ELECTION 2022: Switalla hopes 3rd Assembly attempt the charm

William Switalla serves his village as its board president, he serves his county on the Shawano County Board of Supervisors, and now he’s hoping to represent the Sixth Assembly District in the Wisconsin Legislature.

Switalla’s also hoping the third time’s the charm, as he has tried twice before to represent Shawano County and neighboring communities at the Capitol. The previous two attempts were against entrenched Rep. Gary Tauchen, but since Tauchen is retiring from the legislature, Switalla believes this is his chance to be a bigger civil servant.

“I’ve been interested in it for a long time,” Switalla said in an in-person interview with NEW Media. “I very much like and believe in our democracy, and I really believe I have a chance, this time. It’s better to bring what I know now to Madison. I’ve been doing this for a decade, and I know a lot of issues Madison gives us, and the thing is they don’t give us the funding to back it.”

Switalla noted he faces an even better chance now that Dean Neubert is joining in as a write-in candidate against Peter Schmidt. Switalla believes the two will divide the Republican votes and give him a path to victory in an area that traditionally runs red instead of blue.

“When I first ran, I thought I was going to win because I’m me,” he said. “Then you learn. Isn’t that the way to learn, starting down here, starting in the village and the county and then working your way up.”

Switalla grew up on a farm but no longer does so. He currently operates a flower shop in Wittenberg when he’s not attending village and county meetings. He feels he has the connections to make him an effective legislator.

Like Schmidt, Switalla is also contending with the Shawano County Republican Party’s assertion that his criminal record makes him a poor choice to represent the district. Switalla was found guilty due to a no contest plea of theft of movable property, a misdemeanor, and a felony burglary charge was dismissed. The incident involved an old grill that Switalla removed from a property owned by the county and later returned.

“From day one when all this happened, I like to think that I kept my cool,” Switalla said. “I did what I needed to do to protect myself. I never accused. I never fought it. I just tell people it was a misunderstanding. I went there to clean up the property.”

Switalla noted that people gave him money to fight the charges, feeling it was unfair to level a burglary charge against him, especially since the property was returned.

“My dad said that bad publicity is better than no publicity,” Switalla said. “I was not a violent person, and the fact that I’m still the village president — they voted me in again — and I’m still on the county board. If I were a bad person at all, I think that would show.”

Switalla is an advocate for giving women the choice about their bodies, even when it comes to having babies. He feels the recent U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is a frightening sign of reproductive rights in the future.

“The Roe v. Wade issue, doesn’t that scare a lot of people, including me?” Switalla said. “A woman’s right to choose is a top priority for me. You can’t make those decisions for a woman. I’d like to be part of that protection.”

Switalla sees himself as an advocate for agriculture, even though he no longer farms. Because much of the Sixth Assembly District is farmland, he feels whoever fills Tauchen’s seat needs to be a friend to farmers.

“I would like to see small farmers do better, but I’m afraid those days are getting fewer between,” Switalla said. “I want to make sure we protect our waters and our lands.”

Being a local leader, Switalla knows first-hand what clerks have to deal with come election time, and he does not buy into the fraud claims being made by the GOP.

“I’m a little offended when they say our election was not correct, because of our clerks and our election officials working as diligently to make sure that it’s not unfair,” Switalla said. “I’m not going to say that we don’t have cheaters, because we do, but the Democrats who cheated and the Republicans who cheated and the independents who cheated, it all comes out evenly. Our election system is fair, and I don’t think it needs to change.”

Switalla said he would be more present than Tauchen was, regularly attending city, town, village and county meetings to keep his constituents apprised on what is happening in Madison.

“People like Gary Tauchen because he’s a nice, quiet man, but I’ve served on the county board for over a decade,” he said. “Where do you get your information to take to Madison? He didn’t get it from the county. Maybe he got it from Bonduel. Two times in 10 years I saw that man. Gary was never at a village meeting. It’s pretty sad, and that’s not going to be me.”

Switalla vowed he would be beholden to his constituents, not the Democratic Party.

“If the people didn’t want me to do it, I wouldn’t do it, I think,” he said. “I hope that I would listen to the people.”

lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com