Four face off in Green Bay District 2 primary

By Press Times Staff

GREEN BAY – The Feb. 15 primary for Green Bay District 2 is set, with four names appearing on the ballot – three newcomers and one former District 3 alderperson.

Andy Nicholson, Cassidy McGowan, Michael Shea and Jim Hutchison will face off to replace incumbent Veronica Corpus-Dax, who is not running for reelection.

The top two vote-getters will advance to the April 5 general election.

The Press Times asked each candidate the same question and gave them 200 words to respond.

“What do you see as the most important issue facing the City of Green Bay and District 2, and if elected, how will you address it?”

Andy Nicholson did not respond.

Cassidy McGowan

A: I am the proud and happy father of three terrific kids, and have been married for 15 years to my amazing wife, Jamie. 

We both believe Green Bay is a terrific place to raise a family.

I share this, because I now feel a strong desire to serve you.

Just being in this race for alderman is a privilege.

Whoever ends up representing the people who call District 2 home will be fortunate to do so.

I have entered this race because I believe that my service will be a benefit to our community.

While I love Green Bay, I am concerned about the direction it is headed.

The cornerstone of our community remains our neighborhoods.

We must continue to work on keeping them safe from excessive automobile speeds and rising crime.

We must stabilize and lower taxes, especially as inflation is putting greater pressure on our wallets.

As a parent and teacher, I know, like we all do, that there is much work to be done to maintain and improve our city as a great place to live, work and retire.

We can address these challenges when we work together, so please consider voting for me.

Michael Shea

A: Green Bay as a whole has several major issues to fix.

To ask about the most important issue is to ask about the root of most of the problems.

A major problem is the approach the city has taken in identifying and addressing problems. Green Bay needs to take a proactive approach to issues.

Currently, if you need help from the city, an online form must be filled out.

The form has 18 categories with each category having up to 11 subcategories.

With a proactive approach to government, we can streamline the information exchange between residents and the city.

Green Bay should not be trying to hide the talented workers of city hall behind complicated systems and multiple layers.

We need a system that identifies issues before they become problems.

Forcing a person to jump through hoops to get services is wrong.

The city needs to proactively address issues before they are problems.

The most important issue facing Green Bay is how it has chosen to put up obstacles between the residents they serve and the people who provide services.

A proactive government that makes communication easy will go a long way to not only solving, but also preventing problems.

Jim Hutchison

A: The cost of addressing infrastructure issues, like roadway surfaces and surface water issues, (flooding during rainfall events), poses a huge hidden-cost issue for the City of Green Bay residents.

There should be a refocusing effort where infrastructure projects are prioritized, and publicized in the budget process.

The design standards used for each project should protect the project from future events, like bus traffic loading (for streets) and future rainfall events (for storm sewers) based on sound engineering and scientific basis.

For instance, the fact that 25-year storm events are happening more frequently requires a new standard to allow design of the pipes conveying the storm water.

New development should be scrutinized for appropriate design standards.

We simply cannot afford to under-design our infrastructure.

Also, I have been asked by constituents: “Where is the 5% wheel tax going?

I think whenever public funds are used, the revenue source for the structure should be added to the project sign posted at the site.