By Press Times Staff
After the April 2 election, Green Bay will have a new mayor for the first time since 2003.
Eric Genrich and Patrick Buckley topped the field of eight candidates in the Feb. 19 primary and will square off for Green Bay’s top office to replace Mayor Jim Schmitt, who did not seek a fifth four-year term.
Genrich garnered nearly 44 percent of the primary votes with 4,505, while Buckley earned just more than 18 percent with 1,871.
The Press Times reached out to each candidate and gave them the same questions with a word limit of 100 for each answer.
Eric Genrich
Occupation: Former state legislator
Immediate family: Wife, Emily, son, Henry, daughter, Amelia.
Any organizations you belong to: Green Bay Economic Development Authority, Brown County Historical Society, past board member of Neighborworks Green Bay, former Big Brother for Big Brothers, Big Sisters, former reading tutor in the Green Bay Area Public Schools.
Why should people vote for you?
As a three-term state lawmaker, I served six years in the state Assembly, representing roughly 60,000 residents of Green Bay in our State Capitol.
During this time, I was able to be an effective and productive legislator, because I worked well with all colleagues, while standing firm on my core beliefs.
That record of pragmatic leadership matters, and it’s in that spirit that I will address the challenges we face as a community.
My administration will be focused on building a vibrant, inclusive economy, governing a city that works for all residents, and creating a welcoming and thriving community.
What’s the biggest issue facing Green Bay?
I believe it’s past time to fix our aging roads and stormwater infrastructure, build for the future with renewable energy initiatives and pedestrian and bike improvements, and invest in every neighborhood.
As Green Bay’s next mayor, I’ll develop and implement a capital improvement program that addresses our short-term and long-term needs.
Our plan will be publicly available and totally transparent and will include the input of businesses and residents from all corners of the community.
We’ll establish a five-year plan to address how we fix (and fund) our infrastructure so that we have long-term stability, not just a short-term fix.
What would you do to secure funding to repair roads in Green Bay?
Green Bay recently adopted a local registration fee or wheel tax for the purpose of fixing roads.
I’ll make sure that these funds are directed towards the purpose for which they were raised: repairing our aging infrastructure.
I’ll also work with the governor and state legislators to make sure Green Bay taxpayers get their share of tax dollars invested in our community.
As the biennial state budget is debated and approved over these next few months, I plan to be an active participant, using my skills and experiences as a former state legislator to be an advocate for our community.
How do you propose to drive economic growth in the city?
I will focus the city’s economic and community development efforts on the most important drivers: small businesses and strong neighborhoods.
We will institute a new micro-loan program to support and expand small business development in the city. And our efforts will be targeted to every single neighborhood in Green Bay and supported with the creation of Neighborhood
Improvement Districts that will offer resources to homeowners to improve housing stock and enhance the neighborhood quality-of-life.
In addition, I will engage in a comprehensive review of existing codes, ordinances and city practices to make sure they are all conducive to business development.
Patrick Buckley
Occupation: Small business owner
Immediate family: Brenda, wife, Taylor, daughter, Patrick, son.
Any organizations you belong to: Chairman, Brown County Public Safety Committee, Team Wisconsin Hockey Board, Crime Prevention Foundation of Brown County, Wisconsin Restaurant Association (state and local), National Association for Subway Franchisees.
Why should people vote for you?
I am the only candidate with a background in public safety and business development, and keeping families safe and economically secure must be the top priorities of our next mayor.
I will not use the mayor’s office as a stepping stone to advance a political career or agenda, but rather as a means to make Green Bay the best place in Wisconsin to live, work and retire.
I have demonstrated throughout my career as a leader how to get things done and bring people together to strengthen relationships, and I am committed to achieving this as mayor.
What’s the biggest issue facing Green Bay?
I think the biggest issue is our city’s infrastructure is in terrible condition, creating a public safety hazard to our residents and preventing businesses from operating efficiently.
We must make funding for street improvements our top priority.
What would you do to secure funding to repair roads in Green Bay?
I would work to expand our tax base through economic development to properly fund road improvements, rather than push higher taxes on city residents because of the poor budget practices at City Hall.
I will work with our Public Works Department and local neighborhood associations to develop and implement a road construction and maintenance schedule to adequately plan and budget for projects over the next 10 years.
How do you propose to drive economic growth in the city?
I believe we have to invest in all areas of the city to better attract the amenities that hardworking families expect of the third largest city in the state.
This will help grow our revenue base, avoid tax hikes, and create a safer community, which will ultimately result in a more unified and strengthened city.