Mercer candidates make their pitches

By RICHARD JENKINS

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MERCER, Wis. - With the primary election roughly one week away, the six candidates running for a pair of seats on the Mercer Town Board stated their cases Monday during a candidate forum at the Mercer Community Center.

William Brundage, James Davis, Gordon Kohegyi, Michael Lambert, Victor Ouimette and John Sendra are running for the two seats on the Mercer board.

The forum, sponsored by the Mercer Public Library and the Iron County Citizen's Forum, featured each of the candidates offering a brief opening statement before fielding questions from moderator Will Andresen.

The questions ranged from general questions about the priorities of each candidate and how each would improve the community, to more specific questions such as whether each candidate envisioned Mercer as a "silent sports mecca or the snowmobile capital of the Northwoods."

While there were some differences in opinion, the candidates frequently agreed on issues such as the need for more jobs, the importance of the Mercer School District and the crucial role tourism plays in the community.

Regarding a question as to where the candidates see Mercer in the next 5 to 10 years, a common theme was the need to grow the area's economy.

"Tourism is 65 percent of our economy, so we want to bolster that and make (Mercer) as attractive to outsiders as we can," Sendra said, adding he would like to see the community continue to use room-tax funds to promote the town as a destination. He also said while there may have been an opportunity to attract businesses, he fears the window has closed.

Lambert said the future depended on the state of the economy.

"I know we need to support the businesses we have, support the school, and now with (a bike trail connecting Mercer to trails in Manitowish Waters) coming in, that may generate some businesses" Lambert said. He also mentioned the importance snow played to the tourism in the area and that he had two kids he would like to see return to the area, but that wasn't possible without jobs.

Kohegyi also stressed the potential growth if more jobs were brought to the area.

"When you bring people in - they bring children in, families in, more for the school. Once you lose your school, I think that's pretty much a stamp on what's going on here," Kohegyi said. "... People are not going to come here if they don't see a school."

Kohegyi also mentioned the importance of tourists visiting the area.

Brundage agreed with the other candidates, though he warned that tourism couldn't be seen as a silver bullet.

"While the tourism most certainly is a nice chip to have in our back pocket, I don't believe it's a chip we can count on 12 months a year," Brundage said. "My preference would lean towards trying to bring some industry ... into the community."

Ouimette took a different tack and argued there were several signs that the town's economy was improving.

"Mercer leads the entire county in home and remodeling (work), that's an indication that our economy here is relatively strong. We have more building permits issued for new homes in Mercer than all of the rest of the county combined," Ouimette said, attributing the growth to the marketing efforts of the chamber of commerce.

Davis said while the community's seniors were important, the town's youth also needed attention.

"They leave town, they never come back to live. .... They don't come back here to live, they come back to visit their parents and leave," Davis said, adding that tourism wasn't enough and research into job growth was key.

Following the questions, the candidates were allowed a final closing argument to appeal to voters.

Given the number of candidates on the ballot, a primary election will be held on Feb. 16 to narrow the field down to four for the general election. The top two vote getters in the general election will be seated on the board.