In the upcoming spring election, incumbent Bob Zigelbauer will have some competition for his position. His opponent will be Eric Sitkiwitz, who has been representing the 6th Aldermanic District in the City of Manitowoc and has done so in a variety of positions. Sitkiwitz told us that he has been listening to the people of the county, and they are saying, “…they want someone who is proactive, and fighting for Manitowoc County.” Sitkiwitz has several major points he wants to address in his campaign. He stated, “There has been opportunities to have more economic development. More opportunity has been lost to row our workforce, and more opportunity has been lost to grow our population.”
He went on to tell us that it is vital to keep he younger demographic (ages 25-44) here to work and live, saying “It’s an economic opportunity were we can bring in additional jobs, or we can bring in additional workforce. Along with those comes that additional population.” He went on to say, “Take a look at the declining population. We’re one of the only counties in the state of Wisconsin, that has an interstate running through it, that has lost, and is projected to loose population. I find that unacceptable.” As far as growing the workforce, Sitkiwitz said that putting “all your eggs into one basket is when things go wrong.” He does believe that the future is in manufacturing, but want to embrace all ty pes of jobs.
As for the proposed half percent sales tax, Sitkiwits said it is positive that there is a discussion, but he thinks, “…we have to take a look at our infrastructure plan, see how robust the maintenance has been. I know this year there has been additional revenue put into the county budget for that, which is telling me that they are identifying the problem.” He continued, “It’s not just as simple as ‘Let’s enact the sales tax and all our problems are solved.’ I think we need to take a look at a multifaceted approach.
The Spring General Election is scheduled for Tuesday April 3rd.