Back in 1997 when I was first elected as Richfield Town Supervisor one of the very first recommendations given to me by then Town Chairman Ralph Schulties was to not make quick decisions as I might not know the full history of a particular item before the board. He was right many times and now Richfield residents need to consider the same advice by learning the history of the former Washington County Board District 24, now District 21. This district is generally bounded by Hillside Rd on the east, Hwy CC/St. Augustine Rd on the west, Pioneer Road on the north and Hwy Q on the South. Recently there has been a lot of buzz on Richfield Today face book and in his letter to the editor in the Daily News about how long Bill Meyers was County Supervisor of District 24, his support for Term Limits in Richfield and distain for the decisions Richfield residents make when they vote. Let's get a historical perspective regarding District 24.
David Rademacher was first elected County Supervisor of District 24 in 1988 and continued until 2008. See attached news paper article. For many of those 20 years he had no opponents. NO TO TERM LIMITS, NO OPPOSITION. Many items came before the county board while David was supervisor and one of the most important items for Richfield was Cabelas.
David Rademacher was first elected County Supervisor of District 24 in 1988 and continued until 2008. See attached news paper article. For many of those 20 years he had no opponents. NO TO TERM LIMITS, NO OPPOSITION. Many items came before the county board while David was supervisor and one of the most important items for Richfield was Cabelas.
Between 2003 and 2005 there were many governmental meetings regarding Cabelas desire to open a store in Richfield. Meetings were held by both the Richfield town board and the County board. In addition to attending town meetings, I attended a variety of County board meetings. At one of the county board meetings I heard David say, and I paraphrase, he was against Cabelas as it would cause additional cancer due to the added exhaust from cars.
At that time he was on the board for about 17 years. He was re-elected to the County board in 2006. For many years, residents of Richfield knew David and Jeff Gonyo were fighting the four lane expansion of Hwy J since they often spoke against it at town meetings. Jeff lives on Hwy J, now Hwy 164, in the Town of Polk. David lives one house away from the highway. They did, and still do not want to have an increase in cars and trucks going near their homes.
Sound familiar? The residents around the Scenic Pit do not want all those trucks coming near their homes and living with dirt, noise, and safety issues. So why are Jeff and Gil Frank in support of the landfill?
During many of David's years on the county board he clearly was Jeff's conduit to county government. Being frustrated by this antagonism I talked with various people asking them to consider a campaign against David. NO TO TERM LIMITS.
Sometime in 2007 I contacted Bill Meyers and asked if he would consider being a candidate for District 24. He agreed and many of my friends and supporters got on board to support him. Once David learned he had competition he chose to retire. Much to my surprise Don Kriefall also became a candidate for the 2008 election. I knew Don from church and believed he would be a great county supervisor but we had never discussed his desire to serve his community that way. Since I recruited Bill I chose to continue to support him. (Sources are available to verify my recruitment and their support of Bill in 2008). I told Don of my recruitment of Bill and he understood my commitment. Bill won by only 21 votes. Bill received 387 votes and Don received 366. Had Don received just 22 more votes he would have been your Washington County Supervisor, and Bill never would have been on the Washington County Board. But that is how elections go sometimes. I campaigned against Jerry Becker for Richfield Town Chairman in 2003 and lost by 50 votes. In 2005 I became Richfield Town Chairman beating Jerry by 11 votes. WOW, very close.
A newspaper article in the West Bend Daily News November 13, 2008 notes that David had retired from Washington County District 24 with 20 years of service, all in that one elected position. 20 years mind you and now some of his buddies want Term Limits in Richfield. Why now, term limits for Richfield, but not when David was in office? Could it possibly be because over the years Jeff and David's candidates rarely seem to win elections?
No one campaigned against Bill for 2010 so Bill won a second term, UNOPPOSED. Not easy to get people to be candidates for elected offices. In 2010 Bill got 338 votes, 28 less than in 2008. Sometime around 2010 or 2011 it became apparent that Bill Meyers chose to team up with David, Jeff Gonyo and their buddies. A big disappointment to many of his supporters.
Late in 2011 Don Kriefall decided to campaign for Supervisor of District 24 and since we were disturbed by the antics of Bill Meyers and the Jeff Gonyo group, many people campaigned for Don Kriefall. Don won the 2012 election, garnering 620 votes to Bills 468. Since then Don Kriefall has done an excellent job representing Richfield residents as the Washington County Supervisor for District 24. NO NEED FOR TERM LIMITS.
Last year Don and the other supervisors voted to REDUCE the Washington County Board from 30 to 26 members. Now Richfield has a Referendum to ADD 2 members to the village board. WHY? Again, more than likely, because Jeff Gonyo candidates rarely win. When they do, most often they only make it for 1 term. Jeff and Danah want more chances for their candidates to win. NO NEED FOR 2 MORE TRUSTEES OR TERM LIMITS.
Watch for a follow up to this story after April 5th, 2016. Only then will we know who continues this piece of Richfield's history. Are you voting for Don Kriefall or Gil Frank?
Bill continues to support Jeff's candidates, which is his right. His name is noted on Danah Zoulek's website and he personally supports her 2 Referendums.
Remember; do not make a quick decision on the two Referendums regarding Term Limits and the Increase of Richfield Board members. While Term Limits might sound good, all the buzz words are really about limits at the state or federal level. Washington County cut their number of Supervisors from 30-26. Richfield only needs 5.
At the March 2016 Richfield village board meeting Rep. Bob Gannon noted his bill for Term Limits at the WI state level did not pass. I know he worked hard to get that passed. Did those legislators know something we need to know? Just a little history lesson.
Sources:
Washington County Website - Elections
West Bend Daily News
Don Kriefall
Diane Pedersen's personal experience
Bill Meyers might be a source or write his own version.
At that time he was on the board for about 17 years. He was re-elected to the County board in 2006. For many years, residents of Richfield knew David and Jeff Gonyo were fighting the four lane expansion of Hwy J since they often spoke against it at town meetings. Jeff lives on Hwy J, now Hwy 164, in the Town of Polk. David lives one house away from the highway. They did, and still do not want to have an increase in cars and trucks going near their homes.
Sound familiar? The residents around the Scenic Pit do not want all those trucks coming near their homes and living with dirt, noise, and safety issues. So why are Jeff and Gil Frank in support of the landfill?
During many of David's years on the county board he clearly was Jeff's conduit to county government. Being frustrated by this antagonism I talked with various people asking them to consider a campaign against David. NO TO TERM LIMITS.
Sometime in 2007 I contacted Bill Meyers and asked if he would consider being a candidate for District 24. He agreed and many of my friends and supporters got on board to support him. Once David learned he had competition he chose to retire. Much to my surprise Don Kriefall also became a candidate for the 2008 election. I knew Don from church and believed he would be a great county supervisor but we had never discussed his desire to serve his community that way. Since I recruited Bill I chose to continue to support him. (Sources are available to verify my recruitment and their support of Bill in 2008). I told Don of my recruitment of Bill and he understood my commitment. Bill won by only 21 votes. Bill received 387 votes and Don received 366. Had Don received just 22 more votes he would have been your Washington County Supervisor, and Bill never would have been on the Washington County Board. But that is how elections go sometimes. I campaigned against Jerry Becker for Richfield Town Chairman in 2003 and lost by 50 votes. In 2005 I became Richfield Town Chairman beating Jerry by 11 votes. WOW, very close.
A newspaper article in the West Bend Daily News November 13, 2008 notes that David had retired from Washington County District 24 with 20 years of service, all in that one elected position. 20 years mind you and now some of his buddies want Term Limits in Richfield. Why now, term limits for Richfield, but not when David was in office? Could it possibly be because over the years Jeff and David's candidates rarely seem to win elections?
No one campaigned against Bill for 2010 so Bill won a second term, UNOPPOSED. Not easy to get people to be candidates for elected offices. In 2010 Bill got 338 votes, 28 less than in 2008. Sometime around 2010 or 2011 it became apparent that Bill Meyers chose to team up with David, Jeff Gonyo and their buddies. A big disappointment to many of his supporters.
Late in 2011 Don Kriefall decided to campaign for Supervisor of District 24 and since we were disturbed by the antics of Bill Meyers and the Jeff Gonyo group, many people campaigned for Don Kriefall. Don won the 2012 election, garnering 620 votes to Bills 468. Since then Don Kriefall has done an excellent job representing Richfield residents as the Washington County Supervisor for District 24. NO NEED FOR TERM LIMITS.
Last year Don and the other supervisors voted to REDUCE the Washington County Board from 30 to 26 members. Now Richfield has a Referendum to ADD 2 members to the village board. WHY? Again, more than likely, because Jeff Gonyo candidates rarely win. When they do, most often they only make it for 1 term. Jeff and Danah want more chances for their candidates to win. NO NEED FOR 2 MORE TRUSTEES OR TERM LIMITS.
Watch for a follow up to this story after April 5th, 2016. Only then will we know who continues this piece of Richfield's history. Are you voting for Don Kriefall or Gil Frank?
Bill continues to support Jeff's candidates, which is his right. His name is noted on Danah Zoulek's website and he personally supports her 2 Referendums.
Remember; do not make a quick decision on the two Referendums regarding Term Limits and the Increase of Richfield Board members. While Term Limits might sound good, all the buzz words are really about limits at the state or federal level. Washington County cut their number of Supervisors from 30-26. Richfield only needs 5.
At the March 2016 Richfield village board meeting Rep. Bob Gannon noted his bill for Term Limits at the WI state level did not pass. I know he worked hard to get that passed. Did those legislators know something we need to know? Just a little history lesson.
Sources:
Washington County Website - Elections
West Bend Daily News
Don Kriefall
Diane Pedersen's personal experience
Bill Meyers might be a source or write his own version.
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