Six candidates seek four Janesville City Council spots
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Julie Broda
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Brian Fitzgerald
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Sam Liebert
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Douglas Marklein
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DuWayne Severson
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Jerry Smythe
JANESVILLE — Six candidates are seeking one of four open seats on the Janesville City Council.
The election is Tuesday, April 2.
Two incumbents—Russ Steeber and Deb Dongarra-Adams—will not seek re-election.
Two residents who took out nomination papers—Ken Cass and Sarah Carter—decided against seeking public office.
Incumbents DuWayne Severson, who filled George Brunner's remaining term after he resigned, and Sam Liebert will seek two-year terms.
Newcomers are Julie Broda, Doug Marklein, Brian Fitzgerald and Jerry Smythe.
All candidates had turned in nominating petitions as required by the end of the day Wednesday. Fitzgerald, though, had turned them in too late to be certified by the end of the workday.
The candidates are:
-- Julie Broda, 41, of 2719 Black Bridge Road. She is an administrative manager for United Capital Independent Wealth Counseling in Rockford, Ill. She graduated from Greendale High School and the University of Texas in Arlington. She has not previously sought public office.
Broda said she has "fallen in love with this city. ... I'm ready to give back to the city by serving."
Broda believes she can help the council because of her experience working in the financial world.
Broda said she would pay attention to the budget and last year's use of reserves. She did not have access to service level reviews, so she didn't know whether the use was justified.
She also said she would stress economic development.
If the city brings in business, even if it must use incentives, that puts people to work, Broda said. If businesses put people to work, the people spend money and increase revenues for the city.
-- Brian Fitzgerald, 59, of 4226 Huntinghorn Drive. Fitzgerald is a Craig High graduate and has a business degree from Regis University in Denver. He retired after spending most of his career in cable TV. He has not previously sought public office.
Fitzgerald said he is running because he wants to focus on bringing jobs to the area.
"Our economy is driven by consumer spending, and when people aren't working, obviously they don't have the money to spend," Fitzgerald said. "Because of the loss of GM, we're in worse shape than most cities.
"I just think we need to focus more on (economic development) than maybe some of the other issues," he said.
Fitzgerald said the city can't continue its borrowing.
"I think we need to spend less and live within our means. Unlike the federal government, we can't print money."
Fitzgerald was born and raised in Janesville. He said he knows the people who live here and the city's business climate.
"It's a great place to live, a great place to grow up," he said. "I just want to make sure we keep it that way."
-- Sam Liebert, 27, of 2621 Mount Zion Ave. Liebert graduated from Parker High in 2003 and is a full-time student at American Public University System. He works part time for Diamond Security.
He served one two-year term on the council and said he is running for re-election because much remains to be done. He said he has matured in office.
It's one thing to run for office to say what you want to do, but the realities are a lot different, Liebert said.
"You can't always get what you want," he said. "I've definitely learned to compromise and enjoy working with people even though we may not agree on every issue."
One of his goals is bringing skilled, high-paying jobs to Janesville.
-- Douglas Marklein, 56, of 3919 Dorchester Drive. Marklein graduated from Craig High and UW-Madison with a bachelor's degree in construction administration and an emphasis in real estate.
Marklein said he has volunteered for the city by serving on both the zoning board of appeals and the plan commission.
He promised to bring common sense to the council and act in a nonpartisan manner.
Marklein said he isn't running on any one issue and doesn't want to make major changes.
"We just have to get qualified people to … help manage the city," he said.
Marklein said his goal is to keep the city moving forward during difficult financial times.
"I think I have some things to offer from (my) experience in Marklein Builders and my living in Janesville all my life," he said.
-- DuWayne Severson, 55, of 56 S. Martin Road, has served one year on the city council, finishing the term of a former council member. He also served on the Janesville School Board.
He graduated from UW-Madison with a business administration degree. He is director of contracting for Mercy Health System.
Severson said the city budget remains his main concern. One reason he did not vote for the 2013 budget was its use of almost $1 million in reserves.
"I want to continue to work towards a more balanced budget," Severson said. "I believe we need to address meeting the needs of the city without taking funds from the reserves."
Severson said the council didn't push the administration hard enough to find other ways to meet city needs.
"I didn't run on that, and I don't believe in that," he said.
"For whatever reason, the majority of the board did not want to tackle the hard work now. ... The leadership of the council wanted to just kick this down the road again, and I don't think that's appropriate."
-- Jerry Smythe, 60, of 819 Garfield Ave. He graduated from Craig High and has an associate's degree in liberal arts from UW-Rock County. He retired from GM in 2002.
He is running because he has been interested in politics but never had time to get involved.
He said he began paying more attention when the tea party came on the scene.
"I think we pay plenty in taxes, and there are ways of budgeting our money and keeping a wonderful community without breaking the budget," he said.
"You talk about things like the fire department and the police department and their budgets, and I'm sure that there are things within those budgets that could be addressed, but I'd hate to throw out specifics right now because I have so much more to learn," Smythe said. "That's where the bulk of our money is going, so there's got to be places to save."
He questions other areas, too, such as the city's water rates. The city's water usage dropped when GM left, but its water-rate structure encourages conservation, he said.
"There's no water shortage here, and that just doesn't make a lot of sense," he said.
Jan 4, 2013 at 8:29 p.m.
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I knew you'd defend the indefensible, MooShoo. You were wrong but you haven't the grace to admit it. Partisanship will do that to a person too. It also inspires partisans to engage in name calling and derisive laughter when all else fails. They think it keeps the blinders from slipping off.
I too was wrong when I said monthly rather than quarterly, by the way. A fact I knew but somehow since just 2 days a go I paid my Water, Sewer and Trash Collection Fee in person at city hall.
Jan 4, 2013 at 8:29 p.m.
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Third_Eye - I got the Parody. I also got the irony in it. A clearly partisan person commenting on someone else's partisanship. Liberals have been divisive, but your comment proves that conservatives are just as divisive. That was the intent of my comment.
Jan 4, 2013 at 5:30 p.m.
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I think all of the candidates running have good backgrounds, and a diverse city council is always a good thing.
Jan 4, 2013 at 4:52 p.m.
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alphavictor, Janesvillean, and Gandolf missed the parody.
Partisanship appears to block the humor gene.
The fact is, alphavictor, Liebert is a self proclaimed left leaning democrat.
Jan 4, 2013 at 2:54 p.m.
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Not to add to the water meter argument here but I have two meters on my house. One measures water used in the house that goes into sewer and one measures water that is used outside and does not go into sewer. I am not charged sewer rates for water sprinkled on my grass outside because it does not go into the sewer. I was told some houses have this setup but most do not.
Jan 4, 2013 at 1:44 p.m.
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Conservation, of course, can mean the difference between a 150-year aquifer and a 100-year aquifer. In any case, the utility was required to implement a conservation plan by the Public Service Commission, as population growth in the state is faster than aquifer restoration over the long term.
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Third_Eye, it's very hilarious that you say the Democrats have "caused divisiveness", when Republican Governor Scott Walker is ON FILM saying he intends to use a "divide and conquer" strategy, and to announce it by "dropping the bomb". So tell me again, who is being divisive? Because I need a good laugh when you say this one more time.
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Smythe is going to have a very eye-opening introduction when he actually starts talking to department heads. The bulk of our spending goes to people, and cutting people means cutting service. That means fighting crime, fighting fires, and fixing roads. This isn't rocket science, dude, and it isn't a matter of getting cheaper styrofoam cups for the coffee makers. Mr. Tea Party isn't going to suddenly come up with a free lunch like he first thought of the idea of cutting costs.
Jan 4, 2013 at 1:42 p.m.
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Alphavictor - Liebert has said in a past district race he will run as a "progressive Democrat". Progressivism is left of center and describes a wide range of left-wing views. Do you think he doesn't have those left-wing beliefs when he's not running in a district race ?
Jan 4, 2013 at 1:35 p.m.
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Of course he shouldn't run flood water down his sink drain anyway because flood water doesn't have to be filtrated like sewage does. So not only was he putting an undue burden on the process, he was cheating the system by draining more water than what he was paying for.
So if anyone knows where this guy is, you should promptly make a citizen's arrest and bring him to the nearest law enforcement authority.
Jan 4, 2013 at 1:22 p.m.
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I don't think they are separately metered. The assumption is that the water you receive is equal to the water that goes into the sewer. But the charges are itemized.
I knew a guy who would run his flood water down his basement sink but stopped when he realized that drainage was charged separately. What he didn't understand was that the drainage wasn't metered separately.
Jan 4, 2013 at 11:29 a.m.
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er...MooShoo, didn't you notice that "Jerry" was referring to water rates and not sewage rates, which are separate charges on the bill the water utility sends out every month due to the fact that they are separate services the water utility renders? Didn't you also notice that he made no comment about the sewage service whatsoever?
Oh, I get it. You saw that reference to the "Tea Party" and had a knee jerk reaction ending in a dumb public comment. Partisanship like yours will make you see things that aren't there.
Jan 4, 2013 at 11:12 a.m.
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In his announcement statement, Sam Liebert inferred his disgust over the partisanship that was exhibited by members of the Janesville City Council.
Really.. who is he kidding. Sam is a self proclaimed left wing liberal Democrat. Just look at his comments, voting record and actions both on and off the Council.
He ran for the 44th Assembly seat in Janesville and was soundly defeated by the Janesville community. We said "loudly" we do not want you to represent us. Let's not stop there.
Jan 4, 2013 at 10:13 a.m.
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I am somewhat dismayed by Third_Eye's expression of what Sam Liebert expressed in his section of this article, A section that in no way used the terms democrat, republican, Liberal, Conservative or any other term that has caused divisiveness at every turn. YOU may think "evil liberals" when you read about Mr. Liebert, but the the article doesn't say it.
Jan 4, 2013 at 9:34 a.m.
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I am somewhat dismayed with Mr. Liebert's expression of allegiance to the left wing of the democrat party, a party that has caused divisiveness at every turn. The city council should be as non-partisan as possible in order to focus on municipal issues without being constrained by unwavering (and at times contrived) ideology.
Jan 4, 2013 at 7:53 a.m.
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fear......, what should the system be?
Jan 4, 2013 at 6:57 a.m.
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I agree with Sigma on this one - more details, please. This doesn't tell me much of anything.
Jan 4, 2013 at 6:25 a.m.
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BuzzMcPhearson - The fact that you care more about me than the people running for council is why this city is the way it is....poorly managed.
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befair- You really judge these people and their decision making capabilities by the way they look in a news article?
What is wrong with people around here? Wow.
Jan 3, 2013 at 11:46 p.m.
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This is precisely why Janesville has so many problems. a convoluted election system with no real viewpoints or philosophy brought forth. Instead we have 4 seats for six candidates. All i know is that anyone who says the "started paying attention when the tea party came about" is bad news and ignorant. Also people talking about the federal government can print money when we can't, are BAD choices.
Jan 3, 2013 at 10:49 p.m.
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Wasn't Liebert's method of getting jobs in Janesville by picketing in front of Ryan's office ?
Jan 3, 2013 at 6:25 p.m.
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This looks like it could be an exceptionally good field of candidates. Thanks to all of them for their generous offer of service to our community!
Jan 3, 2013 at 5:31 p.m.
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"I would like to see an extensive resume and also the results of a Harrison assessment."
I agree, it would be nice see the resume and assessment results for each person that post comments.
Jan 3, 2013 at 4:12 p.m.
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I would like to see an extensive resume and also the results of a Harrison assessment.
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