Involvement in city an issue in New Berlin race

The Journal staff

New Berlin Can a man who hasn't voted in city elections now expect people to vote for his candidacy and against the incumbent alderman?

Council President and 5th District Ald. Tom Fishler, who raised the issue, doesn't think so, but his challenger, Bobby Schultz, does. Fishler

"Here's a guy who has never been involved in the community and all of a sudden he knows everything," Fishler said.

Replied Schultz: "We have a 28% voter turnout here, largely because voters are discouraged with their system of government. I'm one of the 72% that is discouraged, and I figured I can either stop complaining or get involved."

While Schultz has been complaining, Fishler said, he has been working for constituents. He said he took about 400 calls a year and was accessible and approachable.

"I admit I can't fix every problem, but I bet my rate is 85% to 95%," he said. "I'm not a politician. I feel I'm a friend of many people who live in the district."

The race will be determined in the general election April 4. Aldermen serve three-year terms and earn an annual salary of $6,100, plus a $1,200-per-year expense allowance.

Elsewhere in New Berlin, there are uncontested races. In the 3rd District, Lori Kiefer, who had run unsuccessfully for the post before, is running unopposed for the seat being vacated by Paul E. Strombeck. In the 7th District, incumbent Evelyn Bakic is running unopposed. Differences on Issues

On the issues, there are plenty of differences between Fishler and Schultz.

Fishler was a strong proponent of the Westridge tax incremental financing package, while Schultz said it put government wrongly in business with the private sector. Westridge is a development in New Berlin for industrial, commercial, office and multifamily residential use.

Typically, tax incremental financing districts are to be used for a greater public good, to eliminate blight or encourage development where it wouldn't have occurred.

But at Westridge, Schultz said, "It's such a Christmas present to developers." He called it "welfare for the rich. And people complain about the $200 in cash benefits some poor woman is getting."

Fishler disagrees. "That land was undevelopable without a kick-start from the city to get this thing started," he said. Arguing the city has to be competitive for development, he said no developer would have invested without that help. And the development will provide huge tax revenue without the pressure of school children that come with housing developments, he said.

Schultz said the city should have settled its dispute with the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District over sewer service charges to the suburbs long ago and would have saved millions of dollars in interest payments.

"Let's just be honest and say `we lost,' " Schultz said. City officials are not being forthright and have not had public debate on the issue, he said.

But Fishler bristles at the charge, saying Schultz is playing loose with the facts on interest costs. The city must stick with the coalition of suburbs negotiating the best deal, he said. "We have not caved in," he said, defending the go-slow approach. "There's so much at stake."

Schultz said he wanted to be pro-active on the issue of affordable housing, although "it doesn't appear that it's an issue in New Berlin to the people I would represent. I would like very much to look at affordable housing as part of a 20-year plan for New Berlin so that we can begin to get taxes under control and focus on quality of life." Taxes

Tax control is an area where the City of New Berlin shines, Fishler said. The city has one of the lowest municipal tax rates in the state, thanks to the team approach of the Common Council for the last six years, he said.

He said he was working to control taxes even more, through a study of what city services or parts of departments might be departmentalized.

"I don't want to stir up the union," Fishler said, but the committee is considering privatizing city highway maintenance services.

Fishler takes some credit for helping to streamline the permitting process, but Schultz said the city had gone too far with building inspections and property maintenance laws.

"We have a bureaucracy that's not working," he said, complaining that a new permit clerk is simply another layer of it.

Some of the requirements aren't based on common sense, he argued. He hopes to be elected to advocate for "the little people."

Fishler draws the distinction between himself and Schultz this way: "I'm a known quantity. The other guy, he can take all this campaign hype and pot shots, and I have no way of knowing where he stands." It's a difference, he said, between "someone known and visible vs. someone who thinks he has all the answers."

Bobby Schultz, 42

Address, time in district: 14860 W. Mayflower Court; six years.

Date of birth: Jan. 7, 1953.

Recent work history: Self-employed architect and planner; former architectural design teacher for Upward Bound students at Milwaukee School of Engineering in summers of 1990 and 1991.

Elective offices, other government experience: None.

Unsuccessful bids: None.

Education: Pius XI High School, 1971; architectural degree from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 1977.

Military: None.

Activities: Former religious youth education teacher, Mary Queen of Heaven Church, West Allis; youth recreation sports coach; affordable housing advocate for non-profit groups in Milwaukee.

Family: Married to Christine; seven children, ages 7 to 19.

Tom Fishler, 44 (inc.)

Address, time in district: 15155 W. Kingsway Drive; 18 years.

Date of Birth: Aug. 15, 1950.

Recent Work History: Medical industry sales manager for Teal Electronics Corp. for two years; former sales engineer for GE Medical Systems.

Elective offices, other government experience: Common Council since 1989; council president in 1991-'92 and 1994-'95.

Unsuccessful bids: None.

Education: Campion Jesuit High School in Prairie du Chien, 1968; Bachelor's degree, civil engineering, from the University of Wisconsin- Platteville, 1972.

Military: None.

Activities: Registered Wisconsin professional engineer since 1976; member, Holy Apostles Catholic Church, New Berlin.

Family: Married to Laurie; two sons, 16 and 18.

Copyright 1995
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