council05

Common Council Candidates' Responses to Eye On Oshkosh Questions

Note: On February 15 Oshkosh voters will have the opportunity to narrow a field of 14 candidates for Common Council down to 6. Tony Palmeri and Ben Schneider interviewed 11 of the candidates for Eye on Oshkosh. Candidates not included below either did not respond to an offer to participate or refused to participate. The interviewers asked the candidates a series of yes or no questions. The responses are presented below. Comments should be sent to editor@tonypalmeri.com

Oshkosh News Links	Abitz	Bain	Domke	Hentz	Jungwirth	Koerwitz	Mattox (Incumbent)	Norton	Bob Poeschl	Brian Poeschl (Incumbent)	Scheuer-mann
Approve use of taxpayer dollars for amphitheater?	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
Waive bids for Riverside Park?	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
Close Pollock Pool?	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
Ban Smoking in Restaurants?	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No
Veto Power for Mayor?	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Oshkosh Northwestern Links	Abitz	Bain	Domke	Hentz	Jungwirth	Koerwitz	Mattox	Norton	Bob Poeschl	Brian Poeschl	Scheuer-mann
Boycott Federal Signal Products?	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Walk a picket line with striking workers?	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Maintain 5 minute rule for citizen statements?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Allow citizen statement to address agenda items?	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Major issue facing city?	Delivering services more efficiently	Economic Development	Cost of downtown redevelopment	Reigning in Irresponsible Spending	Reigning in Irresponsible Spending	Downtown redevelopment	-Growth -Business Climate	Jobs	Open Government	Cost of downtown redevelopment	-Investment in Oshkosh -Infrastructure development

Approve use of taxpayer dollars for amphitheater?: Funding for the city's Riverside Park project has been extremely controversial in the last year. This question was designed to identify those candidates most likely to continue the current City Council's pattern of committing tax dollars to the project and those most likely to be against the use of additional tax dollars for Riverside Park. The responses would indicate that if you are satisfied with the way the project has been handled to this point, the candidates most in-line with your view are: Bryan Bain, Shirley Mattox, Mike Norton, and Meredith Scheuermann. If you are dissatisfied with the way the project has been handled to this point, the candidates most in-line with your view are: Ron Abitz, Mike Domke, Cheryl Hentz, Joe Jungwirth, Andrew Koerwitz, Bob Poeschl, and Brian Poeschl. Return to the chart.

Waive bids for Riverside Park? Recently the Oshkosh Common Council voted to waive the competitive bidding process in order to award a contract to the CR Meyer construction company for the building of bathrooms and concession stands for the amphitheater project. The City Administration argued that CR Meyer deserved a no bid contract because they are most familiar with the nature of the project, especially as regards working with contaminated land. If you think waiving the bid made sense, the candidates most in-line with your view are: Bryan Bain and Shirley Mattox. If you think the bid waiving was a mistake, the candidates most in-line with your view are: Ron Abitz, Mike Domke, Cheryl Hentz, Joe Jungwirth, Andrew Koerwitz, Mike Norton, Bob Poeschl, Brian Poeschl, and Meredith Scheuerman. Return to the chart.

Close Pollock Pool? After 40 years of operation, the once extremely popular Pollock municipal pool is in need of repairs. Some argue that repairing and maintaining the pool are not worth the expense to the city. If you believe the Pollock Pool should close, the candidates most in-line with your view are: Bryan Bain, Mike Domke, Andrew Koerwitz, Shirely Mattox, Mike Norton, and Meredith Scheuermann. If you think Pollock Pool should remain open, the candidates most in-line with your view are: Ron Abitz, Cheryl Hentz, Joe Jungwirth, Bob Poeschl, and Brian Poeschl. Return to the chart.

Ban Smoking in Restaurants?: Last year Oshkosh was the site of a divisive referendum that pitted restaurant owners against pro-clean air advocates. The referendum to ban smoking in restaurants passed narrowly, but was voided by a judge who cited vague enforcement procedures as the reason. The issue will be coming up again. If you think smoking in restaurants should be banned, the candidates most in-line with your view are: Bryan Bain and Bob Poeschl. If you are against a smoking ban, the candidates most in-line with your view are: Ron Abitz, Mike Domke, Cheryl Hentz, Joe Jungwirth, Andrew Koerwitz, Shirley Mattox, Mike Norton, Brian Poeschl (though he did vote for the ban originally), and Meredith Scheuermann. Return to the chart.

Veto Power For Mayor? Last year voters in a referendum agreed to allow popular election of the Oshkosh Mayor for the first time in 50 years. However, the elected mayor will have no more formal power than is currently the case. This question was designed to see which candidates would like to see more formal power for the mayor. If you believe the Mayor should have veto power, the candidates most in-line with your view are: Mike Domke, Cheryl Hentz, Joe Jungwirth, Andrew Koerwitz, Mike Norton, Bob Poeschl, and Brian Poeschl. If you are opposed to veto power for the mayor, the candidates most in-line with your view are: Ron Abitz, Bryan Bain, Shirley Mattox, Meredith Scheuermann. Return to the chart.

Boycott Federal Signal Products? Federal Signal (formerly the Leach Corporation) in 2004 announced they were leaving Oshkosh, a move that will cost the city almost 200 jobs. The city of Appleton responded by passing a resolution that placed a boycott on the purchase of all Federal Signal products except replacement parts. Eye on Oshkosh wanted to know which candidates will support a similar resolution for our city. If you support a boycott of Federal Signal products, the candidates most in-line with your view are: Ron Abitz, Bryan Bain (if the resolution includes exceptions for replacement parts), Cheryl Hentz, Joe Jungwirth, Andrew Koerwitz, Shirley Mattox (if the resoution includes exceptions for replacement parts), Mike Norton, Bob Poeschl, and Brian Poeschl. If you are opposed to a boycott of Federal Signal products, the candidates most in-line with your view are: Mike Domke and Meredith Scheuermann. Return to the chart.

Walk a Picket Line With Striking Workers? When Axle-Tech workers went on strike a few years ago, they were outraged by what they perceived as apathy and indifference on the part of government officials at all levels. Eye on Oshkosh wanted to know which potential elected officials would walk the picket line with Oshkosh workers. If you think elected officials should walk the picket line, the candidates most in-line with your view are: Ron Abitz, Cheryl Hentz. Joe Jungwirth, Andrew Koerwitz, Mike Norton, Bob Poeschl, and Brian Poeschl. If you are opposed to elected officials walking the picket line, the candidates most in-line with your view are: Bryan Bain, Mike Domke, Shirley Mattox, and Meredith Scheuermann. Return to the chart.

Maintain 5 Minute Rule For Citizen Statements? Oshkosh citizens are currently limited to 5 minutes of speech during their citizen statements at Council meetings. The elected officials are under no such limitations. Each candidate interviewed supports maintaining the 5-minute rule. Return to the chart.

Allow Citizen Statements to Address Agenda Items? Currently the citizens cannot address agenda items in citizen statements, guaranteeing that elected officials get the last word on public policy matters. If you believe that citizens should be able to address agenda items during citizen statements, the candidates most in-line with your views are: Ron Abitz, Mike Domke, Cheryl Hentz, Joe Jungwirth, Andrew Koewitz, Mike Norton, Bob Poeschl, Bryan Poeschl, and Meredith Scheuermann. If you don't believe citizens should be able to address agenda items during citizen statements, the candidates closest to your view are: Bryan Bain and Shirley Mattox. Return to the chart.

Major Issue Facing the City? If you believe the current Council has spent tax money irresponsibly, the candidates most in-line with your view are: Ron Abitz, Mike Domke, Cheryl Hentz, Joe Jungwirth, and Brian Poeschl. If you believe the city must continue to move forward with economic development activities already initiated by the current Council, the candidates most in-line with your view are: Bryan Bain, Shirley Mattox, and Meredith Scheuermann. If you believe that open government, jobs, and/or downtown redevelopment are the key issues facing the city, the candidates most in-line with your view are: Andrew Koerwitz, Mike Norton, and Bob Poeschl. Return to the chart.

Return to TonyPalmeri.Com