can tap into to maintain the cost of the services we provide. I have worked hard to develop relationships with people at the Taylor County and State of Wisconsin level who can help us advocate for small communities that have limited resources.

Having developed relationships with both County and State officials, I am willing to serve when needed. An example would be the County’s effort to bring broadband to our area.

The Village of Gilman and the Gilman School District have always tried to be partners. Through cooperative efforts we both have worked to move Gilman forward. Our recent efforts through the Design Wisconsin event show a community willingness to take positive steps forward. It has been especially rewarding to see the young people of our area take the lead in this effort.