The spring election is just a couple of months away, but it is much less exciting than in previous years.
While there are twenty-five Manitowoc County board seats on the ballot, along with five Manitowoc Common Council seats up for grabs, there are only two contested County Board races, an uncontested County Executive race, and two Common Council races.
The County Board also has two seats that have no one running, while the two MPSD Board members running for reelection are unopposed.
Things are a little different in Two Rivers, as there are five people running to hold five at-large seats on the City Council.
This all begs the question, why are so few people running in local elections?
Manitowoc Mayor Justin Nickels asked this exact question, especially with how vocal the public can be.
“Look at what the school district’s going through right now. And you had, you know, rooms packed full of people talking about what’s going on. And then nobody runs,” said the Mayor. “I think a big part of, you know, you look at that is who would want that job, knowing there’s going to be a lot of tough decisions coming ahead.”
Having served as mayor since 2009, elected at the age of 22, Mayor Nickels has experienced the full range of comments from the public.
Especially with the rise in popularity of a wide range of social media sites, he admits that the fact that everyone has a voice and can post whatever they want is a major deterrent for many people.
Looking at his personal experiences, Nickels said, “But you look at, you know, what people say about me on Facebook or what you hear, it’s like, who would want that? As a regular citizen, why would you want to put yourself in a position where people can just go online and say whatever they want about you, and what’s the recourse?”
Another piece to the puzzle is the way politics has evolved at the state and national levels.
Over the past couple of decades, higher-level politics has changed from being an idea of “How can we make life better for the people in our state/throughout the country?” into “You’re wrong because you are with the other party.”
It happens all the time.
There are numerous examples of politicians vocally supporting an idea, but when a bill comes forth, written by a member of the opposing party, they shoot it down.
Mayor Nickels admits this kind of “mud slinging” and “anti-other-guys” mentality has trickled down to the local level.
“I think some people could be afraid that if they put their name on a ballot, they’re putting their name out there, and that opens it up for criticism and anything,” Mayor Nickels noted.
We also spoke with former Manitowoc Council President and 8th District Alderman Bill Schlei, who pointed out that the job is not an easy one. 
Schlei explained, “As a member of the City Council in Manitowoc, besides attending council meetings, there’s also something called Committee of the Hall that can be called at any time within a 48-hour period, and you have to attend.”
While adding, “In addition to that, you are also required to be a member of two standing committees. In addition to that, you are also obliged to be on two boards of directors of nonprofit organizations in the Manitowoc area. Now we’re up to six meetings a month, not to mention the fact that as an alderman, you’re on call 24/7.”
Also, the pay is very little.
Manitowoc County Board Chairman Tyler Martell revealed to us that County Supervisors are paid $275 per month regardless of the number of boards or committees they are on, with the only exception being the Board Chair, which is a position that pays $400 per month.
In Manitowoc, Schlei noted that the Council receives $365 per month after taxes.
Meanwhile, the MPSD Board is an unpaid position.
If the job is so terrible, why would anyone even consider getting involved?
Well, for Schlei, he continues to run because of the personal growth he has seen in himself, and for the positive impact he has seen in the community.
“That’s been the reward for me, is seeing things like the Mid-Cities Mall Project, which is now developing into a huge housing project that’s going to solve a lot of our housing problems. The Mirro project, that one was close to my heart because I was a Mirro employee at one time, as were many of our citizens here in Manitowoc,” Schlei told us. “I try to focus on those things; it makes the job worthwhile in that regard.”
As for Mayor Nickels, he says it’s the fact that every voice matters on the council, regardless of how long you have served.
He gave a perfect example, which came from when he was only 18-years-old and serving on the City Council.
The Council at the time was debating about removing the old pool for a new Aquatic Center at a cost of $8.9 million.
The initial vote on the project came back in favor of the project 9-1.
Justin Nickles was the one.
“Because of that vote, that one no vote, a lot of other Alders started looking at it and saying, ‘Oh, maybe, maybe we can’t afford this.’ It got scaled down to like six, and then it got scaled down to four, which was much more reasonable,” Nickels recalled. “And what you have today, exactly what you see today, which I think is great, is a wonderful addition to the community. But had I not maybe been that one vote, it might not have gone. And that’s actually what kind of propelled my voice when I ran for mayor.”
Shlei, for one, is encouraging everyone to consider running for office, especially young people, women, and people of color.
He clarified that it is not for DEI purposes, but rather for better representation of the citizens.
Schlei said bluntly, “Through very unfortunate circumstances, we have a woman, Jodie Brey, who took her husband’s seat, and she is unopposed also. So, she will be part of the next council starting in April. I think it’s wonderful that we have a female voice on the council, but we need more representation like that. We just do.”
It should be noted that even though the time has passed to have your name put on the ballot, anyone looking to run for a seat can conduct a write-in campaign.
Mayor Nickels says it is very difficult, but it is not unheard of for a write-in candidate to claim a seat.
The Mayor explained, “For example, the late Jim Brey chose not to run for his seat on the county board two years ago, and no one else did either, and he won on a write-in campaign to get his seat back because no one else applied for it at the time.”
He also encouraged anyone considering running for office, either this election or in the future, to sit down with someone who is either currently serving in the role or has in the past, to learn everything about what the position entails.
Nickels told us, “I think a lot of people would be very surprised as to how, I don’t want to dumb it down, but how simple it really can be to put your name on the ballot. I don’t think anyone who’s gotten elected and was scared of it was scared after they went through a couple of meetings, learned how it goes, and realized they could make a difference.”
For the first time in many election cycles, there will be no primary election in Manitowoc, meaning residents will get to vote for their County Board, City Council, and School Board representatives on April 7th.
You can see who will be on your ballot by visiting MyVote.WI.gov.
