Four vying for three seats in Saukville race

Two newcomers, Wendy Smith and Brandon Ashley, and two incumbents, Trustees Jim Nowlen and Trevor Seitz, are running for three open seats on the Saukville Village Board in the April 2 election.

The  candidates agree that finalizing and executing the Saukville and Grafton fire department and EMS merger would be their main priority if elected.

“We do not provide good service,” Nowlen said, but he noted it’s been improving with increased collaboration between the departments.

He called the Grafton-Saukville fire and EMS merger the “most important multi-municipality development in Ozaukee County.”

While the village and town of Grafton and the Town of Saukville have referendums on the April 2 ballot asking voters for permission to exceed revenue limits to fund their shares of additional firefighters/paramedics for the combined department, the Village of Saukville does not, Seitz noted.

“We worked hard to fit two paramedic (positions) into our budget without needing a referendum,” he said, adding that the Village Board is working on ways to fund those positions in future years.

“Hopefully by then we are seeing money come in from the (Northern Gateway and Crossroads) developments,” he said.

Seitz  said he’s running to maintain the Board’s conservative economic strategy.

“I decided to run again because we are making headway,” he said. “We have been able to lower taxes and have a lower surplus.”

Seitz, who is chairman of the village’s Cemetery Commission, highlighted his role in adding a columbarium to Union Cemetery to help offset the cost of maintaining the cemetery.

In addition, he said his background as a military police officer serves him well as a member of the village’s Public Safety Committee.

“I believe what’s right is right. We shouldn’t be overtaxing our residents, we should be within our means,” he said. That’s who I am.”

Seitz is also Chairman of the Board of Public Works.

  Nowlen said he was proud of his time on the Plan Commission, which has reviewed and approved plans for several significant developments that will grow the village’s tax base and benefit all taxpayers.

  Chief among these developments is the 99-acre Northern Gateway Community Collective that’s expected to house 620 housing units, a 30-acre business park, 110-room hotel, gym, day care facility, green space and walking trails.

“What we are achieving in development will help with our tax situation,” he said.

Nowlen said he had the acumen required of an elected official.

“A whole lot is about listening and thinking and making good decisions as we go,” he said.

Nowlen is also Chairman of the Public Safety Committee and a member of the Architectural Review Board. Nowlen said he retired from a career as an information technology capacity planner into local municipal office.

Ashley, who is 27, said he’s running to bring a new generational perspective to the board.

“I’m not trying to rock the boat or cause great change,” Ashley said. “I support Village Administrator Dawn Wagner and the current board. I just think it would  be great to have someone from my demographic there.”

Ashley said his focus would be on supporting small businesses and keeping “the community like it was when he grew up.”

He is an account executive for a software manufacturing company.

Smith also said she’s running to add a unique outlook to the board.

“I  look forward to bringing a female perspective to a predominately male board,” she said. “I am an average voter and Saukville resident and I want to do my part.”

As a mother, Smith said, community safety and  improved fire and EMS services are her priorities.

“I am very interested in the community being safe with the highway right there and just how times are,” she said.

Smith, who is a medical staff coordinator, said the board “seems strong now.”