Manitowoc County’s board chairman wants to become the next county executive.
Tyler Martell officially announced he’s running for the head county position on the steps of the Manitowoc County courthouse yesterday afternoon (November 10th) surrounded by supporters and his family.
He was also endorsed by State Representatives Paul Tittl and Shae Sortwell.
Martell told supporters that as one of the youngest county board chairmen in the state, he’s not afraid to take risks and challenge the status quo.
One way, he highlighted, was getting repairs done on the county courthouse through compromise.
“When some on the county board wanted to go $30 million in debt to everything right away and others wanted to do nothing,” he explained. “But I’m proud to say that the necessary HVAC upgrades are done, the replacement of these gorgeous windows behind me is complete, and the courthouse dome has been patched, buying us time to get our financial house in order before we tackle the dome.”
He also highlighted his work in stopping the deficit in the Human Services Department and using the opioid settlement money the county received.
“When I saw the opioid settlement dollars were being used just to balance the budget, I introduced an opioid settlement task force to bring transparency, accountability, and community wide collaboration to use of these funds,” he stated. “If I can do this as a part-time supervisor, imagine what I could do if given the chance to work for you full-time.”
As a young father and husband, Martell says he wants to make sure Manitowoc County continues to be a place to find a job and start a family, like he did after graduating from college.
But the county is falling behind.
The county board chairman noted, “Our population is stagnant and aging. Our workforce is shrinking. Homelessness is on the rise, and more and more of our friends and neighbors are becoming addicted to opioids. And between taxes and inflation, it’s getting increasingly expensive to live here.”
Martell also said he wants to refocus county government on what it is good at, by focusing on public safety, quality of life, and economic development, without overgrowing government bureaucracy.
He told supporters the county can move forward by rejecting the old adage of “we’ve always done it this way.”
Martell tells Seehafernews.com that he wants to do a lot of canvassing, including going outside of the City of Manitowoc to get residents’ votes.
“There will be events throughout the county, and I’ll just be an energetic executive that will be there and accessible to the people,” He noted.
The county board chairman is the first candidate to announce his run after current County Executive Bob Ziegelbauer announced he is not running for another term.
The county executive election will be in April 2026.
