Good evening, everyone. Below are the unofficial results of today’s election, as per the Eau Claire County Clerk’s website:
I would like to congratulate Ms. Kaatz, Messrs. Aylesworth, Goodman, and Wright for their victories.
The Mistakes I’ve Made
I started this journey only about six months ago, and while the results were surprising to me, considering the effort I tried to put into it, they were not surprising to my wonderful wife Rebecca. She, having grown up in a small village in rural Wisconsin that’s roughly a quarter of the size of Fall Creek, told me that I’d gone about the process the wrong way.
I had assumed that in the 21st Century, all that was necessary for a successful venture of this nature was for me to push out as much information about myself to the public. Once people knew about me, read my words, saw how I thought, I thought that would be enough. I was apparently wrong. What I did was not enough.
My dear Rebecca explained to me that in a small town, it’s the PERSONAL touch and the personal relationships that you build that make the most difference. Considering the fact that the number of votes I received for the Village Board roughly matches the number of people I met and talked to in person? I suspect strongly that she’s right.
My Attempted Remedy
So, my fellow citizens, I wish to let you know that this is not the end, but just the beginning. I’ve built a life here in our Village, and intend my children to do the same. If it takes me going door to door over the next few years talking one on one with the 1200+ residents of our Village to make a difference… well then, that’s just what I’m going to do.
But, not just that. I’ll still be maintaining this site. I’ll still be updating it with my thoughts, and any information of relevance that I can find. I believe in full and complete transparency. The more we know, the better. This is my true belief.
As such, while both the Village Board meetings and the School Board meetings are open to the public by law, it is fairly inconvenient in this modern era for most citizens to find the time to bring themselves physically to these meetings on a regular basis. It is also inconvenient to do so on the schedule of those boards. And although the Village Board attempts to alleviate this a bit by providing a Zoom meeting to the public, it is by way of a non-clickable URL in a PDF document, which is a hindrance to those that are less “tech savvy”. The School Board, as far as I’m aware, doesn’t currently provide any such Zoom meetings or videos that I’m aware of, at all. All that we are left with are fairly vague minutes, that are pretty barebones, in my opinion.
So, I’ll also be visiting every Village Board and School Board meeting that I can make it to, and, as per Statute 19.90 of Wisconsin’s open meetings law, I will be bringing a video recording device, recording the open portions of the meetings, and publishing them here publicly, on this website, as well as providing my own thoughts and opinions on the proceedings.
Thus, I will be bringing those meetings to YOU, on your own time, to view at your leisure. At least until the boards decide to start doing so themselves.
It is my hopes that by bringing this information to you, we’ll all be more well informed.
Anyone that wishes to is of course free to contact me about any of this. My phone, e-mail address, and even home address are provided on this site. I wish to hear from all of you.
I’m not going anywhere. I’ve only just begun to involve myself in the affairs of our village. I hope to see each and every one of you, soon. I’m in this for the long haul, that’s a promise.