As of today, there are two people vying to hold the Mayoral seat in Manitowoc. One is the incumbent Justin Nickels, the other is now retired longtime schoolteacher Chris Able.
Able has been with the Manitowoc Public School District for 20 years at Madison Elementary, spending 8 years as a 6th-grade teacher, and the rest as a 3rd-grade teacher. Able told SeehaferNews.com that he has been thinking about running for Mayor for several years but wanted to complete his 20 years at the school first.
Able does have some experience in local government. “I spent a bit of time on Council, and certainly have given quite a bit of thought to a lot of the issues both before I was on Council, while I was on Council, and after,” Able explained. “I think I bring some things forward that will be helpful to some people.”
Able said he has been paying attention to what has been going on and even looked at the 2021 City Budget. He approves of a majority of it, especially the reduction of the tax rate due to the economic impact COVID-19 has had on city residents but did have some objections.
“I do wish we were seeing more road work,” Able said. “That’s one of the things I hope to do as Mayor, is get the Council together and create a long term roads plan.”
Not only do nice roads make life easier for the citizens of the community, Able said, “I think really good roads also help sell our community. What I don’t want is somebody coming into town saying ‘Maybe we will bring a business here.’ But their ride is so rough that they say ‘Why aren’t these guys keeping up with their infrastructure?’”
The Mayoral seat, along with several Aldermanic District seats are up for grabs in the Spring Election, which is scheduled for April 6th.
