SHEBOYGAN, Wis. — Incumbent Mayor Ryan Sorenson and Alderman John Belanger are the two candidates running for Sheboygan’s mayor’s office this year.
“It’s been a really wonderful journey,” Sorenson smiled. “It’s really special being the mayor of your hometown.”
Belanger raised his family here and has called Sheboygan home for decades.
He said his campaign is not a power grab.
“If I thought the current mayor was doing a real good job, I wouldn’t run for mayor.”
But before community members decide who to vote for in April, they needed a few questions answered by the candidates.
So I gave them that opportunity.
Local business owner Amy Sutton wondered how they plan to balance city development.
"Just a better economy,” she said. “I want to see more people come in and I want to see tourism, but I want to see locals happy too."
"One of the recent studies underscored and said that Sheboygan is going through what's called 'hyper-growth,’” Sorenson replied. “I think there has to be a balance that we have with investing with growth and also investing in neighborhoods."
Watch: Who are the Sheboygan mayoral candidates?
Belanger thinks the city needs to pump the breaks a bit to consider projects more carefully.
“I believe in development by design, not default. So you can’t just shotgun it and just say, ‘We’ve got this empty lot here, let’s just put this here,’” he explained.
“The city has limited resources, so how are we going to address that? We need to have a comprehensive plan.”
Long-time resident Jason Peters wants an open and honest leader.
"I would like our local government to be more transparent. I think there's a lot of hiding in the shadows."
"I'm going to be radically transparent,” Belanger responded. “I would have an open-door policy. I would meet with any group or individual. I think it's severely lacking right now."
"I think that that's something that we've been really focused on, improving communication, improving community engagement,” Sorenson insisted. “I think we have to utilize technology to the best of our ability, ensuring that we can share the information so folks can stay engaged with their local government.”
There was one topic on which both candidates agreed, prompted by community volunteer Marge Voigt.
She asked, “How would you promote or encourage the nonprofits that are trying to help the needy in Sheboygan?"
"Nonprofits are vital to any community and they serve a fantastic role,” Belanger noted. “So I would do whatever I can to support them."
Sorenson referenced his current term as mayor in his response.
"I've made it a priority in my administration to work with many of our local nonprofits, whether it's investing in affordable housing, whether it's addressing health concerns, whether it's investing in our parks.”
Both men acknowledged that much work remains, but they shared the overall goal of making Sheboygan a better and brighter place to live.
Residents will cast their ballots for the mayoral race on April 1.
Find voting resources at sheboyganwi.gov.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.