Meet the candidates running for Marshfield Council District 10 in the April 4 election
Newcomers Bonnie Andres and Andrew Reigel will vie for the District 10 seat on the Marshfield Common Council in the April 4 election. The seat is currently held by Alderman Peter Hendler, who is not seeking reelection.
Alderpersons serve a two-year term.
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The Marshfield News-Herald asked each of the candidates to address important issues in the district and why they are running for the position.
Bonnie Andres
Age: 61
Residence: Marshfield
Occupation and education: Marshfield Board of Education and American Girl Doll-Mattel. Retired from Roehl Transport in 2022 after almost 23 years of employment. Graduate of Colby High School and Mid-State Technical College.
Relevant experience: Vast work experience in customer service and skilled at maintaining good working relationships. I begin with the end in mind to achieve success.
Andrew J. Reigel
Age: 36
Residence: Marshfield
Occupation and education: Attorney; Juris Doctor
Relevant experience: Purchased outdoor power equipment for Menards Inc., purchasing agent for Felker Brothers, attorney
Why are you running for office?
Andres: I have been a resident of Ward 10 for 42 years and very active in the community. With my life and work experience I feel I would be an asset to the Common Council. Utmost in my mind is making decisions that will be positive for the people of the ward and the city of Marshfield.
Reigel: I have been fortunate to be able to pick what city I call home. I feel that it is now my turn to give back to Marshfield through public service, and my experience will aid in addressing current and future challenges we see in Marshfield.
What are residents telling you are the most important issues in District 10, and how would you address them?
Andres: Ward 10 residents are concerned and mulling over the referendums. What I am telling people is to look at everything as a want or a need. What do we need and what can we not afford to lose.
Reigel: The one topic being brought up frequently are the referendums that are on the ballot in April. These referendums are unfortunately needed. As a member of the Marshfield Common Council, we will need to be creative with maintaining necessary funding without raising taxes.
What are the top two issues that you believe need to be addressed in the city?
Andres: I feel the top two issues will be the budget issue and the plan for economic development.
Reigel: Funding for necessary services and an aging population.
The city recently increased taxes and made budget cuts across departments, which led to a public safety referendum appearing on the April ballot. How can the city maintain necessary services while keeping tax increases to a minimum?
Andres: We, as a city, need to have good financial management. Continued growth in the city and attracting new businesses to the city with good paying jobs and benefits for our people here – we will become more profitable and have a bigger budget to work with. Working today for a better tomorrow and being vigilant to make the right choices.
Reigel: This is a big challenge that will require creativity. No one wants increased taxes, myself included. However it's essential to keep necessary services available to Marshfield citizens, and doing so with keeping tax increases to a minimum is going to require finding additional sources of revenue for the city other than taxes.
For nearly a decade, the city has been working to address the shortage of single-family homes in Marshfield. How would you work with city leaders to address this issue?
Andres: The shortage of single-family homes is all over, not just Marshfield. I would like to be part of the project to develop affordable housing that has already been established. I would also like to look at existing homes we have in the city and see if there is any help out there for the homeowners in the form of grants or such to help people maintain or upgrade existing homes if they need the help.
Reigel: This is not a challenge that can be solved by the local government simply issuing a decree. We will need to work with city leaders and developers to make single-family homes an attractive prospect.
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Editor Jamie Rokus can be reached at jrokus@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter at @Jamie_Rokus.
This article originally appeared on Marshfield News-Herald: Marshfield Common Council District 10: Candidates on spring 2023 ballot
