Just over two months out from the spring general election, Sheboygan’s newest Alders are beginning to settle into their roles.
During the election, challenger Erin Bremser defeated incumbent John Belanger to become Sheboygan’s District 2 Alder, while Bryan Kelly defeated Peter Jacobs to become the city’s District 8 Alder.
Both new members of the Common Council spoke to SeehaferNews.com to share their experiences thus far.
Both told us that the choice to run wasn’t something they had dreamt of but rather a decision that came to be organically.
Kelly noted that he had been attending Council and committee meetings as a concerned resident regularly.
“I found out my Alderperson, Zack Rust, was not going to run again, so I figured, I’m already going to the meeting, and I’m pretty interested in going out in my neighborhood,” he explained. “I figured, well, I’m pretty connected. I feel like I could represent my neighbor as well. So I decided to run.”
While Bremser said, “I just decided, like I wanted to get more involved. I think that democracy works best when we’re all involved right in the process. I just kind of wanted to just kind of throw myself out there and try this and just really be a voice for the people in my neighborhood. It was just a good point in my life to try this.”
Both of them also voiced their desires to get more involved in the community and to help out their constituents and all Sheboyganites as a whole.
Despite being so early into their terms, both Bremser and Kelly are already hard at work, hoping to affect positive change in the community.
“I’m in the beginning stages of a proposal to create more standards for the use of NDAs between the city and other entities,” Bremser told SeehaferNews.com. “I also mentioned of having more communication between the county and the city regarding resources for the unhoused population. So I’m kind of in the beginning stages just meeting with people to talk about that.”
Meanwhile, Kelly has his own focus.
“Safer streets, whether that be walking, biking, just getting around the city in a safe way,” Kelly explained. “Zoning and housing, and, you know, the rent prices are going up. The housing prices in general are going up. So the zoning code is a good first step and hopefully we can make some more affordable options available in Sheboygan for housing.”
However, both of the newest Alders stated that the experience so far has been phenomenal, informative, and eye-opening.
Kelly has since been appointed to the City’s Licensing, Hearings, and Public Safety Committee and serves as Vice Chair of the Public Works Committee, while Bremser serves on the Finance and Personnel Committee as well.
