go a little long, but I had to turn in there.
So it was kind of a break in all that.
Okay.
You can talk to me.
Okay.
We are good.
Yep.
All right.
Roland.
Well, I guess let's start with the beginning of your story.
When did you first get into politics?
Because you serve in the county board now.
So how long is that back?
You know, once I retired from the city of Green Bay Police
Department, I got active in both the county,
getting on the county board, and it also
being in the city council.
And that was about 14, almost 15 years ago now.
How do you like that experience?
It's been a great experience, especially the way it's over the years we've watched the
county board evolve to where it is today.
It's a, you know, on the county, we're non-partisan, and we're supposed to be non-partisan,
even though we have people that leave them left, some people that leave them right.
And as a chair, it's my job to bring those people together to help get things done.
But one thing I'm very proud of, our current board in the last couple years, our board,
is we've gotten a lot done.
And we, a lot less fighting amongst ourselves.
It's just, we just get stuff done, which is good to see.
So when you heard that the maps were going to be redrawn, they're going to make you
districts.
Once that seat became open and it was apparent there wasn't going to be a Republican incumbent.
What was that process like for you?
Well, actually, I was down in Madison with the Wisconsin Restaurant Association, actually
doing some lobbying at the Capitol.
And it was brought up to me that, you know, the vote was going to happen about the maps.
And, you know, they said your district, your area where you live, potentially would be
open.
Would you be interested in running?
And, you know, I thought about it a little bit, but I happened to be there a week later
with the Wisconsin Counties Association.
And I was asked again a couple times and that's where I really started to think about it.
It was a case where because of the redistricting, it left this as basically a new district
open seat.
There was a history, I guess, going back to the early 2010s and kind of that Tea Party
area where Republicans tried to get people from outside of government.
People with very little political experience because they wanted new people, not career
politicians.
And now they realize that sometimes people not having experience at local units of government
that they had a steep linear learning curve at the Capitol.
So what's the difference in recruiting someone like you who obviously knows how local government
should run?
Trying to bring that mentality down to making the state.
You know, I look at it, and then I did look at it when I was thinking about running for
this position.
What do I have to offer the state as an assembly person?
And I looked at, you know, retired police officer, so I understand what law enforcement
is going through, actually the whole criminal justice system, and I have that, I have my
experience as an aldermen, I have my experience as a county board supervisor, and that is,
to me, is a really invaluable experience on how levels of government work.
You know, as the county, we do, or basically, an arm of the state.
We do a lot of the implement a lot of the state work at the county level.
And I also have my business background.
So I think I have a diverse background to bring down to the state, and what I'm most
proud of is how we work currently at the county.
And again, we have more of a getting it done atmosphere.
With that in mind, what would it be like to step into a legislature where there is quite
a bit of dysfunction?
There's a lot of trust between all the different branches.
Within their own party, sometimes working across the aisle, where, you know, they like
to talk about all the bills that are bipartisan, but those are the slam dunks, the real hard
work takes a long time to get done, if it gets done.
And, you know, when I started at the county and the city council, life wasn't always
perfect there, but what it's taught me is how to truly actually talk across the aisle,
and how to communicate with other, in this case, to be other assembly people, whether
they're on the right side, the left side, we got to look at it, may sound clichéic,
but, you know, what's been the best interest for the state of Wisconsin?
Talking about county government or local government, there's been a lot of county officials
and city officials on the state that feel that the legislature has underfunded the
money that comes back to the local governments for the last decade.
There was an infusion in this last budget.
How do you view, do you think the state has done their share in terms of passing along
enough dollars for you to get your work done here?
You know, will the counties always take more?
Sure.
However, you know, I think the state has done a good job in the last budget and bumping
up with the municipalities and counties need.
Is it done yet?
I'm not sure I want to get there and see what more can be done.
I think it's one of those processes that has to be evaluated, you know, every budget,
where are we at?
You know, right now they talk about having a three plus billion dollar surplus.
You know, the big question is, what would you spend that on?
Well, first of all, we don't have it yet.
We want to make sure we have it.
Second of all is, why do we have it?
You know, because that's taxpayer money that, especially right now with the economy the
way it is, maybe that money can be better spent in the hands of the taxpayer versus
in the hands of the government.
When it comes to balancing things like the number of municipalities or school districts
going to a referendum for operating funds versus a tax cut that goes back into someone's
pocket, where do you see the value, whether the state can spend, whether there's a surplus
or how big it is to, because they don't have to go to a referendum, ask for the first place
or give it back to the taxpayer and then they get to approve a referendum they want.
You know, I guess in every case for a referendum, it's different.
And the question I have is, why are we always having to go to a referendum?
At what point in time is some of the stuff not built into the budget?
And to constantly going back to the taxpayer and back to the taxpayer puts them in a situation
where they have to decide, you know, can I afford to buy these eggs that have gone up
three to four times, you know, I remember when it was $2.59 for five dozen eggs at Walmart
and now it's $12.
So I think government really has to look at how they're spending their money.
And do we need to have this referendum, you know, what's our long-term goal?
We got to think past, you know, this budget and look at how we can benefit the taxpayer.
I look at Brown County and what we've done there with the county board working in concert
with the county executive and his staff.
You know, we're taking our debt, which was over $150 million years ago, or about five
years ago.
And at the end of this year, we're going to be just a little bit over $35 million and
we're projected to have that paid off in the next five, six years.
But well, that's that's the county up long-term puts them in a very good position.
And right now we're paying for everything in cash at the county.
If we're building, you know, we're doing roads, building the new library here in Ashwabodan,
you know, we're trying to look from a different perspective and try to spend smart versus
just spending.
When you look at the race here, 50-50 district across the river, another 50-50 district,
you know, the state senate race here, 50-50 district.
The U.S. congressional race is not quite 50-50, but it's going to be competitive as
an open seat.
How do those all play together in terms of voters being aware of the significance of
all of these races that are going to be on the ballot for them?
You know, I've knocked a lot of doors in the last couple of months here and a lot of people
aren't aware of the changes yet and a lot of it is just educating them, hey, the 89th
assembly, it's basically a new district and this is how it's set up.
I spend a lot of my time just explaining that part of it to them.
And I think that we'll play, yeah, but I think at the end of the day, we have a good portion
of people out there that are still interested in the candidate, what they stand for and
what they've done or what they will do.
I don't think it's always, always about left or right.
The Democrats that are running up here are pretty eager to talk at the doors about how
we actually have a chance of maybe retaking these stuff.
We're making things a lot closer.
When you talk to voters, are they thinking a bigger picture of how this particular race
plays into who controls the assembly or how that may factor into a bigger picture?
No, they're looking at how is it going to affect them?
How voting for me, how does that affect them?
And one thing I try to make clear when I'm at the doors, at the end of the day, I'm representing
all the people in my district.
Not just the ones that identify as a D or an R and some just, you know, identify as independent
or just want to go to the voting booth and just make their own mind up at that time.
So you, I'm sure better than most people would have an idea of what it's like to actually
meet a real swing voter or a split ticket voter.
What's it like to catch one in the wild or what's that experience like to interact with
them?
You know, it's interesting because of the perspective.
One thing I do like about when I'm knocking at doors is when I get into a conversation
with somebody, they're telling me how they feel.
It helps me learn about, okay, this is what the voters going to.
This is what the concerns are with the voter.
So, what are your feelings on Donald Trump and what he brings to the Republican ticket?
Well, with Donald Trump, I would say his policies are far better than what we've had for the
last four years.
Unfortunately, we have some issues on the delivery of the policies, if you will.
And you know, when I look at going back to the primary, you know, it wasn't necessarily
my first choice to the primary, but he's not, he's on that part of the ticket.
So we'll look at the policies, I prefer to look at the policies.
And are you better off today than you were four years ago?
I'd argue no, you're not, and I just don't think that that the voter sees that they're
better off.
We've seen quite a few elections in the past, evers in 22, Tammy Baldwin in 22, where, I'm
sorry, in 2018, where Democrats running statewide have outrun and who actually won in Republican
assembly seats down ballot, showing that people will separate based on different levels of
government.
Do you think that could happen again, that if, if Paris wins Wisconsin or Tammy Baldwin
leads, that doesn't necessarily mean anything for your district, depending on the shoe leather
you're working on?
Yeah, you know, I think at the end of the day, people still understand and still want to
have the choice to vote for the candidate that best aligns with what they want to see
in the future.
So just because they vote, you know, for one person or the other, doesn't mean down the
ticket that, you know, it's going to be a straight ticket.
I mean, Robin Voss has made that point over and over, he said that it's candidates working
hard are the reasons that Republicans keep winning large majorities and I'm sure you
feel that.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
It's, you know, hitting doors, hitting doors and going out and talking to people, going
out and talking to people and talking with people such as yourself.
Do you hope to stay on the county board and continue some of the local government if
you win the seat?
First, I want to win the seat.
That's my main priority at that point.
And then at that point, I will determine, you know, what my future is with the county
board.
I've been very blessed on the county board.
I've had a lot of great experiences and work with a lot of great people there.
So I kind of hate to lose that working relationship.
And I think that there is, you know, the nice thing about that is working in the county
level, you know, I can really see what the needs are of the county to take to the state.
First hand.
Do you think when people go to the ballot, there are still going to be some people that
are surprised at the names on their ballot because they're just, they're not that tuned
in because of the new districts.
What is the effect then of the whole ticket at that point?
Do you think there's going to be an under vote when it comes down ballot versus the top
of the ticket?
Or do you, how will that play out with this?
You, to be honest with, I can't tell you that because I think this election, like, you
know, some of the past year, it's just, it could be all over the board on how, how different
things affected.
And what, what's going on right now could change three weeks from now.
And it's just too early to tell how one person is going to affect the different part
of the ticket.
So wasn't that long ago that coming off of a debate, Democrats were in not a very good
mental state.
And then going into the RNC, Republicans were unifying behind Donald Trump.
And then we saw a change.
And now there seems to be a different feeling the market pulled came out yesterday and talked
about enthusiasm among voters and Democrats its way up.
What are you sensing when you talk about whether people are actually enthusiastic and excited
to go vote this fall?
Not kind of doors.
A lot of people haven't really thought about it yet and haven't been putting that much
energy into it.
They're just starting to wake up to, okay, there's an election coming down the road.
And I just haven't seen that much energy yet as some of the pundits on TV like to portray.
So what is that disconnect?
Is it just people live in their normal lives or tune in that out versus the bubble that
exists over there?
Well, I think that you have some media that creates some sense of how should I say creates
the hype.
And I think that they're not in tune with what the actual voter is dealing with every day.
And that's where I think it's a case where when I'm not indoors and talking to these
people, I probably have a better understanding of what the needs are to a lot of these people
than somebody sitting in a studio in New York.
It seems clear from talking to everyone and everyone living that prices, inflation, those
are all real everyday issues.
Democrats are also trying to make a portion still an issue.
And obviously in 22 when it was a fresh new ruling and a new experience, it really
was.
Do you think that still plays or is that just them trying to push that as a talking point
and hoping that still works?
You know, I really think that that's them just trying to push that as a talking point because
if you look at the economy we're in and the inflation we've gone to, that's all been
the last three and a half years.
And you know, what's happening down the border, what's happening with our crime, that's all
last three years.
And so yeah, do they want to change the narrative?
Yeah, they do.
What is your stance on abortion because that is something that the state could still need
to weigh in and try and clarify as far as exceptions or time periods or need that kind
of play.
Divisive topic and I think that, you know, it's not as simple as left and right because
you have people on both sides of the aisle that feel differently about it.
And I look at an issue like this, is this the issue that you have a referendum for where
you actually let the voters of Wisconsin decide because, you know, I'm out here to
represent my district and that's what I'll do.
But you know, with the topic such as this, it can be so divisive, you know, it might
be the best place for it might be in a referendum.
I mean, that's Ron Johnson's theory that would require the legislature to act.
So you say you you'd be willing to vote to put it to a binding referendum?
Yes.
Anything else that you want to add along the lines we've been talking about or any other
things that are important to you in this race that you see?
You know, as a former police officer, as being on the county where I was the public safety
chair for many, many years, and I was a county board chair, I still look at one of the issues
in Brown County on the crime issue is the fentanyl and the opioid issue that has to
stay front and center for not only Brown County but for the state of Wisconsin.
And I think, you know, overall our criminal justice system, when I get to Madison, I think
I bring a different look at it because, you know, in Brown County, you have almost 4,000
cases waiting to just go to the courts, to just go to the courts and that they can't
sit there for years on end, waiting to be adjudicated.
You know, first of all, we, you know, people that do commit crimes have a right to a speedy
trial.
Secondly, we can't even get to that point if we can't even get them to do it.
It's all, you know, we've been working on it at the county level, but it really is the
state level type topic and that really has to be addressed.
What would you like to see the state do not fentanyl?
I mean, obviously, Wisconsin is on the wrong border when it comes to trying to stop the
thing and interstate commerce, it's nearly impossible to stop it at the border.
You know, similar to what we've done in the county, we've taken basically a two-prong
approach to it.
We have the enforcement end of it, obviously, we have our drug unit and we have people
that we put on just to address the opioid deaths and the other side of it is the addiction
part of it.
And working with, working through the addiction part of it with people, both of those things
take funding and that's where the state's going to help out.
We need more funds out there to squash this, basically, what would be an epidemic of fentanyl
or opioid abuse.
And most of those programs run through the county as well.
Correct, correct.
So, I mean, that's a huge, huge issue in the county.
Actually, I should say statewide.
Anything else?
No.
All right.
Well, thank you so much for taking time.
We appreciate it.
We are good here.
So, we would like to go through some doors with you.
Okay.
So, I will give you the same spiel.
I tell everyone.
Thank you.