Village of Fall Creek – West Bennett

Final Election Results Analysis

I’ve had some time to look things over, and to formulate my thoughts on the election and its results. So, here they are.

First, I am actually excited to see that from last year’s election, we almost DOUBLED the number of participating voters, from 22.2% of all eligible voters, to 38.6% of all eligible voters. This is good news for our democracy. It shows that on the local level we’re getting much more interested in the process, and want to have our voices heard. This is a great thing!

I’d like to start by looking back at last election cycle to see my personal results, and then compare those to this cycle.

Last Year

Here were my 2022 Spring results:

I did half as well for the Village Trustee position as I did for the school board, which makes sense, because really the school board is where my heart is, as I really want the best for our kids more than anything else. I also had some VERY strong competition for the Village Board, as pretty much everyone else on the ballot were well known names already in the local community, and I had just gotten started. I talked with my wife about the school board results, and while my percentage was extremely low, she told me that I should be proud of myself for accidentally running against the school board president who’d been on the board for over 15 years. I’ll have to take her at her word for that, as she has experience with this kind of thing, having grown up in another small rural Wisconsin community.

Now, looking at this year’s results…

This Year

In the School Board Primary, I did almost exactly as well as I did last year’s general election. So I have to assume it was largely the same people voting for me. The fact that it’s a primary however, and many people ignore primaries and just vote at the “regular” elections makes me feel a bit better about my results. Even though I was the lowest vote-getter and got knocked off the ballot, getting as many votes in the primary as I got in the general election last year I think I should consider some form of win. The total number of votes cast during the primary was 1,257. The total number of votes cast for the School Board during this year’s general election was 2,454, with only 14 of those being write-ins. Making the assumptions that if my name was still on the ballot, and that I would have received the same percentage of the vote… if we just increased the total number of votes cast from the primary to match the general election and increased my votes proportionately, then I would have theoretically received 253 votes, putting me at third place. Now, of course, that’s a WHOLE LOT of postulating, and most likely wouldn’t match up with reality. But it’s a slightly comforting thought to blunt the loss.

I did SUBSTANTIALLY better in the Trustee race than I did this time last year. In fact, almost three times better. So that shows some good progress. This could be partly attributed to the fact that my votes weren’t “split”, as I’m sure last year that at least a good chunk of people believed that I should only have one position or the other, but not both. This year, with me being knocked off the ballot for school board, I most likely consolidated all of the votes I would have gotten. I’m slightly miffed that with the efforts that I put in that I barely got more votes than two people who didn’t do any advertising that I had seen, and didn’t do any canvassing that I’m aware of. Que sera, sera.

This year, I started my canvassing at the opposite side of the Village from where I started last year and worked my way backwards. Between the last two years, I’ve physically canvassed roughly 75% of the Village of Fall Creek proper. Being a family man with a full time job, my time is fairly limited in that way, and physically walking from house to house to talk to people is EXTREMELY time consuming. Unfortunately, I haven’t had time to even TOUCH the more “remote” areas outside of the main village that are still within the bounds of the school board’s jurisdiction, such as the Towns of Seymour and Lincoln. I hope to get to them next year.

Conclusion

I have determined that, with the progress that I have made, that there is a good portion of my fellow residents that hear my message and agree with it. I believe that I’m starting to build what they call a “constituency”, and I thank them all for their support. It’s been a long, hard road, and will continue to be one.

I don’t get anything for “free”, because I’m not what they call a “native son”. The “Bennett” name is not a name that’s been in the Fall Creek area for generations. I don’t get free automatic votes from people that knew me their entire lives, because nobody in Fall Creek has known me that long. I have no family, and very few friends here. I’m not a very social person, and I know that I can be very off-putting and rub people the wrong way. I’m working on that, the best that I can. I’ve had to work for every single vote that I’ve gotten so far, and I appreciate each and every person that has blessed me with their trust and faith. Thank you.

I have decided to continue my efforts. However, next year I will most likely focus on one board or the other, rather than splitting my attentions between both. Which one I choose will depend on a couple of factors, including who else may be running next year for the open positions.

I will no longer be attending the board meetings that the majority of my fellow citizens have decided that they don’t want me at. I don’t want to be where I’m not wanted. Which means that I won’t be able to record those meetings and publish them. I IMPLORE both boards to do this voluntarily themselves, and show the community that they believe in full transparency, and that they aren’t afraid to let the public know how they behave and interact with each other. Meeting agendas and minutes only give the public so much information, and in my opinion, it’s not nearly enough. Non-verbal and verbal interactions between board members reveal a whole lot more about a person’s character than the way that they vote, often times.

I’m going to be reducing my Facebook footprint substantially. It’s been pointed out to me that it’s caused more detriments than benefits to my campaigns. People can misinterpret and take things the wrong way or only read/hear part of the message and ignore the rest. I’ve also been told that that constant presence there has become irritating to some, and if there’s one thing I don’t want to be, it’s an irritant. We need to be able to talk about important issues without getting personal, and apparently that’s much harder to do on Facebook. So I will be mostly restricting my own thoughts to this site from here on out. That way people can come here if they want to know and hear them, rather than have them “forced” on them. I also do much better face-to-face than I do in text format, frankly, as it gives me the chance to see people’s reactions, and respond to them in kind, explaining myself further or in a different way as needed to make sure the message gets across correctly and isn’t misunderstood.

I’ve pointed out to most people reading this the faults and the problems that I’ve seen. And I think a lot of people are starting to open their eyes to those issues. The first step to solving a problem is admitting that there is one. Now, I think it’s time to start working on creating solutions to those problems.

I will also be slowing down a bit, spending some more time with my family, less time walking around, more time thinking about what I think this community needs, and formulating potential plans for improvement. To start focusing on solutions, rather than just problems.

I would like to thank again those that voted for me. Your voices have been heard. It’s not a roar, rather a low rumble, but I suspect that it will be a constant one that will grow in time.

Finally, I would once again like to congratulate all of the sitting board members that maintained their position in this election, as well as congratulate Amy Kurtz for her big win on the School Board. I hope that she will make some positive changes to the status quo.

Election Results

Congratulations on all of the sitting Village Board members who maintained their positions.

I will have to reflect for a while on my results and consider what they mean for me. I didn’t do as well as I would have liked, but I did better than I feared I would.

Tri-County Area Times – Fall Creek Village Board Trustee Questionnaire Answers

Below are my answers to the Tri-County Area Times Questionnaire which they sent to all Board Trustee candidates that they could get a hold of.

1). Why do wish to serve or continue to serve the Village of Fall Creek as an elected official?

I was raised a Navy brat, knowing no real “home” for my entire childhood, which I’d always longed for. This happily changed when I moved here and settled down in this fantastic community. The Village of Fall Creek is a great place to have a family and raise children. Having my wonderful wife and two children of my own, I’d like to be able to represent myself and other “middle aged” parents on the board. I would like to see the village continue to prosper, renew, and to continue to be a place where my children would want to settle and raise their own families in the future.

2). What is your opinion on the relationship between the Village of Fall Creek and the Town of Lincoln and Eau Claire County and it’s importance for the future growth of the village?

I think that it’s important that the village continue to work together with the Town of Lincoln on local issues that affect both municipalities, and yet still maintain their separate spirits. The Town of Lincoln serves a community of individuals that live further apart from each other, while the Village of Fall Creek serves those that live generally in closer proximity. As such, they each have different wants and needs, and I think it’s important for us to recognize that, and for both groups to work together to achieve common goals, while not stepping on each other’s toes. Meanwhile, Eau Claire County continues to provide extended support for both municipalities, and it’s important for that dialogue to continue, for us to express to the county our needs, as well as representing ourselves sufficiently at that level of government. We must work together and try to tamp down on any divisive rhetoric. We’re all in this together, we should support and help each other. It’s the Midwest way.

3). Is there a project or program or initiative you would like to see the village take on or accomplish during your term in office that would help improve the quality of life in the village and what would it be?

Well at the forefront always, we should be mindful of “rural decay”, which is a very real issue facing villages such as ours. I don’t like seeing buildings that appear abandoned right in the heart of the village, and I think we can work together to resolve that. But that’s a long-term goal. In the short term, if I can just accomplish the task of opening government to fuller transparency and engaging the electorate in a more consistent and regular way, then I would consider my tenure to be one well spent. This would involve recording and publicizing all public meetings on the Village website (as I’ve been attempting to do as a private citizen), as well as providing all public documentation to the community online for free, without requiring an open records request. I’d like to make it policy that our local government pushes to give the community all the information they need to make informed decisions BEFORE the issues affecting them have been voted on, so that they have a chance to let their voices be heard.

Board Candidate Questionnaire – My Responses

For all candidates:

Why are you running for the board?

Because I love the Village of Fall Creek, its people, the whole environment, and I think I can make a good difference here if given the chance. While I lost the primary for the school board, I can still be a write-in candidate, and I’m still on the ballot for the village. I think there’s a chance to really make a difference!

What areas for improvement do you see in any areas under the board’s purview?

Both Boards: Video recording and publishing of the meetings and their related info packets and implementing my “Take a Break Act”.

Village Board: I’d like to scour the ordinances with a fine-toothed comb and take out all the stuff that doesn’t make sense, and the stuff that’s getting in the way of the Village being more prosperous. Also, while debt is considered normal for most municipalities, I’ve never been a fan of it. It’s essentially giving money away to your borrowers. While sometimes necessary when we’re in dire need of fixes/upgrades, I’d like to see the Village put a ten-year plan in place to get out of debt, and to plan and budget for future expansion, rather than let us dip into the hole again.

School Board: I’d like academic curriculum to be an open discussion at regular board meetings, rather than shunted behind closed doors to committees. I’d like the budget reworked to handle facility maintenance and other required operating expenses first, and then move right to direct teacher needs before even considering the expansion of new purchases or equipment. Our teachers and students shouldn’t have to beg for money from the community to educate and be educated.

Presumably if someone is on a board, or wants to be on one, it’s because they want to make a positive impact on the community. What’s the biggest positive impact that you would like to see?

I’d like the community to be able to both have pride in itself AND be able to take constructive criticism that’s conducive towards improvement and growth, without that pride getting hurt, or turning defensive. I don’t see these two things as mutually exclusive. I don’t think that pointing out areas for improvement should hurt our pride or make people enemies. We should be able to have civil discussions and disagreements about important topics without taking personal offense. I hope to be able to show that by putting my ideas as well up on the chopping block.

For those not currently on the board, but seeking to get on it:

What plans do you have to affect change, and why are these changes needed?

Increase governmental transparency, communication, and accountability. They are necessary because our local boards so far have adopted largely a “pull” mentality that expects their citizens to come to them if they want to know anything. I believe in a “push” mentality that advertises out loud everything that the local government is doing. Government should attempt to be always completely transparent and communicative wherever possible.

To run for this position, you must believe that a change needs to be made and are working to replace at least one sitting board member. What makes you a better candidate for the position than the current sitting board members that are running to maintain their seats?

I have a unique and different way of looking at the world from most other people. Late into my adult life, I was diagnosed with high-functioning autism, and it made a lot of sense to all the problems I was having with connecting with people on an individual level. I just think differently. I think this is a HUGE benefit, as it lets me look at situations and issues from a variety of different angles that might not occur to others or might seem outlandish and ridiculous to others. However, sometimes those “unusual” ideas and out of the box thinking are just what’s needed to affect positive change.

How many board meetings have you attended in the last year? If none, why not? If you have attended meetings, what questions have you asked and/or what input have you provided to the sitting board?

I’ve attempted to attend every school and village board meeting that I could, and I’ve recorded them and posted them on my website for everyone to see. I’ve asked multiple questions at village board meetings to offer different perspectives or to support citizens that had concerns. The school board, I have not spoken in front of, as I needed to learn a bit more about how it works, since it appeared to be much more “un-debated”. If you look at the village board meetings, you’ll see many more civil disagreements and discussions, which I see as a good sign of a thriving collection of leaders that have differing viewpoints. If you look at the school board meetings, you’ll see a lot of “business as usual”, with the board going through the motions and just voting “yes” to everything with VERY little, if any, discussion or debate. That to me seems like five followers and one leader, rather than six leaders.

What have you done as a private citizen thus far to attempt to improve this community?

I’ve provided the video recording service I mentioned earlier. Beyond that, I’ve tried to collect as much information and data that I could and publicize it, such as information packets for the board meetings, so that everyone can see what’s going on. I’ve also personally donated a little over $3500 to help fund 19 projects from 12 different educators for the Fall Creek School District over the past three years because I want our great teachers to have all the resources they feel they need to excel at teaching our kids! However, our teachers still need even more funding, as there’s still constant continuing requests coming in, as well as a very full Amazon Wish List that has yet to be tackled.

Village President Nominee Letters

It was brought to my attention that both nominees for Village President had sent letters to Fall Creek citizens. While I find it strange that I wasn’t included on these mailing lists, as I’ve been a resident for over a decade, I’ll have to assume it was a simple mistake.

Luckily, a kind citizen has given me access to these documents, so I have scanned them and provided them here, for anyone else that was left off of their mailing lists:

Karen-Hurd-Letter-1 Download

Tim-Raap-Letter Download

Fall Creek Water Rate Change

For all those concerned (as I was initially) with the rate increase on our Village water rates, I strongly recommend that you visit the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin’s Electronic Records Filing System, and read the documents for our own Docket (ID 1920-WR-105).

Here is a direct link to the docket and its documents:

https://apps.psc.wi.gov/ERF/ERFsearch/content/searchResult.aspx?UTIL=1920&CASE=WR&SEQ=105&START=none&END=none&TYPE=none&SERVICE=none&KEY=none&NON=N

I think the most important documents to note are:

The original application (simply marked as “Application” at the bottom of that page) which showed the reasoning for the request of rate change, as well as quite a bit of other useful information.
Data Request-PSC-Elmer-1 – which is the PSC asking our Village Administrator for some additional information and documentation to address items that appeared to be surprising to the PSC
Response-Data Request-PSC-Elmer-1 – showing our Administrator’s responses to this query
Ex.-PSC-Revenue Requirement – provides a good summary of the rate case to date, as well as the PSC’s investigative findings
Ex.-PSC-COSS and Rate Design – shows the PSC’s proposed rates, as well as the numbers and reasonings justifying the rate change
Final Decision Signed 11/10/22 and Served on 11/11/22 – regards the final, legally binding, decision by the PSC, in detail

It is a great wealth of information, and I believe that there would have been substantially less public outcry if such information was pushed out to the public throughout the process. We should consider doing so in the future. As it stands right now, it appears that the Village relies largely on a “pull” process, where citizens must request information (which they may not even be knowledgeable enough to know to ask for!), rather than a “push” process, where the information is pushed out to all residents.

A more informed community, is a happier, healthier, and better community, in my opinion. I hope that we may all learn from this process, and be better for it going forward. I’ve certainly learned much that I didn’t know before.

Endorsements and Promises

I’ve been giving thought to standard campaign practices lately. Two of them are campaign endorsements and promises. I’d like to talk for a moment about each, if I may.

Endorsements

Frankly, I don’t believe in them. They amount to a form of peer pressure, and I find them insulting to myself and my fellow citizens. The concept of endorsements suggests that citizens are too ignorant to make their own choices, and must rely on the opinions of others to form their own thoughts. I believe that anyone that pushes endorsements or seeks them thinks less of myself and my fellow citizens. I think more highly of us than that. I think we are wise enough to look at each candidate on an individual level, and decide for ourselves the measure of their worth and their words, and decide for ourselves whether we align with that candidate on the issues.

To that point, I will neither seek nor give any endorsements. Now, you may see some of my signage around town and consider this a hypocrisy to my previous statement. I, however, do not see these as endorsements, but rather as citizens that believe in free speech and have decided that the message on my sign is inoffensive enough to be worth being posted publicly. I do not expect their vote, nor do I expect them to pressure others to vote for me. A person with my signage on their lawn may or may NOT be voting for me. They may or may NOT believe in anything that I say or write. They just believe that information should be spread, so that the electorate has the ability to make the wisest choice possible.

I would be happy to share lawn space with any of my “competitors” for office, and I invite any local candidate running for Fall Creek office to place their signage on my lawn. More information is always better than less. When it comes to the state or national levels however? That’s where I have to be a bit more “choosy” because of how strongly tribalism has invaded those realms.

Promises

Promises can be hard to keep when you are in a governmental body that contains more than just yourself. Making outlandish promises like that you’ll make X or Y happen can just lead to disappointment if others in that body don’t share your views. As such, it would not be wise to make such promises. However, what I can promise is my own behavior.

Fall Creek Village Board Trustee Ballot Order

The names have been drawn, and below you can see the names of all of the individuals competing for three open spots on the Village Board. I have denoted incumbents with an asterisk (*) and attempted to link next to all candidates’ names either their official website(s), and/or their social media page(s), if I could find them, so that you can learn more about us.

Karen Hurd* – Election Website, Business (2), 2022 Assembly Election (2), Personal Facebook (may be old/out of date)
Mark Pranckus – Personal Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter
West Bennett – You’re on my election website, Facebook (2), LinkedIn
Dusty Levasseur – Personal Facebook
Karen Herbison* – Business, Facebook, LinkedIn
Matt Mattoon* – Personal Facebook

If any of this information is inaccurate, please contact me and I will correct it immediately. Good luck to all those participating.

Village Board Meeting 12.12.2022

The Pond – Eau Claire River Watershed Coalition Information

I’ve joined the Eau Claire River Watershed Coalition mailing list in order to better understand the challenges facing the Fall Creek Pond. You can join too if you wish by sending a request to either the person running that list, DANIEL P ZERR, or his associate Chris Straight, which is how I got on the list. I see that Village Trustee Karen Herbison is on the list, but don’t recognize any other names as local notables.

I’m going to provide you here with all of the documentation I’ve received thus far from the list. The next Zoom meeting will be held on Dec 8, 2022 03:00 PM. Apparently they only meet via Zoom. Here is the link to join the meeting at the appropriate time, if you’re interested. If I can, I will attempt to record the meeting and provide it to the public. The process for improvement appears to be a fairly slow years-long process, and I’m not quite sure why that is. Perhaps the meeting itself will reveal more.

All of the files that I’ve received so far are shown at the bottom of this post, but I have extracted from them all the parts that specifically mention Fall Creek in the next section, if you don’t want to read through it all. However, I would recommend reading through it all, as Fall Creek is not isolated – what affects the greater Chippewa Valley affects us, and vice-versa.