Three County Board supervisors face opposition in the April 1 election.
Competing for two-year terms are Thomas Kussow and incumbent Darrel Pagel in District 2, which covers part of Little Suamico; Joyce Stoegbauer and incumbent Vernon Zoeller in District 8, which covers parts of Abrams and Pensaukee; and David Rakowski and Terry Brazeau in District 27, which covers Brazeau and part of Spruce.
Here are their profiles.
District 2
TOM KUSSOW
Age: 78, lifetime resident of Oconto County
Education: Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Employment: Dairy farmer 1958-1992; district sales manager for Dairyland Seed 1995-2002; part-time farmer
Experience: Appointed to the County Board in 1999 to finish term for his first wife, Bev
Statement: “I want to be part of making decisions to control spending to preserve present financial stability of the county, be part of promotion of new industries and commercial development in the county, continue to be part of Farmland Preservation process, and be part of making decisions to develop new, good personal protection and jail facilities.”
DARREL PAGEL
Age: 67, lifetime resident of Oconto County
Education: Oconto Falls High School graduate
Employment: Part owner of D and K Farms Inc.
Experience: County Board supervisor, four years; Little Suamico zoning deputy, 35 years
Statement: “Our county is governed by committees. I am on the Conservation, Planning and Zoning and Solid Waste committees. My main concern is to implement good zoning practices to make lives of the residents of Oconto County more enjoyable, also encourage entrepreneurs to build facilities and start businesses to employ more people in the county.”
District 8
JOYCE STOEGBAUER
Age: 71, lifetime resident of Oconto County
Education: Oconto High School graduate
Employment: Retired Oconto County employee
Experience: Pensaukee town clerk, 40 years
Statement: “I will always try to do what is best for the people of Oconto County and try to save money whenever I have the opportunity.”
VERNON ZOELLER
Age: 79, lifetime resident of Oconto County
Education: Oconto Falls High School graduate
Employment: Retired; worked for Scott Paper for 35 years
Experience: County Board, 14 years; Town Board, 18 years; worked six summers with Department of Natural Resources
Statement: “I’m on the Forestry, Parks and Land Committee, and we’re working on improving our parks, boat landings and forests.”
District 27
DAVID RAKOWSKI
Age: 67, lifetime resident of Oconto County
Education: Coleman High School graduate
Employment: Recently retired after a 40-year career in livestock and crop farming. We operated a farm that has been in our family for over 100 years.
Experience: 25 years on the Coleman School Board, serving many years as board president; 28 years on the board of Greenstone Farm Credit Services; served on several statewide committees involving agricultural cooperatives and legislative activities.
Statement: “The construction of a new jail is the most important issue facing the county and its residents. Many critical decisions need to be made for its planning and construction. The town of Brazeau, with its large tax base, does not have a resident representing us on the County Board. We collect four times the tax dollars from our property owners for the county than we do for our own township, yet we don’t have a say in how it’s spent.”
TERRY BRAZEAU
Age: 59, lifetime resident of Oconto County
Education: Suring High School graduate, Northeast Wisconsin Technical Institute police science two-year associate degree, continued training in the areas of EMT, firefighter, radar, Taser, weapons, computer
Employment: Retired sheriff’s deputy, co-owner of Brazeau Properties
Experience: Six years as County Board supervisor; Highway and Zoning and Solid Waste Committees, four years; Forest and Parks and Economic Development committees, two years; Baylakes Planning Commission; Wisconsin Counties Solid Waste Management Association director; Spruce Town Board, 15 years; town supervisor, five years; town chairman, 10 years; Suring Village Board, two years; sheriff’s deputy working with all departments in county government, 30-plus years
Statement: “The last few budgets have been status quo, and we used our savings to keep it that way. Federal and state cuts were made, and fuel prices are rising. I hope the economy and our sales taxes pick up or we will be forced to make cuts in services. The law enforcement center will be the largest project the county has undertaken. A lot of time and money will be spent in the next three to four years. I hope to be there, with my 30-plus years of experience in law enforcement, working to get the best bang for our buck.”
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