Meet the candidates for Wausau Mayor

Doug Diny, challenger

Age:  62 Current Occupation:  Recently Retired Account Executive

Relevant Experience:  I have had a career in the military and a career in the private sector.  Those experiences have left me well versed in command responsibility and customer service—two key skill sets for a mayor.  I am now retired and can give this job my full devotion.

• ·15 years in the U.S. Army with supervisory experience.  Attained the rank of  Major.
• ·26 years in customer service and strategic alliance manager in the bio-fuels industry.  
• ·Served 2 years as an alderman and 6 years on the Wausau Airport Commission.  
• ·Bachelor of Science in Physics from Saint Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin.

Why am I running for office?  As I approached retirement, I began to look for ways to give back like serving on the airport commission.  Once I became involved, what I found was alarming.  

• Wausau needs a return to normalcy.  The city seems to lurch from one crisis to the next, and that needs to stop.  
• We need a return to non-partisan city government.  It is the best framework to get neighbors to work together.  
• We need to return to common sense fiscal policies.  Our municipal debt has doubled in the past four years, and we are feeling it in painful water rates.

What is the role of the mayor?  The mayor is the chief executive officer in the “strong mayor” form of  government outlined in the Wisconsin Statutes.  He or she is responsible for everything from the minutiae of day-to-day operations to organizational culture.  He or she is the leader.

In the military, the officer of the watch never gets to say that it was someone else’s fault— Humility and taking responsibility are keys to successful leadership. By contrast, constantly blaming your predecessors or the council when things go wrong can get internalized as a character flaw and clearly telegraphs to everyone that you will never have their back. The mayor needs to be the kind of leader who accepts responsibility.

What are the top three challenges facing Wausau today? I hear from residents all the time, and whether their issue is on the top three or not, most of their issues are compounded by these:

• Issue #1:  Escalating water and sewer rates.
• Issue #2:  Failed and stalled economic development projects.
• Issue #3:  Mountains of municipal debt.

In respective order, I believe the solutions are as follows:

• Solutions to #1:  (a)  Stop taxing the utilities.  Why should city utilities raise rates just to pay taxes to the city? (b)  Look for simple solutions to the PFAs like drilling new or deeper wells.
• Solutions to #2  (a) Place the Economic Development Department under close supervision by the Mayor’s office.  (b)  Make sure we do a thorough job of vetting partners, so we know they can live up to their obligations.
• Solutions to #3: (a) Stop borrowing and pay it off.  (b) Have a rolling future five-year debt plan in the city budget and stick to it.

How will you balance the need to keep city services at a premium while keeping taxes in check?   Budgets are a key tool for getting multiple people to work together toward common goals.  We must have a single budget with priorities and stick to it.  Today, the City of Wausau has (1) a mayor’s budget, (2) a set of supplemental budget requests prepared by the executive branch staff and (3) a series of budget amendments that usually start as soon as January or February of the new year.  That’s three budgets!  I have never seen an organization that works like this.  Under my leadership, there will be one budget, and we will stick to it without amendments.

Among other things, one of the biggest challenges a mayor faces is working with a diverse group of people – council members and city employees – who often have competing views, backgrounds and priorities. How will you deal with this challenge, if elected?  The key is to ease people back into their respective roles.  The city council makes policy, and the staff serves the council and implements policy.  It starts with staying on-message about those two roles.  The mayor bridges those two worlds.  He or she can run meetings to insure the council makes clear and timely policy decisions.  The mayor can also require that the staff provide the council with timely and useful information.

Here is what I have observed as an alderman.  The council has a six-day rule, meaning that meeting packets should be sent out to the council members for their study at least six days in advance.  That rule is rarely observed by staff and the mayor does nothing.  Instead, hundreds of pages of often hastily assembled raw data come bounding-out to the council only a couple of days before.  Those council members who are engaged feel disrespected and dumped-on.  The staff, in turn, senses the council’s unhappiness and worries that the council won’t make “the right decision.”  An engaged mayor is in the perfect position to reform the meeting packets and start the process of defusing these tensions.

Talk about your leadership skills and how those will contribute to your success as mayor.  As mentioned above, the mayor’s role is to be the CEO, meaning one must own everything that happens on your watch. There is no one else to blame. Great leadership isn’t bestowed by government officials, it can only be learned through practice. I’ve excelled in some of the US Army’s most intensive leadership training schools and have put learned tools to practice in front line and executive positions.  As a commanding officer, I supervised people all over the world conducting critical missions.  I will also draw on my experience as an account executive in the private sector.  Job #1 was to keep the customer happy.  I think a lot of our rank and file employees instinctively understand that, but I do not always see a “citizens first” attitude from the top at city hall.

What developments in Wausau are you most excited for, and why?  Wausau was a wonderful place for Jean and I to raise our three children.  From activities on the 400 Block to recreational opportunities in the area, it really is a special place.  Now that more people than ever can work from home, I believe we should be able to entice more and more people who grew up here to return with their families.

But, I have to admit to a cloud of pessimism for our community.  The constant drama from city hall is not attractive.  The condition of our streets makes a bad impression.  We are overloaded with debt.  Economic development projects that we counted on to pay off that debt are stalled.  The situation is quite dire as will be the consequences of not making a course correction this April.

Please list any other details you’d like voters to know ahead of the primary that you’d like us to share in this space.  I will bring a full lifetime of experience to the mayor’s chair.  My wife, Jean, and I have raised three children to adulthood.  I have had two careers, one in the military and one in the private sector.  At age 62, I am a generation older than my two opponents.  With all those added years comes wisdom and common sense, two things city hall seems to be lacking.

Katie Rosenberg, incumbent

Age and current occupation:  40, Mayor of Wausau, Wisconsin  

Relevant past experience and/or education:  

• Current City of Wausau Mayor  
• Two terms on the Marathon County Board  
• Integrated Marketing Manager at Foot Locker  
• Ten years on the Marathon County Library Board  
• Executive Committee Member of the State of Wisconsin’s Law Enforcement Standards  Board  
• Co-Chair of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Small Communities Advisory  Subcommittee, Member of the US EPA’s Local Government Advisory Committee  ? 22 former community boards, bodies, or commissions  
• Master’s Degree in Strategic Public Relations from The George Washington University  
• Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy – Religious Studies from UWSP  
• Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts from UWMC  

What is your primary reason for running for this office?  

I would like to continue making progress on the work we started four years ago. This includes  steps outlined in our community’s first ever strategic plan, meeting the state and federal  mandates for lead service line replacements and PFAS remediation, cultivating relationships  between city of Wausau officials and our counterparts in state and federal government, and  applying for and bringing home as much federal and state funding as I can. So far I’ve helped  capture tens of millions of dollars for our city by telling our city’s stories to our allies in other  levels of government.  

I would also like to close the loop on the city’s PFAS lawsuits and facilitate the discussion the  council will have on how to put the millions of settlement dollars to good use both for  ratepayers and taxpayers today as well as ratepayers and taxpayers decades into the future.  

Lastly, COVID-19 pandemic recovery has been slow and lopsided. Business has changed and that  has changed our city’s economic landscape when it comes to where and how people work and  what kinds of businesses are growing and thriving. With the changes in the development  landscape, I’d like to work with Community Development and the Economic Development  Committee on the goals of the city’s economic development program. We have the opportunity  to recalibrate this work, while continuing to work on housing needs and longer-term strategic  development.  

In your view, what is the primary role of the mayor? 

There is no mayor’s job description. When I started this job four years ago, I decided I needed  to write a job description. Since then I’ve added to it and this is what it looks like right now:  

First and foremost, as mayor I have the honor of hearing directly from residents every single  day about their concerns and dreams for the City of Wausau. As the mayor, I serve as Chief  Executive Officer where I am the community’s policy leader, where I put together community  and city council feedback, and work to understand and craft the policy questions that the alders  can then act on to create beneficial change for our community.  

I also have statutory obligations, such as ensuring Wausau departments are following and  enforcing city ordinances and state laws, presiding over City Council meetings, serving on and  chairing a variety of commissions including the plan commission and the utility commission, and  I also get one of the first cracks at the City’s most important policy document, the budget, every  year.  

I also consider myself part of the City of Wausau’s emotional fabric and actively work to create  optimism and hope, especially when our community is going through hard times. Leading  through COVID-19, challenges like PFAS contamination, and a variety of corrosive democratic  and political uncertainties have proven to be demanding and grueling but not impossible. In  fact, it feels incredible to get through these mighty challenges and that is what gives me the  buoyancy to address what’s next.  

What are the top three challenges facing Wausau today, and your solutions to those issues?  

There are plenty of challenges that will keep the next term hopping but focusing on the top  three buckets of challenges are related to water, housing, and welcoming.  

1) Water: Over the next few months and years municipalities including Wausau will have  updated regulations and timelines for meeting EPA standards for PFAS, lead, and  copper. These are going to be huge lifts for many municipal drinking water utilities that  haven’t made much progress yet on these standards. While Wausau could have been  planning for PFAS earlier, we are still ahead of many in our state and nation because of  the new facility and the new granular activated carbon system. Right now, the EPA’s  interim health standard for PFAS is 4 parts per trillion and we’re expecting a standard  any month. And while initially the EPA was looking at regulating just two PFAS  compounds, they are now looking at several additional compounds. Once the  permanent GAC system is online, we expect Wausau’s drinking water to be at non detect levels.  

The EPA also announced new anticipated updates to the lead and copper rules,  including the directive that all municipalities replace all remaining lead service lines in  the next ten years. While Wausau Water Works has been chipping away at a 15-year  plan, the new five-year LSL replacement plan is critical for maximizing the amount of  dollars outside of ratepayer dollars Wausau can use to address the remaining 8,000 lead service lines. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act dollars are  available now and in this first year of applying, Wausau has already pulled in more than our fair share of those dollars by aggressively approaching this challenge. In fact, the  Wisconsin DNR has already said that every last dollar for the state’s clean and safe  water programs has been allocated and it’s only February. Wausau was able to pull in  more than $5 million thanks to having a plan to replace at least 500 LSLs this year.  

The challenge, of course, to every solution for our water is that it’s expensive and up  until recently, relied heavily on ratepayers for the costs. However, I’ve worked nonstop  to identify and source other dollars to address these challenges as well. Here’s a list:  

• I worked with Senator Tammy Baldwin’s office to secure a $1.6 million  congressionally directed spending allocation for the GAC construction.  ? I lobbied the state legislature for the first increase in shared revenue in the last 20  years. Wausau gained an additional $1.16 million in shared revenue and the  governor signed this historic bill in Wausau.  
• I lobbied the governor, the state’s joint finance committee, and the Senate  Committee on Natural Resources and Energy to both include funding for municipal  PFAS remediation and to ensure the administration of the trust fund doesn’t set the  state back on environmental issues. The biennial budget included $125 million for  PFAS and the legislature continues to work on the rules about how municipalities  can access the funds. Not one week goes by where I am not talking to someone in  state government or municipal interest organizations about this necessary funding.  
• I worked with our city attorney to present the city council with a case for entering  into the multidistrict litigation related to PFAS. Even in the first settlement, Wausau  stands to gain tens of millions of dollars that will allow council members to have  more flexibility in addressing utility debt retirement, other types of PFAS  remediation, and future potential liabilities.  
• I have gotten to know our partners at the DNR and EPA and have made it my mission  to share Wausau’s water challenges with them. At the end of 2023, EPA  Administrator Regan appointed me to the EPA’s Local Government Advisory Board  and as Co-Chair to the Small Communities Advisory Subcommittee. I’ve already been  able to share Wausau’s specific feedback and comments about the coming lead and  copper rule as well as concerns about PFAS. This is helping inform the national  regulatory environment for Wausau and every municipal drinking water facility in  the nation.  

2) Housing: Wausau doesn’t have a lot of space to grow out, so we have to look at building  up and building in between. The regional housing study led by the North Central  Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission found that Wausau needs 525 additional  housing units by the end of this year to meet the current demand. The current crunch  on housing also puts the current housing stock at a premium so the community’s need  for affordable housing isn’t being met across the board. 

The Community Development department has been working on housing proposals of all  kinds from apartments and condos to infill single family homes. However, several  proposals have been voted down at the city council level, including projects that  requested zero city dollars. We’ve had good experiences using a neighborhood visual  preference survey to identify community needs for development work on the south  west side of town. Drawing on those experiences, we need to manage developer  expectations and stretch the planning process out on the front end to help the  neighborhoods where development could happen have a stronger voice in the planning  process as opposed to their only say happening during a rezone request.  

Additionally, I would like to work directly with the Economic Development Committee,  with help from the Affordable Housing Task Force, to create a longer-term plan to meet  housing demands, strategic plan goals, and really start taking bites out of the housing  challenges. It’s going to take very targeted and disciplined policymaking and efforts to  get there.  

3) Welcoming: There are currently thousands of open jobs posted in our county.  Businesses are changing the ways they deliver services because of fewer employees.  The whole Midwest is trailing the nation when it comes to population growth despite  our relative affordability and access to resources. Wisconsin is also considered an aging  population where those nearing retirement outnumber those under 18. There are  plenty of national and state factors at play that Wausau doesn’t have control over but  we do have control over how we treat each other personally and systemically to folks  who want to stay here, make their lives here, and grow their families here. Ensuring we  have a reputation for not just being a great place to grow up and live your whole life but  also a great place to move and find your purpose is critical to Wausau’s future.  

Wausau has made several attempts at working on policies that would help current  residents and potential new residents feel more welcome, including the former Diversity  Affairs Commission that was originally a city county partnership, the city’s Welcoming  and Inclusivity Committee, and the Liberation and Freedom Committee. All of these  efforts were well-meaning and even somewhat impactful, but in order to be a truly  welcoming city this work cannot be compartmentalized.  

At the beginning of 2023, Wausau was accepted into Welcoming America’s Rural  Welcoming Project. Since then, we’ve had the opportunity to network with other  communities like Wausau and see what’s working and also talk through some shared  struggles. I’m currently working with some University of Wisconsin students who are  studying what it takes to be a Certified Welcoming Community and offering some  operational and policy suggestions for how Wausau could bolster our efforts to be  welcoming to all, including folks who have lived here for generations like my family.  

Budgetary oversight is one area the mayor is tasked with. How will you balance the need to  keep city services at a premium while keeping taxes in check? 

The most important shared policy initiative of both mayor and council is the city’s annual  budget. Because budget oversight starts well before the council even passes the annual budget,  we’ve internally developed a cost to continue budget along with supplemental budget requests  from city staff over the last few years. This has allowed the council to not only see how much  our standard services cost but also allowed them to hear directly from staff about the  important work they could expand if given more resources. I view my job as getting as many  options to the council as I can so they can then decide on which ones they’d like to see. That’s  why I’ve prioritized advocating for our needs at the state and federal level for funding like the  shared revenue increase, ARPA funding, the PFAS trust fund, congressionally directed spending,  and investigating grant opportunities.  

The budget is at its core a giant group project. City staff begin the project in May, the CIP  Committee begins ranking capital projects in July, and the Finance Committee works through  the budget through half a dozen workshops and discussions in late September through  October. This all happens before the public hearing and council vote in November.  

After the work of putting the budget together, it’s on our city teams and me to enact each piece  of the budget. My oversight of this process includes working with our teams to ensure we’re  following the city’s procurement policy and working with the teams to stay within the bounds  of their allocated funds. Fortunately or unfortunately, there is not much that any mayor can do  to change course on the council’s budget without additional council approval because  democracy requires that the executive and legislative branches work together to accomplish  the work of the people.  

Among other things, one of the biggest challenges a mayor faces is working with a diverse  group of people – council members and city employees – who often have competing views,  backgrounds and priorities. How will you deal with this challenge, if elected?  

The very first challenge I faced when I was elected to as mayor four years ago was the COVID-19  pandemic, followed by the politicization of the pandemic, and the economic recovery from that  same pandemic. That was a crash course addressing the needs of our community in a highly  charged environment. And while it is on the extreme end of the spectrum of what we have to  deal with, it offers a framework for how to have policy discussions with competing interests. If I  were to build out a list of strategies to best work with stakeholders in policy discussions, it  would include:  

1) Listen. Listen to experts on the real data and changing information about the policy  topic. Listen to constituents about the real-world impacts of the challenge and proposed  solutions. Listen to staff about how implementation of the policy is going and which  tweaks would help smooth service delivery. No policy will make everyone happy but  many have solutions that everyone can live with.  

2) Adjust. The solution that works this time might not work as time goes on or in a similar  situation. It’s okay to adjust to meet the changing needs of the community. It’s not a sign of poor policymaking to adjust course either. It is poor policy to keep pressing on a  policy that isn’t serving the people.  

3) Communicate. Communication efforts don’t always look the same but we have different  opportunities to communicate needs, efforts, and progress to internal teams, to the  council, and to the broader community. We’ve adjusted the tools we use for  communications, we have a better website where users can subscribe to updates they  care about, we’ve included more videos in our mix, and we’ve subscribed to translation  services and partnered with organizations so we can communicate in the languages of  our community. We still lack a focused effort on communications but that is something  the council has voted against several times in the last decade.  

Talk about your leadership skills and how those will contribute to your success as mayor.  

There are lots of different types of leaders and many of those stylings can be successful. Across  the nation and globe, there is a lot of emphasis on executive leaders as authoritarian strong  men – people who make decisions alone and with impunity. While it’s true that mayors will be  held accountable for every collective decision made, that’s the only part of this job where you  are truly alone.  

Ensuring you are bringing your best self to the team is a critical component of being a leader.  While potentially underrated, being mindful, authentic, and brave are important leadership  qualities I’ve intentionally cultivated over the course of my career, including the last four years.  Being mayor requires a lot of input – both input you ask for and input that’s foisted on you.  That means that if you don’t have a good grasp on who you are as a person, what your values  are, or what you’re trying to accomplish, you may end up trying to cater to everyone and  serving no one. Being mayor requires you to parse your motivations to ensure you are making  decisions that are best for the community. It also requires you to stand alone sometimes, eat  the criticism, and not intensify every reaction.  

Lastly, this job also requires you to know a lot about many topics so being a good student is  essential. Over the past four years I’ve had to learn the ins and outs of drinking water  chemistry, the legal ramifications of policy actions, how state statutes affect local codes, where  and how to find help for federal issues from water policy to trade, and the ability to have your  finger on the pulse of our community.  

What developments in Wausau are you most excited for, and why?  

My number one most anticipated development is the permanent granular activated carbon  system going online at the end of the year. I will be relieved that we have a long-term solution  to removing PFAS for every water user in our city.  

However, when it comes to what we consider more traditional development, I’m excited about  the affordable housing projects that have already been approved and the affordable housing  projects that are in the works because they are central to our community’s needs, the team is working to ensure each project fits with the neighborhood’s needs and input, and we are  working with both new and tested partners to get the work done.  

Please list any other details you’d like voters to know ahead of the primary that you’d like us  to share in this space.  

Thank you to the voters of Wausau for electing me four years ago and trusting me to do this  work on behalf of the community where I was born, grew up, and built my life and career. If the  people of Wausau elect me once again, I can promise that I won’t stop sprinting towards our  shared progress for the next four years.

Christopher Wood, challenger

Age and current occupation: At 28 years old, I take pleasure in supporting local businesses and community members by helping them complete various projects and tasks. I find satisfaction in assisting others, and I don’t always charge for my services, trusting that the Lord will provide.

Relevant past experience and/or education:

I possess substantial experience in problem-solving and finding efficient ways to achieve goals, even when resources or funding are limited. When presented with a challenge, I enjoy thinking about creative solutions and collaborating with others to overcome obstacles using the tools at our disposal. My background includes working in diverse groups, where I excel at maintaining harmony and boosting team morale. Additionally, I take pleasure in identifying people’s talents and empowering them to leverage their strengths in problem-solving.

What is your primary reason for running for this office?

I’ve observed a significant leadership deficit. Elected officials seem disinterested in listening to the people or engaging in meaningful dialogue. Some even perceive themselves as superior or possessing better ideas than those who elected them. My candidacy is rooted in serving the people—their dreams, aspirations, and collective strength. My mission: foster community engagement, ensure transparency, alleviate tax burdens, empower local businesses, safeguard children, promote housing affordability, enhance public safety, reduce water rates, and uphold constitutional rights.

In your view, what is the primary role of the mayor?

The mayor serves as the chief executive officer of the city, overseeing day-to-day operations and administration. Collaborating with city council members, the mayor plays a pivotal role in implementing policies, ordinances, and regulations. Additionally, the mayor is instrumental in managing the city’s budget, ensuring efficient allocation of resources. However, the most crucial role a mayor can play is to actively welcome people to face-to-face meetings. This direct engagement among community members fosters communication, builds trust, ensures transparency and accountability, and empowers individuals to contribute to problem-solving and decision-making processes to build a healthy community.

What are the top three challenges facing Wausau today, and your solutions to those issues?

Unhealthy and Expensive Water– We must explore methods to offer natural, clean spring water to folks at an affordable cost and also provide folks with the opportunity to have their own private wells.

Affordable Housing–Through conversations with various individuals, it remains clear that this issue revolves around supply and demand. By increasing the number of affordable homes, we can effectively reduce demand, subsequently lowering the costs of neighboring properties. 

One compelling solution proposed thus far is the construction of a sizable and basic apartment complex that significantly bolsters the supply of genuinely affordable housing. By doing so, we can alleviate demand pressure, ultimately leading to reduced costs for single-family homes and other properties in the vicinity.

Community connection–At present, our elected officials seem to follow a recurring pattern: they secure their positions through elections and then retreat from the people. What we truly need are leaders who possess a genuine desire and passion to connect with the people they serve. Leaders who recognize that individuals hold greater value than mere taxes and financial matters. People have purpose in this world, and building a resilient community requires our collective willingness to come together as one.

Budgetary oversight is one area the mayor is tasked with. How will you balance the need to keep city services at a premium while keeping taxes in check?

The city budget and tax implications are consistently significant concerns for our community. Unfortunately, recent elected officials seem to have overlooked the gravity of taxation. Our priority must be to establish a robust budget that propels our residents toward success, rather than burdening our future with debt. I firmly believe that engaging citizens in open discussions about the budget and encouraging idea-sharing will lead to informed decisions. In our initial weekly meetings, my primary objective is to discuss the creation of a healthy budget—one that resonates with all residents and instills confidence in its transparency and purpose.

Among other things, one of the biggest challenges a mayor faces are working with a diverse group of people – council members and city employees – who often have competing views, backgrounds and priorities. How will you deal with this challenge, if elected?

People come from diverse backgrounds, shaped by unique experiences, goals, opinions, fears, and desires. However, I firmly believe that most individuals share fundamental aspirations. They yearn to be appreciated, understood, loved, heard, respected, and valued. Personally, because of Jesus Christ who is within us, I choose to look beyond people’s errors and negative traits, seeking the goodness within them and encouraging that good to come out. Everyone has a purpose given to them by God. My ability to connect with others stems from a genuine love for all, regardless of their beliefs or past mistakes.

Talk about your leadership skills and how those will contribute to your success as mayor.

As a leader, I prioritize fairness, value objective truth, and am dedicated to implementing effective solutions. I firmly believe that great ideas can emerge from diverse sources, so I actively seek input from everyone. In Wausau, there are individuals with unique wisdom across various fields. Recognizing our collective strengths and weaknesses, I thrive on engaging with new people and discussing innovative problem-solving strategies. When our community unites, we become healthier and stronger. Unfortunately, many elected leaders remain disconnected from everyday citizens who simply seek a decent life.

What developments in Wausau are you most excited for, and why?

I am genuinely enthusiastic about our public weekly face-to-face meetings because they serve as the catalyst for our community’s success. These gatherings hold the key to solving various challenges. Not only do people connect and share ideas, but they also spark new businesses and foster employer-employee relationships. Trust, communication, and compassion naturally emerge from these interactions. Moreover, these meetings ensure transparency with elected officials. Understanding their intentions and goals becomes easier for residents. And if desired, the ability to recall and elect representatives who align with our values is more accessible than ever.

Please list any other details you’d like voters to know ahead of the primary that you’d like us to share in this space.

ChristopherForMayor.com