By Christopher Clough
News-Chronicle
The result of Tuesday's Brown County Executive election could be considered the completion of a year-long revolution against the status quo.
Some might consider the vote for Green Bay mayor a case of style winning over substance. On the other hand, both simply could be the result of the eventual winners getting their issues defined and their messages out to the voters better than their opponents, as should happen in a democratic society.
One message seemed to come through loud and clear Tuesday night in the major races: Northeast Wisconsin's politically conservative reputation is well-earned.
That message was voiced by voters in the spring 2002 elections, where eight of 10 newly elected county supervisors ran campaigns based on holding back spending. It was reinforced in the fall elections, which left the county with only one Democratic state legislator out of three senators and nine representatives; and the lone remaining Democrat, Sen. Dave Hansen, wasn't up for reelection.
Tuesday's results continued the trend, with unabashed conservative Carol Kelso becoming the new county executive, succeeding declared Democrat Nancy Nusbaum; local small businessman Jim Schmitt, who based much of his campaign on following the leads of declared Republican and outgoing Green Bay Mayor Paul Jadin, winning Jadin's seat; and Judge Kendall Kelley using his conservative platform to retain his Branch 4 Circuit Court spot.
David Littig, associate professor of political science at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, said there's no doubt Northeast Wisconsin generally has a conservative mindset. He said the low voter turnout (28 percent) likely helped tilt the results in that direction. "Low turnout elections generally favor the conservatives," Littig said. "They tend to be better educated, more connected, and have a better understanding of their role in government."
He said Kelso's conservatism especially helped in her battle against Hobart Village President Len Teresinski. Kelso had said during her campaign she would veto a $32 million proposal for a new Mental Health Center, county government's most controversial current subject, while Teresinski said he would approve the plan while putting a moratorium on all following capital projects.
"As a fiscal and social conservative, Kelso really ran on issues acceptable to people in the suburbs, Hobart people," Littig said. "It's sort of like Teresinski had a hole he had to climb out of right away."
Sup. Pat Collins, a board member since 1992, said Kelso's election doesn't necessarily mean a wave of conservative fever has swept through Brown County. He used the $32 million MHC as an example, saying it had another $1 million spent on studies advocated by the plan's opponents.
"I don't give much credibility to labels," Collins said. "I tend to look at every issue. The Mental Health Center issue, what's liberal versus conservative? I think everyone in the county wants to look at what's best for taxpayers and patients.
"Say you're conservative. Are you going to veto a plan where you've already spent $1 million to study it? That's why I don't like labels."
Sup. Guy Zima, a board member since 1972 and frequent opponent of Nusbaum's administration, said Kelso won because voters believed Teresinski would continue Nusbaum's policies in his administration. He said he thought Kelso's win is likely the culmination of a revamping of county government begun with last spring's supervisory elections.
"Times are tough, so people are starting to notice waste in government and react against it," Zima said. "We've seen a growing awareness from the public in the way the county does business, and it's been reflected in the changes."
Nusbaum, however, wasn't sure Kelso's election meant the public is dissatisfied with her terms in office.
"I think each executive who's served since the position was created (in 1971) had a distinctly different style, a distinctly different area of emphasis," Nusbaum said. "That's the beauty of democracy, and I think it's very healthy. Whatever vision Carol Kelso has for the county will unfold based on the issues she's raised."
KINDER, GENTLER BOARD?
Littig acknowledged Kelso's victory might indicate dissatisfaction with the Nusbaum administration, especially with the sharp disputes that arose in board and committee proceedings in the past year.
"(Last year) was a major shift in the alignment of the County Board," he said. "Now the county executive is lined up with the board. That can make for a much smoother operation." Zima agreed board meetings should run more smoothly and hopefully be less contentious, but Collins said that's up to the board more than the executive.
"I think what we'll see now is someone who complements the board rather than fighting against the board," Zima said. "Last year you had a minority on the board supplemented by an administration trying to keep everyone in confusion."
"Back when there were 40-some people on the board, it was just as acrimonious," Collins said. "It's nothing new. The reason you have 26 supervisors is to have a diversity of views. If you want to work together, you've gotta have both sides willing to give and take and argue the merits of the issue.
"The same people that basically ran against government last year, who are now elected, are still running against government. They want to delay, stop things, but they don't bring positive alternatives to the table.
"These same people will sit in the new executive's office and say what a wonderful county executive we have. That'll last until the new county executive does something (board chairman) Ken Simons doesn't like; then the wall will go up. It's personality-driven, and it's sad to see on that side of the table, (the attitude of) we are right, we are righteous, and you are wrong."
Littig said the state government experience Kelso touted in her campaign might have been another deciding factor. He said her established relationship with the legislature will come in handy as the state prepares to cut shared revenues to local governments next year and seeks other cuts in its own budget that will likely affect the county.
"One thing that's interesting to point out is that county government is an invention of state government, and it's major job is to implement state policy at the county level," said Littig. "One huge advantage Kelso had is understanding the operations of the State Legislature."
Collins noted that link between county and state governments will affect Kelso's ability to change the county's direction. He recalled an analogy he made when the 10 new supervisors were elected last spring, when he said county government was like an ocean liner that can be nudged one or two degrees into a different direction, but is virtually impossible to turn completely around in a short period of time.
"Because of state statutes, county government is not the dog; it's the tail," he said. "We have statutory requirements, mandated programs. And once you look at the things we have and don't have control over, whoever is in office ends up pretty much making the same choices."
SAME AS THE OLD BOSS
As to the mayoral race in Green Bay, Littig said while Schmitt raised five times the contributions of his opponent, 21-year mayoral assistant Dave Nennig, Schmitt's campaigning efficiency was a bigger factor in his win.
"Clearly there was a sense of Jim Schmitt running a well-organized, well-financed campaign," Littig said, "with experienced people who knew what they were doing. He got his name out early, and for someone with no city (government) experience, developed excellent name recognition."
He said Nennig could have attained similar name recognition, but his campaign failed to take advantage of his position in city hall.
"Both ran an amicable, clean campaign," he said. "Certainly Nennig's was low-budget, very low-key. It wasn't really sharply clear on how to differentiate between the two candidates. Nennig's been around 21 years, but he wasn't able to capitalize on that."
Zima, who has been 8th District alderman since 1972, agreed Schmitt ran a better campaign. "It was basically an issue-less campaign," he said. "But one side put his face and words out there 10 times more than his opponent. (Nennig) kept his talents hidden under a bushel basket."
Unlike Kelso's probable effect on Brown County politics, Schmitt's win likely won't change significantly the direction Green Bay is heading, Littig said. Schmitt ran on a platform that extended much of Jadin's vision from his eight years in office.
"Schmitt is attempting to continue with what the Jadin administration has done," he said. "So I don't see the city as going off in a major different direction." Zima, though, said he expects to see a stronger and more visible city council than was possible under Jadin's strong leadership.
"Now, there's more experience in the council than in the executive branch," he said. "But (Schmitt) has his opportunity to bring his vision forth, and hopefully we can all work together."
WHERE WERE ALL THE VOTERS?
Littig said the low-key campaign, and because the Kelso-Teresinski race and other races generally avoided negativity, could have contributed to what he said was poor voter turnout, especially in an election with no incumbents for two major positions.
"(Turnout) was a little disappointing," Littig said. "Usually when there's no incumbents for important seats, you have more animated races. You'd think you would have had much livelier campaigns."
The country's staggering economy and military action in Iraq probably had an effect as well, Littig said.
"I do think the mood of the country played a part," he said. "The usual 'happy warrior' campaign wasn't out there this year, so the campaigns were more down than usual. This is just a down year for elections."
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