Girolamo dropped out of race in Second District
By Jennifer Eisenbart
Staff writer
With Jeff Fischer choosing not to run for another team as alderman of the City of Burlington’s Fourth District, two challengers will now fight it out for the open position. It is the only contested race for City Council.
There are also two candidates on the ballot for a single seat in the Second District, but one of the candidates — Peter Girolamo — pulled up earlier this year citing health concerns. Girolamo expressed his support for Ruth Dawidziak, the other candidate for the seat, and said he would not accept the seat if elected.
That leaves the Fourth District seat as the only competitive race. In that district, Kent Strong – who served as an alderman from 2006-2008 before stepping back to spend more time with family – and Tom Preusker, a citizen representative on two different local committees, will run for the alderman spot.
Voters in the Fourth District will get the final say when they go to the polls April 3.
The following are profiles of each candidate:
Tom Preusker
Age: 37
Previous experience: none in elected office, but served as the citizen representative on the Burlington Area School District School Board Finance Committee and was a member of the City’s citizen budget review committee last summer.
Education: An MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management, and a BA in media from Denison University in Granville Ohio.
Work: Senior manager and investment analyst at CUNA Mutual Group in Madison.
Preusker said he feels money management issues will be at the forefront of the City Council’s responsibilities over the next two years.
“There’s anticipated cuts to state aid,” Preusker said. “The budget is going to be an issue. It’s really going to put pressure on the city’s priorities.”
In particular, Preusker said the city would need to find ways to creative in budgeting, since much of the budget is tied up in contracts that have already been negotiated.
“Your main role is to decide how to use the taxpayer’s dollars as efficiently as possible,” said Preusker when asked about the duties of an alderman. “I think being a City Council member isn’t much different than being on the board of a corporation.”
He said he would listen to constituents and promote transparency within the council.
Kent Strong
Age: 55
Previous experience: City council term for the Fourth District from 2006-2008.
Education: undergraduate degree in chemistry business from UW-Eau Claire, MBA from University of Houston.
Work: Self-employed marketing consultant for small businesses, operating out of Burlington.
Strong said his decision to step down in 2008 was to spend more time with his family and see his daughter through high school.
Ironically, he is running for Fischer’s spot – who filled the spot when Strong chose not to run in 2008.
“I didn’t want the district to go unrepresented,” Strong said.
Right now, Strong sees two major hurdles facing the city: one being the discussion of what taxes should be and whether people are getting their money’s worth, and, two, filling the empty storefronts in the city.
“I hate seeing that big, empty space as people drive into town,” Strong said of the former Kmart store. “To see that big old empty storefront, I just don’t like that impression.”
He said his job would be to listen to his constituents but also to remain true to his beliefs.
“What may seem like little things to a lot of people are big things to an individual citizen,” he said of the first. Of the second? “Not to get caught up in outside influences.”
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