Looks like the election letters that didn't get published in the paper edition, got pushed to the "Voter Guide" where .. few will read.

Here's the one you might have missed:

TOM FEHRING:  Public Forum

Whitefish Bay is a great place to live. But it can be better. I've been listening to Village residents and their concerns. Based on this, and my own thoughts, here is a list of 10 measures that I believe would enhance our village:

1. We need to properly maintain the village infrastructure. Properly maintaining our streets, water mains, sewers, street lights and other areas of the village's infrastructure doesn't mean we need to spend more - it means that we need to efficiently maintain what we have, to anticipate needs before they develop, and to establish effective plans for improving the infrastructure we rely upon.

2. We need to do a better job overseeing village construction projects. To illustrate the point, consider last summer's construction project to replace the sanitary and storm sewers and water mains along East Courtland Place. Fugitive dust was not controlled, safety barricades were not uniformly employed, and the project didn't get completed on schedule.

3. We need to improve the decision-making process. We have been talking about renovating East Silver Spring since Bayshore Town Center was first proposed. Meanwhile, Bayshore Town Center is now complete while we are still talking to consultants about what to do about our shopping district.

4. We need fiscal restraint. The Whitefish Bay board has done a fairly good job of controlling the increase in property taxes devoted to village services. But by benchmarking our services to that of the best communities in the Midwest, we can increase the efficiency of operations and help hold down costs.

5. We must build a better sense of community. Active neighborhood associations can become a critical part of the social foundation of the village and can make neighborhoods more enjoyable places to live. They can also provide the eyes and ears of the community for the Village Board.

6. We should improve pedestrian safety. Crossing Silver Spring continues to be a hazardous experience for pedestrians, and crossing Marlborough at the library isn't much better. We need both better enforcement and effective crossing designs.

7. We must build a sense of history. I have been working with the Whitefish Bay Historic Preservation Commission to identify the historic and architecturally significant homes and other sites within the village. We are working on signage to identify these historic sites, and walking tours that will build on our sense of history.

8. We should improve village governance. Having served as corporate secretary for a major corporation for years, I have the skills to improve village governance. I will work to make our board meetings more responsive to the needs of citizens and improve communication regarding the board's actions.

9. We should improve communications. The village should do a better job of providing information to its residents. An overhaul of its Web site has been promised for many months - if done properly, it can provide a source of up-to-date information.

10. We need a village skating rink. In a year in which you could almost skate on any village street, we again have been unable to create a skating rink for residents. We need to find a way to make this happen.

Tom Fehring - Website: http://www.FehringForWFB.com/

Great letter. 

*** Make sure you read all the candidate profiles and endorsements HERE. ***

Summary: 

President:        PRITCHARD
Trustee:           FEE, FEHRING
Judge:             CHRISTENSEN
School Board: GRECO, PHILLIPS

As promised, I am writing a summary of my "candidate profiles" for the Village of Whitefish Bay’s April 1st election, with endorsements and rationale. 

Without decent media coverage, nor any sort of public forum or debate between the candidates, I have tried to use this blog to fill the void by interviewing each candidate, asking the same set of questions, and allowing each to review and suggest edits of their stories in an abundance of fairness.   

I hope this report is used as a tool for voters, instead of turning these important elections into popularity contests, based on who knows who, or the numbers of signs on lawns.

I spoke to most candidates for around an hour, and some for two and three, discussing their vision for Whitefish Bay. -- In short, I did your homework for you.

WHITEFISH BAY VILLAGE BOARD PRESIDENT

For a short time in January, Whitefish Bay had a race for Village Board President. DOUG WEAS had thrown his hat in to challenge two term incumbent KATIE PRITCHARD.

I interviewed Weas in January, and was impressed with one talent he brought to the table, namely, that he was a Real Estate Developer by trade, and had his sights set on helping the Village renew Silver Spring. I've written about the need for aggressive action on Silver Spring, and Weas had necessary skills. However. I had a feeling he hadn't quite realized the many other demands of being the Board President. This proved to be true when he withdrew from the race, 3 days after I published my story on his candidacy.

Prior to that withdrawal, I interviewed Katie Pritchard for over an hour. Pritchard has been a solid leader for Whitefish Bay and a quality steward for the Village. Before Weas' withdrawal from the race, I'd thought that if there were 50 elements you needed for Board President, Pritchard would be better on most of them. 

That being said, I continue to take issue with Pritchard's reluctance to bombard WFB with communication about the Village's business. Pritchard herself has critically written that the Village has citizens who are uniformed about issues. Her stance is that the citizenry is responsible to seek out information on their own. This does not compute, especially with our pitiful media coverage. 

PRITCHARD is a good choice to lead the village. She remains one of the three on the Board who tend to vote for more aggressive measures on Silver Spring, and thoughtfully handles the Village's business.

WHITEFISH BAY VILLAGE TRUSTEE - Top 2 Vote Getters - 3 Candidates

DAVID FEE is running for his second 3-year term, and was unopposed in 2005. I interviewed Fee for two hours. He is a man of substance, precision, and intelligence. He is conscientious and thoughtful.

My one concern with Fee is that he is too "risk-averse" when it comes to Silver Spring redevelopment. Don't get me wrong, Fee has well-thought arguments for his ideas on redevelopment, and one would be hard pressed to find flaw. Generally speaking, he aligns himself with the school of thought that TIF dollars should go for public improvements, like street-scaping, not for assisting individual businesses. He did, however, explain that he is open-minded, that if a great plan came along for a property on Silver Spring that had solid partners, that he could foresee himself supporting Village involvement.

But great plans are hard to come by. Silver Spring is far behind in the game, and, in football terms, needs to give up the running game, and start passing. We're at a point that we need to take on some risk, some gambles, to see improvement.

Fee is a solid friend of home-owners' rights and has a common sense approach to architectural and historical preservation rules.

FEE remains a solid choice.  His thoughtfulness and analyitcal skills are needed.  He has the background and solid talent to remain, and I endorse him for Village Board Trustee.

THOMAS FEHRING is running for his first term on the Board. Tom is a 34 year resident of Whitefish Bay, and has his undergrad and Masters Degree in Engineering from Marquette. Fehring is well spoken, has vision and intelligence, and would lead Whitefish Bay in a positive direction with a unique skill set.

Fehring has a background in engineering and project management. He is passionate about Silver Spring's renewal, and sees it as an urgent issue. When I first met him, we spoke for nearly three hours about the history of the district, and the need for partnership with businesses, to create a vibrant street. His desire to create an environment of flexibility is important to the survival of Silver Spring.

His other pet issue, near and dear to many meat-and-potato voters is infrastructure. Fehring has observed the deteriorated state of our roads, sewers, etc., and wants to see marked improvement.

Fehring has quality experience with the WFB Historic Preservation Commission and was recognized as "distinguished volunteer" by the Board in 2007. He's also served as a director for Dominican High School.

I highly recommend THOMAS FEHRING for Village Board Trustee. (campaign website link)

Julie Siegel is also running for Trustee. When I interviewed Siegel, I was extraordinarily troubled by her lack of specificity for every issue I asked her about, and others picked up on that. I believe candidates should have familiarity and opinions about the most important issues, and a solid vision of where they want to lead, before a campaign begins.

Siegel may still win, as she has a deep network in Whitefish Bay, a politically successful family, and has run a visible campaign. I commend anyone who raises their hand to volunteer, but Fee and Fehring are better choices.

WHITEFISH BAY MUNICIPAL JUDGE

There is also a Municipal Judge race between BOB PETERSON and PAUL CHRISTENSEN. We are lucky to have two high quality candidates for this position. Both are highly educated at great schools, (Peterson at Marquette and SLU Law, Christensen at Notre Dame and MU Law.) Not having had the opportunity to need a lawyer, I can't attest to their skills.

However, one component of the WFB Judge position is dealing with juveniles and their brushes with the law. I can attest to Paul Christensen's ability to relate to youth. Paul previously lived two doors down from me, and if I listen closely any summer night, I can still hear the echoes of him playing with his kids in his back yard. Note, I didn’t say I could hear his kids. It was Paul making most of the noise. Paul was also one of the first to welcome me to Whitefish Bay, nearly a decade ago.

I've seen Christensen hustling around the Village's homes, doing campaign lit drops and putting up signs like crazy.

I endorse PAUL CHRISTENSEN. I'm sure he'll do a great job as Whitefish Bay's judge.

WHITEFISH BAY SCHOOL BOARD

I wasn't going to make an endorsement in this race, because originally, two incumbents were running for two spots. However, this week, a write-in candidate has been circulating her name for the job.

In the newspaper article about this write-in's candidacy, her quotes stood out. "I don't think there is a place (in Whitefish Bay Schools) for people who say they want to go to Waukesha Tech ..  the focus is too much on college ..  There is something wrong when a community focused on children can't get its children to graduate." she said.

While diversity of education is important, Whitefish Bay is a college-prep system that graduates a whopping 99.06% of its students, where 94% go on to college, that also has significant resources dedicated to both ends of academic ability. It is crucial for our district to maintain these high academic expectations.

MARIE GRECO and JAMES PHILLIPS have done a fine job, and deserve re-election.

Summary: 

President:        PRITCHARD
Trustee:           FEE, FEHRING
Judge:             CHRISTENSEN
School Board: GRECO, PHILLIPS

The other candidate for Whitefish Bay Municipal Judge tracked me down and asked me to put up his bio.    Unfortunately, it looks like the NOW site beat me to writing an article on the race.   I've been busy.

Peterson is married with two kids in Cumberland, one in WFB Middle School, and are members of Holy Family Church.  

Peterson's undergrad was from Marquette, majoring in Economics.  After working as an Air Traffic Controller in Philly and Washington DC, Peterson went on to St. Louis University for his law degree.

He's practiced law for 15 years in Missouri and Wisconsin, and has conducted more than 50 trials both civil and criminal.  He maintains a regional trial law practice, and has handled appeals cases and has practiced at all levels of State Court including the Supreme Court.
 
Peterson has been involved with WFB youth sports for many years and volunteers for WFB's Football & Tee Ball, WFB Jr. Dukes Football and Basketball and McMenamin Irish Dance Academy.

Peterson added, "In addition to coaching youth sports, I believe that it is important to contribute to the community outside of Whitefish Bay.  I was honored to have been awarded the David Niblack award by the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers for my lifetime of service to the indigent. Municipal court is the village 'peoples court' and is often is the only experience that a village resident will have with a trial court.  I feel that my years of experience assisting individuals with criminal law issues and my familiarlty with trial court practice across the State uniquely qualifies me for the position of Municipal Judge."

Make sure you read the other candidate profiles I've written, and, in a few days, I will be writing an article that contains who I am endorsing for all the April 1st election races!

We have another race in Whitefish Bay, for Municipal Judge.   Current Judge Patrick Brennan is leaving his post, and two challengers are on the ballot.  The first is Robert Peterson who owns his own firm specializing in criminal law .. the other is Paul Christensen who has a general law practice on the East Side of Milwaukee.  For the record, current Judge Brennan has had the position for 15 years, and defeated Peterson 3 years ago.

I admit I didn’t intend to do candidate profiles for the Judge race, mainly because, probably like most people in Whitefish Bay, I don’t know upon what platform you would vote for or against a candidate for Municipal Judge.   Not being a troublemaker myself, I didn’t even know we had a Judge!  Turns out, we do, and Municipal court is in session two days per month, hearing the cases we all read about in the Crime Blotter, e.g., DWIs, bad checks, juvenile crime. 

That being said, I was contacted by Paul Christensen, who lived a few doors down from me and was one of the first to welcome me to Whitefish Bay.    

I haven't personally needed Christensen's legal skills, but what I can tell you is that I heard him playing with his kids every single night, a few houses down.    Paul has lived in the Village for 19 years, got his undergrad from Creighton and Law Degree from Marquette.    He’s a member of the North Shore Rotary Club and volunteers at St. Monica’s school and church.

Why is he running?  “This is my opportunity to make sure that the community has their legal issues taken care of fairly.  I listen carefully, and think my prior work as a volunteer makes me more attuned to the Village.  Before the election, I intend to knock on most doors in Whitefish Bay and make myself available to meet with its residents in a variety of forums. I feel it is important to make that connection.”   Christensen has a long list of Whitefish Bay endorsers, from Village residents to a few dozen attorneys.

Christensen has a meet-and-greet this Saturday, March 8th at the Whitefish Bay Women’s Club on 600 E. Henry Clay from 1pm-3:30pm.  All are welcome.

.. As for all the candidates who are running in April, Trustee, President, School Board, or Judge .. let’s just say none of these people are doing it for the money or the glory.  I thank all of them for their service to our Village, giving up family time for civic duty.

This is the last installment of my candidate interviews for Whitefish Bay’s Village Board.  There are three candidates vying for two trustee positions on the board.  The top two vote-getters in the April election will serve a three year term.

DAVID FEE

I spoke to David Fee for a couple hours last week.   While Fee grew up in Brooklyn, NY, he’s spent the past 17 years in Whitefish Bay, and has served one term on the Village Board.  He ran unopposed three years ago, making this his first election with a challenger.

I asked Fee why he was running again.  He explained that he ran three years ago to represent the northern side of Whitefish Bay during the JCC expansion, but that you “get past that single issue pretty quickly. There are many more issues that starkly define the vision on how to manage our community. ”

Fee is pleased with a number of items he’s helped accomplish.  He represents the Board on the Shorewood/Whitefish Bay Public Health Board, and in this past term, the Board, working with the Northshore Board of Health, hired a sanitarian to execute food inspections and perform training on food safety issues in the North Shore.  Responding to his concerns for the tax-payer subsidy of this service, the communities voted to fund it primarily through the license fees, and to make it subject to efficacy audits to determine the cost effectiveness of annual and complaint based inspections.

Another item Fee was proud of, was the new rules for the Historic Preservation Commission.  The original draft allowed the unelected commission to designate a property as Historic without the approval of the homeowner.  Fee believed that over-stepped bounds and reduced homeowner rights, and obtained an amendment that dictates a homeowner must approve of the designation.

Fee believes the new rules concerning demolitions hit the mark as well, as he believes there is wisdom in the “organic replacement” of housing stock in the village.   “When renovations are managed through the Architectural Review Commission (ARC) to protect size and scale, demolition and renewal can add value to a block, and tax base to the community”, he said. 

We then turned to the issues surrounding Silver Spring.  “Silver Spring is a really disappointing commercial strip.  There are virtually no trees.  The way the area is framed is in a sorry state.”

Fee provided this quote:  “Though a village survey found support for multi-use development up to 4 stories (Johnson Bank building), I am concerned that such extensive development the length of the street would drastically change the image of Whitefish Bay.  I understand the CDA echoes text book planning to utilize a mixed used development with condos as a tool to enliven a commercial strip.  My concern is that with the limited space of Silver Spring, and the existing residential density WFB, such mixed use would have marginal impact on the night life of The Bay.  Given the significant number of un-leased apartments and office space in the new Bayshore Town Centre, and the below expected performance of virtually all the restaurants, I am very cautious on any joint development the Village would invest in through the eminent domain process.”

Fee pointed to fellow Board Member, Rita Cheng as an expert on how TIF monies should be used in redevelopment, and he summarized her repeated advice to the CDA and Board that “TIF money should go into infrastructure, like streetscaping, that benefits the whole community in the long term.”   While skeptical, he is open to using TIF dollars for individual projects that subsidize one developer “if there is a clear business plan that indicates potential merchants that would occupy the space,” Fee added.

We spoke at length about the Talbots/Famous Footwear spot, and his vote to deny the village the use of Eminent Domain to purchase the property and try to develop it in accordance with the CDA’s master plan. Fee is joined by Trustees Brennan, Berg, and Cheng, who are against this process.  In broad terms, Fee said he "will not vote for such action unless there is a solid business plan with identified financial partners."  He said prefers “to negotiate for the site on the open market, rather than use eminent domain to force a ‘fair market valuation’ on the property owner.”

He stated a number of times that he would keep an open mind about the Village working with developers for Silver Spring, “but you can’t chase it.  If there was a great business plan put forth, and a reason to believe it was a workable concept, I could see the village ponying up.   No such plan has been presented at this point.”   He also said he “had a philosophical problem with using eminent domain in a selective environment.  If the property was clearly blighted, sure, but in this case it was a heavy handed ploy, and the village doesn’t have a plan for the property.”

Fee believes that if the Village were to ever propose making large investments in Silver Spring, he would support putting them to a referendum, so the citizens could have a vote. 

Fee concluded with explaining how he loves Whitefish Bay.  “It’s a special place.  Development can’t be rushed, and the first rule is to do no harm.   Governmental action can have unintended consequences and do far greater damage beyond the problem that was being solved.” 

--------------------
I wish to thank David for taking the time for the interview. This concludes the candidate interview series. 

I’m pleased all the candidates made themselves available for this, and learned a great deal about the political environment of Whitefish Bay in this process.

In mid-March, I will write summary of how I see the issues, the race, and who I will be voting for, and why.

Be sure to read the interviews of the other candidates:

• Interview with Tom Fehring (Running for Trustee)
• Interview with Julie Siegel  (Running for Trustee) 
• Interview with Katie Pritchard  (Running Unopposed for Board President)

DOUG WEAS

Last week, I spoke to Doug Weas at length about the skills he brings to the table, why he’s running, and what he hopes to do.

Doug grew up in the Green Bay area and went to UWM, majoring in Mass Communications. He’s worked in journalism, construction management, public relations, and most currently, real estate development. His wife grew up in Whitefish Bay, and wanted to raise a family here. Weas has three boys, 8, 11, and 13, attending St. Monica's.

Weas and four others work for Weas Development. In short, as a real estate developer, Weas buys vacant land or buildings on the market, constructs or remodels the property, finds a tenant, then manages the building.

I asked Weas, a busy father of three, why he was running. "Because I can make a difference. We need to be much more aggressive to make Silver Spring a really wonderful retail environment, and right now, we're not doing that. I can use many of the things I understand best about real estate and marketing trends, and apply that to Silver Spring. I think the Village Board needs new ideas and new leadership. I know the kind of things I can accomplish, and know I can make a difference."

While Weas has not served on any official Whitefish Bay committees, he has advised our CDA on occasion, and as a real estate developer, has spoken in front of many municipal boards, giving him eye witness accounts of both good and bad governance.

Weas explained that, with the State of Wisconsin holding annual tax levy increases to 2% plus new development, "if we don't improve the Silver Spring business district, we can only survive so long as a village. Whitefish Bay is land locked, and must increase the value of, not only the business district, but also the residential sector, and make it easier for homeowners to increase the values of their own homes."

Weas suggested that the process of home renovation is challenging in the Village, and the system should be streamlined. He did not suggest allowing cheaper materials or construction methods, but was in favor of loosening the guidelines, creating a more efficient process, and to take an attitude that the Village should encourage residents to improve their homes, which grows the tax base.

"Silver Spring has a great base, a great presence. Whitefish Bay must market the district, and should use the tools that government provides, TIF districts and on rare occasion, Eminent Domain." Weas pointed to a recent "convention" Shorewood put together, where they brought the Village Manager, Board Members, businesses, and land developers together at Hubbard Park Lodge and asked a simple question: What can we do to entice you to move to Shorewood?

Whitefish Bay has "signature opportunities" on Silver Spring that need to be cultivated, Weas said. In order to get the sort of retail developments, the Village must partner with developers, providing TIF revenue to help create desirable properties, or it won't happen. Case in point, Weas suggested, was the proposal to create a retail / office space / condo development on the Famous Footwear/Talbot's property. The developer needed assistance, but TIF money was not provided. (The end result has been that the owner of that property has spoken to CVS and is in discussions with Aurora, two tenants that would be undesirable for Silver Spring's redevelopment. -Kevin)

Weas is in favor of creating a Business Improvement District (BID), however, ultimately believes the Village Board must drive the process of recruiting developers and business to Silver Spring.

My last question to Doug encompassed, of course, my pet issue: When you were growing up in Ashwaubenon, when did you Trick-or-Treat?

Answer: "October 31st, at night."

Enough said.

I wish to thank Doug for taking the time for the interview. I hope to speak to David Fee in the next week, and follow up with all the candidates as we approach the April election.

In the mean time, be sure to read the interviews of the other candidates:

As announced a few weeks ago, we have a race for Whitefish Bay Village Board President. Katie Pritchard is seeking her 3rd three-year term and is being challenged by Doug Weas.

While the NorthShoreNOW covered the Village Board races .. it dedicated about 3 sentences to each candidate. That’s where this blog comes in, as I will try to interview each of the five candidates running for the three spots on our Board of Trustees, and give them ample space to talk about the issues.  

KATHLEEN PRITCHARD

I sat down with Katie Pritchard and interviewed her for about an hour this Sunday.  To date, I’ve interviewed three other candidates, all new-comers to the Whitefish Bay political scene.  Pritchard is the first incumbent I’ve spoken to, and thus, the interview was vastly different.

We already know who Pritchard is, as she’s led the village for two terms, and has had a hand in every major decision for her 6 years in office.    We remember how, in 2002, she challenged James Gormley, who held the position for a dozen years.  The 2002 challenge was unusual, as Whitefish Bay had gone 55 years since an incumbent Village President had even been challenged (an amazing factoid.)   Pritchard was re-elected in 2005 unopposed, but this year, a challenger, Doug Weas,  has surfaced and Pritchard must defend her position.

The defense starts with commentary about the past 6 years.  I asked Pritchard for her accomplishments over this period, and in all honesty, was impressed with the drumbeat of items. 

She inherited a Village budget in deficit status, and has changed that to a surplus over 6 years.  Pritchard has been directly involved in creating the Village’s first Community Development Authority (CDA) and Historic Preservation Commission, as well as creating a Village Financing plan, and 5-year Capital Improvement plan where none existed before.  There are also new regulations about residential demolitions that were created this past term.  She is also proud of her effort to fill every Village commission with new volunteers on a regular basis.  (No small feat.)

While Pritchard is sensitive to Silver Spring ’s situation, she would like to point out the good changes that have occurred over 6 years.  The Silver Spring business district has increased in assessed value from $36 Million to $65M.  She explained that some businesses on The Drive have had their best years ever, and while there are vacancies, new businesses have entered the village in recent history, from the Balia Wellness Center, to Hounds Around Town, and Milwaukee’s Finest Guitars to name a few, and nearly every building strip on Silver Spring has taken advantage of the façade improvement program the Village funds. 

We spoke briefly about the status of the most recent story about Silver Spring and its redevelopment, concerning an Aurora Clinic moving in to the current Talbot’s/Famous Footwear location.  In October of last year, the Board had voted to initiate Eminent Domain unless the property owners submitted a proposal that fit the Community Development Authority's master plan for the business district.  Since none was submitted, I asked Pritchard what had happened.   “Eminent Domain needs 4 votes on the board.  We have 3,” Pritchard explained.  I also asked what the chances are that Aurora would win approval, and with a wink, she said “Well, Aurora is usually pretty successful with this kind of thing.”

Pritchard does believe the Talbot’s property is a “stronghold” and she would like to see a vibrant Silver Sprint business district, with multiple restaurants and residences for empty-nesters who could take advantage of the shopping and grocery offerings on the block.   She agrees that a Business Improvement District would be great, but it has been voted down (by the business owners) in the past.  "I believe that the most successful redevelopment efforts require a partnership between businesses and government," with business in the lead, not the Village Board. 

Finally, we did speak about what I had written, concerning her Bay Leaves column, where I’d suggested that there is a lack of information and communication in Whitefish Bay that should be addressed.  Pritchard defended her position, and listed her efforts to inform the Villagers, with quarterly Bay Leaves and monthly “Saturday Morning Coffee” with the Village President, which has been attended by as many as 45 people.  Pritchard believes it is the responsibility of the citizenry to be informed, and to seek out information on their own.

I wish to thank Katie for taking the time to talk with me.  I will have an interview with Doug Weas up tomorrow.

With news last week that a third candidate was running for Village Trustee, Whitefish Bay now has a race, three people for two spots on the Village Board.  Since incumbents have a great probability of re-election, David Fee will probably retain his job, which means this race is mostly between Julie Siegel and Thomas Fehring, who submitted campaign paperwork last week. 

Again, please note, I am not a journalist, I'll endeavor to be fair, however, I suppose I will write an endorsement later in the election process.  In general, I will ask each candidate the same questions.

THOMAS FEHRING:

I contacted Thomas Fehring, and spoke to him at length, asking a range of questions, from his educational background to specific issues that will be discussed in this election.

Thomas is a long time resident, living in Whitefish Bay for the last 34 years, which is probably why this interview took two hours.  He has a rich feeling for the Village and its direction. 

He has a Bachelors and Masters from Marquette in Mechanical Engineering, and was formerly a vice president and general manager at We Power (Wisconsin Energy Corp.) and is now consulting on energy matters out of his home office.  Tom is currently the secretary on the WFB Historic Preservation Commission, and was named "distinguished volunteer" by the board in 2007.  He's also served as a director for Dominican High School.

His engineering background may account for one of his platforms for running.  He explained that he has a great concern for the deterioration of Village infrastructure, from roads, to water mains, sewers and street lighting systems.  "At a time when residents are making an unprecedented investment in improving their own homes, through remodeling and additions, the municipal infrastructure is deteriorating, and our efforts to improve it aren't keeping up," he said.

His other reasons for running were due to his concern with the lack of action on the renovation of Silver Spring.  "There doesn't seem to be a sense of urgency.  The streetscape has deteriorated, businesses have left, and this reflects badly on the community. We can and should have a vibrant, pedestrian friendly, shopping district."  Fehring believes his background in engineering and project management and long history of service to the village will be an asset on the board.  He has worked with and has great respect for outgoing Trustee Ken Berg, and felt his leaving is a great loss.

And, his wife encouraged him to run to get him out of the house. Whose wouldn't?

We spoke at great length about the re-development of Silver Spring.  Fehring is frustrated by the lack of urgency that has surrounded the process, noting that the Village has been talking about the issue for years and yet very little has been accomplished, while during the same time, Bayshore has been planned and constructed.    He believes that Silver Spring desperately needs new businesses, especially restaurants. 

We had a long discussion about how that could be accomplished, and Fehring tended away from monetary partnerships between the village, landlords and entrepreneurs, and instead wants to create regulatory environment through which businesses can prosper. 

"WFB probably took a step backward when Silver Spring properties were valued so highly.  This increases taxes and, of course, rents."  "Heinemann's was a great asset because it served as a community meeting place for decades.  Whitefish Bay needs to partner with businesses like that to accommodate their needs, make it work for them, for example, with outdoor seating space, alcoholic beverage sales, or increased hours of operation."

Fehring also said that it is important for existing Silver Spring merchants to be proactive in developing and enhancing their own businesses, and the Village officials should be willing to work with them to facilitate the improvements. 

He believes the Village should, on an informal basis, bring together strong community voices who can assist developers with their projects, and help communicate their ideas to the public. 

We spoke about eminent domain for a while, and generally speaking, Fehring is against the use of eminent domain except as a last resort, if a land owner was allowing a property to go unused for a protracted period of time, or when a single hold-out is preventing a desirable project from moving forward.  

As for the demolition of residences, or tear-downs, Fehring believes the historic preservation committee and architectural review boards have gotten the regulations "about right" although he noted that there remains opportunities to strengthen them.  While around 150 homes would qualify to be on the Village historic register, he believes that property owners should have rights to improve their buildings as they see fit, as long as it is not disproportionate to the neighborhood and has proper mass and scale and is sensitive to historic and architectural features.

As for my pet issue, night-time Trick or Treating, Fehring believes WFB should encourage the use of Neighborhood Associations, like Wauwatosa does.  Neighborhood Associations can do many communal events that bring the smaller areas together, including night-time Halloween celebrations.

Tom had a ton of things to say and I've tried my best to summarize our conversation.  I appreciate the time he took with me.  I will try to follow up with all the candidates later in the election cycle.

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!