Two write-ins emerge for Gresham village president

Voters in Gresham will be casting their vote April 6 for their next village president.

For the village president, the only candidate on the ballot is incumbent Lyle Grosskopf, who recently passed away. With Grosskopf as the only name listed, Rick Giese and Art Bahr are running as registered write-ins. Bahr is on the ballot for a trustee position.

Giese has been serving on the Gresham Village Board for 20 years and also has a spot as the vice chairman on the Shawano County Board.

Giese began his campaign for the position after he was approached by a number of board members. As he is running his write-in campaign, he has noticed a lot of support from those he has talked to.

“I have been going door to door, letting people know that I am running,” said Giese. “I have talked to a lot of people who have told me that they would support me.”

If he was elected as the village president, Giese would like to see some changes within the infrastructure of the village.

“I would like to upgrade the infrastructure in the village; some of it is still from the mid-1950s,” said Giese.

Specifically for infrastructure upgrades, Giese wants to upgrade Fisher and Main streets including adding sidewalks. Upgrading the infrastructure within the village would also appeal to Giese’s next point of wanting to better market the village.

Giese wants to focus on the marketing of the village as he noticed that there are empty lots to be filled.

“There are a number of lots in the village that can be filled,” said Giese. “We can fill these lots by marketing the village better with marketing grants.”

With the increase in the price for water in the city, Giese also believes that strong marketing in terms of bringing more residents in will reduce the burden on residents.

“With more residents in the village, there will be less burden on all of the residents that are paying for water in their houses,” said Giese.

The Abby Bank in Gresham is also a point of emphasis for Giese. Due to the bank’s size, Giese sees an opportunity for moving the village office inside of the bank.

“We have preliminary talks of moving the village office inside of the bank, because it is so big in a small community,” said Giese.

Due to serving as a trustee for numerous years and his position within Shawano County, Giese believes that he is qualified for the position of village president.

“I am qualified for this position due to my experience working with local governments,” said Giese.

Bahr has lived in Gresham for most of his life. He has previously served as the village administrator and utility manager as well as serving as a trustee.

“I am running for the village president, because I really do have a passion for the village,” said Bahr.

Bahr is currently employed as a community development specialist with MSA Professional Services. In his position, Bahr’s experience includes having worked with a funding team on various state and federal agencies grant and loan programs, having attended client council meetings to help them with the community and economic development, and having administrated grants and loans.

Bahr has worked with 60 different communities within Wisconsin and believes that his experience engineering projects would be beneficial for Gresham.

“This would be a perfect opportunity for the community to capitalize on my experience,” said Bahr.

If elected president, Bahr plans to assign specific responsibilities for the committees to provide the planning necessary for the village board to discuss and debate issues. Bahr wants to see important decisions made based on data and reports, rather than assumptions.

“The problem is that the committees in Gresham do not have strong plans,” said Bahr. “I want to go back to the basics and be able to have a plan in case certain situations arise”

After telling those in the community that he is running a write-in campaign, Bahr has noticed that the feedback has been positive.

“Almost everyone that I have talked to has thought that it was a good idea,” said Bahr. “People have been wondering why I wasn’t on the ballot.”

Bahr would also like to see a change in how the public is able to get their information from board agendas.

“There could be improvements made in facets of the village operations,” said Bahr. “Improvements to the agendas, so that all public members can more clearly understand the decisions that are being made.”

Bahr would also make plans on to use the American Rescue Plan Act funds and other stimulus programs.

”I just want to see a better planned future with respect to all of the village residents,” said Bahr.

When at the election site, voters will see a place for a write-in name on their paper ballot or an area to type in a name on the machine ballot.

If Grosskopf does in fact win the election, then the next step would be for the village board to appoint someone else as the next village president.

lreimer@newmedia-wi.com