By Press Times Staff
DE PERE – Three names are on the Feb. 18 ballot for District 2 on the city council in De Pere, and the top two vote-getters will advance to the April 7 general election.
Alder Ryan Jennings filed a declaration of non-candidacy after holding the seat since April 2016.
Running for his seat are Matt Gruetzmacher, Kelly Ruh and Carol Spice.
The Press Times emailed each candidate the same questions and gave them 100 words to respond to each.
District 2 in De Pere is made up of the southeast side of the city.
Matt Gruetzmacher
Why should people vote for you?
I ran in the 2018 alderperson race and lost by around 30 votes.
I have been a De Pere resident for nearly 50 years and have seen a lot of changes over that timeframe.
I’m a great problem-solver and will admit that I might not have all the answers every voter will have, but I’ll do my best.
What’s the biggest issue in the City of De Pere?
If you have ever been in downtown De Pere around 8 a.m. or 4 p.m. at the roundabout, you know what I’m talking about.
We need the southern bridge, and need it soon, to get the bottleneck out of downtown.
How long will our present bridge last, pounding the heck out of it?
By the way, the Brooklyn Bridge was built in 14 years, and this one was proposed 20 years ago.
How can the city continue to increase services while keeping spending down?
Services are services.
They are necessary to the city and are costs that are covered by the property taxes we all pay.
As far as raising taxes, I am against that.
As far as city staff in all departments, maybe it would be a good thing to increase some job knowledge, increase training and have a more flow-to-the-work mentality, thereby creating more value per work hour.
Kelly Ruh
Why should people vote for you?
I’ve called De Pere home for over 12 years. I graduated a Redbird, have BS degrees in accounting and business administration-management from UWGB, and earned an MBA from UWO.
The majority of my career has been in financial management and operations, primarily for local manufacturers and non-profits.
I offer this experience along with strong leadership abilities I’ve developed in community service roles.
As your alderperson, I will work for you.
I will listen to your concerns and be a voice for you in our community.
Learn more about me and how I plan to serve our city on Facebook @KellyRuh4DePere.
What’s the biggest issue in the City of De Pere?
If you’re like me and cross the De Pere bridge at rush hour, you know what a frustrating experience it can be.
The southern bridge is perhaps the hottest topic in De Pere.
It’s been discussed since the 1960s, though with recent steps taken to get us closer to reality.
Many homeowners of District 2 will be directly impacted.
We need to support this bridge to accommodate the current need and future growth.
I will work to coordinate with the city and county to minimize disruption to residents, regardless of which potential bridge location is selected.
How can the city continue to increase services while keeping spending down?
First and foremost, we need to increase the tax base by making sure De Pere remains a desirable place to call home.
By investing in our schools, youth and family recreation, downtown revitalization and economic development, more people and businesses will seek the high quality of life we experience.
That being said, we need to carefully balance budgets while working to identify and eliminate wasteful spending, thoroughly analyze future debt, and creatively find alternatives to stretch the dollar, getting residents the most bang for their buck.
Editor’s note: Carol Spice is also listed on the ballot, but did not respond to multiple attempts to be included in this article.