By Press Times Staff
GREEN BAY – After two terms on the Green Bay city council, John Vander Leest will face Tarl Knight April 7 for the right to represent District 11.
Vander Leest has held his seat since 2016. He lost by only 11 votes in 2014 to Brian Danzinger.
District 11 consists of part of Green Bay’s west side, including Military Avenue.
The Press Times emailed each candidate the same questions and gave them 100 words to respond to each.
John Vander Leest
Why should people vote for you?
The city needs leaders to help fix its troubled financial position.
The City of Green Bay has some of the highest property taxes in Brown County, which is not attractive to new home buyers.
The city’s bond rating has been lowered to Moody AA because of the high city debt.
We must do better for taxpayers and yet prioritize more money to fix our city roads, which have been neglected for repair.
I have been a voice of reason on the city council on these fiscal matters and will continue to push for accountability in local government.
What’s the biggest issue in District 11?
First, fixing city roads is still a top priority for my west side district.
Past city administrations have not provided enough resources to do road repairs, yet spent money on less important projects.
Property taxes and increasing fees are another concern.
We are pricing senior citizens and residents on fixed incomes out of their homes.
Comparable valued homes in Ashwaubenon and Bellevue are $400-$500 less in property taxes each year.
Green Bay is a great place to live, however, the city leaders must do a better job to hold the line on property taxes and fee increases.
What do you support for attracting more business to your district?
The City of Green Bay should continue to recruit businesses to the west side business area and promote filling properties that are vacant.
The city has promoted the Military Avenue Business District and should continue to work with these local business groups to promote new businesses to the area and for existing businesses to improve their properties.
Also, the city can promote supporting local small businesses.
Tarl Knight
Why should people vote for you?
I’m asking for voters’ support because voters are asking for progress.
Over the last several weeks, I’ve visited with hundreds and thousands of people, door-to-door, across our district.
Now I’m asking for the opportunity to fight for them while they’re busy maintaining their livelihoods and providing for their families.
As an independent, non-partisan candidate, I will always be working for you.
And as an owner of Green Bay’s historic west side theatre, The Tarlton Theatre, I have the freedom to work for you all week at city hall.
If you vote for me, then I will bring progress as alderman.
What’s the biggest issue in District 11?
Our opponent voted with Guy Zima four of five times, voting against fixing our broken streets and against west side development, the biggest issues to the people of Green Bay’s 11th District.
I will vote to bring our city a 21st-century infrastructure with a drainage system which prevents flooding and protects our property.
And I will vote to bring citywide work incentive programs and initiatives for housing development without a big price tag.
People are looking for a person to trust.
I will always be available to discuss the issues and address them with you.
I will not turn you away.
What do you support for attracting more business to your district?
As a property owner and a taxpayer, I plan to search for alternative funding sources, other than taxes, to address our city’s challenges.
We have to look for means to fund our projects at the federal level while our tax base grows and the City of Green Bay grows as an attraction for developers.
By working with the Military Avenue Business District, and by bringing them an advocate at the city council, we will surpass other cities across the midwest.
But we have big box stores to fill and local businesses to develop.
Let’s finally bring back the west side.