Three compete again for Dover board chairman

By Patricia Bogumil

Editor

Three candidates who vied two years ago for election as   Dover Town Board Chairman are vying against each other again.

A Tuesday, Feb. 17, primary election will whittle down the field of three to the two top vote getters, who will then advance to the April 7 spring election.

The three candidates whose names appear on the Feb. 17 ballot are Thomas Lembcke, the incumbent town chairman; Mario Denoto, a former town supervisor; and resident Mario Lena.

Information provided by each candidate follows.

      • Tom Lembcke, the incumbent, said he hopes to be re-elected to continue providing prudent management of town business.

He said the town’s budget continues to be the most pressing issue the board must address, noting that state aids have dropped and state laws limit local tax levies.

Lembcke said indebtedness that was incurred by previous town boards continues to be paid off. “The debt load has been reduced significantly and in a few years it will be completely eliminated,” he said.

In five years, about 50 percent of the town’s indebtedness has been paid on about $1.5 million in loans, Lembcke said. In 2015, two loans will be repaid completely; the third loan on the books will be repaid in a few more years, Lembcke said.

“The town board is seeing light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.

Saving money for the taxpayers is the ultimate goal, he added. “We’ve got the town closer to being more or less on a cash basis,” Lembcke said.

The town’s decreased debt load frees up money that can be used toward other municipal needs, he said. “Currently the town board is addressing future needs,” Lembcke said. “We’re not going to be able to buy big items like a truck in 2015; in 2016, we may be closer to doing that.”

Lembcke said if re-elected he will continue addressing town issues in a frugal and prudent manner that benefits both the township and its taxpayers. “That’s a phrase I use quite frequently,” he said.

      • Mario Denoto previously served as a town board supervisor until 2010. He decided to again seek office, Denoto explained, because he enjoys being part of the Dover community and would like to see the town prosper.

Denoto names leadership and oversight of the town budget as pressing issues he will address if elected. He said it is also important for staff members who have been recently hired to be properly trained.

Denoto noted that he currently runs a business with seven locations and 90 employees. “That success will help when running the town and controlling expenses,” he said.

• Mario Lena said, if elected, he would like to restore to the Dover Town Board the honesty and integrity of “our forefather farmers who served on the Dover board, but which left 22 years ago.”

In 22 years, Lena said, the town’s consulting fees have cost millions of dollars that have been paid by taxpayers. Lena refers people to his online blog, http://doverdiscovered.blogspot.com, for more information.

      Ifelected town chairman, Lena renewed a pledge he made in 2013 to protect property values and constitutional rights; serve the people of Dover, free of special interests; and ensure the transparency and accountability of local government.

Among the town’s most pressing issues, Lena again names the need to ensure transparency of all contracts, and make reviews of current contracts to ensure fairness and productivity of existing contracts, such as engineering reviews, road reviews, consulting reviews.

Lena notes that he continues to have no political ties to any party. “I listen to the people,” he said. “I do what is right for the people. I will not permit misconduct in office by any employee.”

 Previous matchups

• Two years ago, Denoto ran a write-in campaign for town chairman; Lembcke and Lena were named on the official ballot. Lembcke bested both Lena and Denoto in that 2013 matchup.

      • In 2010Denoto, who was a town supervisor, and former town chairman Ray Gromacki, were both recalled from the town board, largely due to residents’ anger at decisions to create and fund a now-disbanded Dover police department rather than use the Racine County Sheriff’s Department for protection services.

• Later in 2010, Denoto ran to gain back his supervisor spot, but lost to Mike Shenkenberg, who continues to serve as Supervisor No. 1 and is unopposed in the 2015 election.

• Also in 2010, Lembcke was elected town chairman, regaining a post he held until 2007, when he left the board to encourage others to try their hand and bring in new ideas. In that 2010 matchup, Lembcke bested Lena and Gromacki.

    See the Feb. 6 print edition of the Westine Report for additional biographical information submitted by each candidate.