When: Tuesday, April 2nd, 2024; polls open 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Find your voting location at myvote.wi. All absentee ballots must be requested by March 28th, 2024 and turned in no later than 8:00 p.m. on April 4th either by mail or dropped off in-person. In-Person absentee voting will start Tuesday, March 19th and end Friday, March 29th. This will take place at City Hall. You can vote Monday-Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. If you plan to vote by mail, voters are strongly encourage to mail their ballots as soon as possible to ensure their ballot is received by the deadline.

What it’s about:  There are 7 candidates running for the 5 district seats this April. The Eau Claire City Council includes 11 members who each serve a three-year term. The candidates include:

District 1: Jessica Schoen (Incumbent)

District 3: Aaron Brewster

District 4: Clara Serrano

Who can vote: The election is open to all eligible voters in the Eau Claire Area School District.

Where you vote and who is on your ballot:

Go to myvote.wi.gov
Enter your voting address to learn which races are on your ballot and where you vote.

Why this questionnaire: The Good Government Council (GGC) is a committee of the Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce dedicated to encouraging voter participation and providing members of the business community with non-biased information about candidates’ positions on important issues. Although the Chamber is active in policy issues, it is non-partisan and does not endorse political candidates.

Candidate Responses:

1. What are your background and qualifications for this position, and if elected, what will be your top three priorities in your term as a City Council Member?

Jessica Schoen (1)

I am an environmental professional with a history of civic engagement. While attending UW - Stevens Point, I held several part time jobs including managing a university stockroom, driving buses, serving as a research assistant, and working at a camp. Upon graduation, I quickly sought out volunteer opportunities. My community involvement includes serving as an elections official in 2020 and 2021, participating on the City of Eau Claire's Waterways & Parks Commission since 2020, serving on the Eau Claire County Outdoor Recreation Steering Committee, and organizing a community fundraiser benefiting Ukrainians impacted by ongoing conflict in 2022. My work ethic and desire to improve my community led to my appointment to the Eau Claire City Council District 1 seat in 2023.

My priorities will continue to be advancing affordable housing policies and initiatives, protecting and enhancing our greenspaces, and building strong neighborhoods through community engagement.

Aaron Brewster (3)

I have a degree in economics from UWEC and have been active in both City of Eau Claire committees/commissions and the Third Ward Neighborhood Association, where I served 2 terms as Chairperson. My priorities will be economic development, building strong neighborhoods, and affordable housing and transportation.

Clara Serrano (4)

I have a BSEE from UW-Madison, and am retired from a career in the microprocessor chip industry. My trust-building and active listening skills have helped me build highly effective, positive and energized teams as we solve difficult problems. I am skilled at understanding constraints, finding creative solutions and balancing trade-offs.

The most important issue facing Eau Claire is the affordability and accessibility of healthcare, now made even more urgent with the recent announcements of healthcare provider closures. The second most important issue is housing supply and mix; completing the Century Code zoning update will maximize flexibility in housing density. The third most important issue is continuing to build a robust, resilient, and sustainable economy. Establishing Eau Claire as a passenger rail hub also has tremendous economic, environmental, and recreational opportunities.

2. What should the City’s role be in responding to the healthcare crisis created by the HSHS and Prevea closings?

Jessica Schoen (1)

Continuing open dialogue with the HSHS/Prevea Recovery Task Force is essential to understanding how best the City can assist in addressing the impacts of the closure of HSHS/Prevea clinics. This Task Force is comprised of diverse stakeholders in the region with objectives including assisting former employees with securing new jobs, addressing healthcare gaps, identifying funding sources, and keeping the community updated as progress is made and new information becomes available. The City should continue working closely with the Task Force to evaluate if additional local action can be made. To date, the City has communicated directly with the facilities regarding concerns, legal obligations, and the numerous local impacts. We must continue advocating for the people of Eau Claire and the surrounding areas that rely on our healthcare systems, for those who have lost their livelihoods through the HSHS/Prevea closures, and to ensure the valuable infrastructure is not underutilized.

Aaron Brewster (3)

This will really be the defining challenge of the next few years and in many ways, the short notice of the closing will really curtail what might have been done to keep the facilities open. I would support all efforts to find a buyer for the facilities in question and get them reopened for use by the community ASAP.

Clara Serrano (4)

Our recent upheaval in healthcare in the Chippewa Valley highlights the risks when a community depends on private enterprise for essential health services. At this juncture, the city should continue bringing leaders together to attract other providers to urgently expand their health care offerings. In parallel, the city should lobby our state and federal governments toward expansion of BadgerCare, and toward fixing one of the root faults in our healthcare business model related to Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement rates to providers. Thirdly, we need to seek creative solutions for healthcare services in our surrounding rural communities. Finally, we must convene community leaders to solicit big ideas on how to best incentivize capacity of mental health services for all who need it.

3. What specific actions, including, but not limited to, changes in the zoning code, should be taken by the City take to address the housing supply challenges facing Eau Claire?  

Jessica Schoen (1)

Ensuring changes may through the Century Zoning Code Update are moved forward is the most immediate and pressing action the City can take to address the housing shortage. Changes in the zoning code update may allow for expedited permitting/review of housing projects, increased density of dwelling units in appropriate areas, allow for increased Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), amongst other strategies aimed at increasing our housing stock. Additional actions the City can take include continuing to allocate funding to affordable housing projects brought forward in the community, and working with developers and the Housing Opportunities Commission to identify other areas of improvement.

Aaron Brewster (3)

There are certainly changes to code that can help with getting more housing built, but it's important to preserve the elements of our neighborhoods that make them desirable in the first place. There are some developments already in the pipeline that should also help, and UWEC will have several new residence halls coming online in the next few years as well. I think there's also space for some additional non-market rate housing, like cooperatives, that could be part of the solution.

Clara Serrano (4)

I am excited about the city's new Century Code Zoning recommendations related to housing infill, updated allowances for ADUs and tiny homes, and also restrictions on short-term rentals, as important ways to address housing supply at all levels. Additionally, creative public/private partnerships are also addressing housing for the unhoused population. The city is currently short-staffed in building inspectors which creates costly challenges for developers. This is partially addressed in next year’s budget, but we need to monitor the city’s responsiveness regarding permitting and inspections so that Eau Claire is an attractive place for local contractors to build and remodel.

4. What should be the City’s approach to addressing downtown issues such as parking and the unhoused population?

Jessica Schoen (1)

Eau Claire currently attracts residents, visitors, and businesses to the area with the reputation of being a welcoming community with an ever-growing local economy. Our local economy offers jobs, unique goods, spaces to connect, and many other benefits. With this in mind, the City should work closely with the Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Eau Claire, Inc., the Housing Opportunities Commission, and other stakeholders to address these issues. Utilizing ongoing efforts related to community surveys, Business Improvement District meetings, and comprehensive planning should continue. Focusing on methods of reducing the need for single vehicle parking including improved public transit options and pedestrian/bike friendly infrastructure will address some of the strain associated with parking. Additional effort put towards increasing housing stock, advancing affordable housing initiatives, and completion of a day center will provide needed resources to the unhoused population.

Aaron Brewster (3)

There are already a couple items in the planning stages that should help with the unhoused population. The first is a day center that will give unhoused folks a place to get out the cold/heat, use a restroom, and find resources to help find housing and employment. The second is a program called Downtown Ambassadors which will have trained staff focused on a number of downtown issues, including defusing situations with unhoused folks who may be experiencing a mental health episode or are under the influence without involving the police. As much as there can be very real issues with parking at times of high demand, such as during major events, most of the time there is parking available in several lots and there will soon be three parking ramps open in the downtown. Not every person will be able to always park within 5 feet of the business they are planning to visit, but parking is available and usually very low cost or free.

Clara Serrano (4)

Downtown Eau Claire is a beautiful asset to our city and it needs to remain a safe and inviting environment for everyone to enjoy. Expansion and promotion of public transportation and bike and pedestrian access from all points of the city can help reduce the number of cars needing parking downtown. The unhoused population needs to be approached with compassion and with individual care. We have non-profits in our community that provide this individualized approach, and we need to advocate for their sustainability and help them secure their continued needed funding.

5. How and on which issues and services should the City work more collaboratively with Eau Claire County?

Jessica Schoen (1)

I would like to find ways to be collaborative on issues related to roads, City/County employee healthcare and benefits, regional climate resiliency, and on matters relating to population growth. Continuing to foster relationships and build trust with our County Board members through joint publicly noticed meetings will aid in these efforts and allow for open dialogue about issues of this nature.

Aaron Brewster (3)

It's too early for me to really speak on this as I'm still trying to get up to speed, but I think a great first step would be to revive the Shared Services Committee and expand it to include not only the City, County, and the Eau Claire School District, but also perhaps some other major community stakeholders like UWEC and CVTC.

Clara Serrano (4)

~70% of Eau Claire County residents live in the City of Eau Claire. Although the City and County have separate charters, they share many common concerns such as infrastructure maintenance, health and safety (law enforcement), and of course, our shared City-County Health Department. In addition, as co-located government agencies, there are opportunities to share costs regarding bulk purchasing of materials and equipment. Increasing the communication between the City and County will reveal opportunities for coordination. We need to be talking with one another more.

6. What is the City Council’s role in promoting economic development, business maintenance and commercial growth in the county?

Jessica Schoen (1)

Through providing direction to City staff on matters related to attracting new industries to the region, City Council continues to grow a diversified local economy that benefits the region. Attracting employers that pay living wages, provide good benefits, and are good community partners is key to sustainable economic growth. Eau Claire's reputation of being a welcoming and hard-working community is consistently named as a reason that employers are interested in opening or expanding business here. In order to ensure this reputation is lasting and we attract a strong workforce, we must invest in our infrastructure, public spaces and art, recreation, and other community services. Economic growth is closely linked to population growth. By focusing on attracting new industries and also on creating a community that is welcoming to all, we will see Eau Claire be the best that it can be.

Aaron Brewster (3)

The City Council's role should primarily be to support high quality infrastructure for Eau Claire. This include things like roads, water, police, and firefighters that everyone thinks of, but also includes things like the parks, recreation space, bike trails, and culture that make Eau Claire the kind of place where quality employees that businesses need want to live and raise their families.

Clara Serrano (4)

The City Council has many roles in smart growth, economic development, commercial growth and business maintenance and sustainability. These roles are in approving development plans, enforcement of city codes and zoning, and licensing (such as liquor licenses and many others). The City's Master Plan is periodically updated and managed by the Plan Commission and a variety of proposals and variances from the Plan Commission regularly come before the City Council for approval. The City Council also approves forward-looking resolutions with goals and plans such as the Renewable Energy Action Plan (REAP) outlining how Eau Claire will meet its 100% renewable energy and carbon neutrality commitments by 2050. The Council implements plans such as REAP by providing solutions, incentives, and promoting those entities that are aligned with City Council approved goals. In addition, the city can implement public/private partnerships that can shape some aspects of future commercial growth in the city.

 

Posted by Mallory Williams Governmental Affairs Intern
williams@eauclairechamber.org