La Crosse County Supervisor District 18
The County Board of Supervisors is the legislative body in every county in Wisconsin. The county board adopts an annual county budget, resolutions and local ordinances (laws). They also establish programs and public services for the county. Voters elect supervisors to represent their supervisory district for a two-year term in nonpartisan elections. There are no term limits.
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Mike Baroni
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Jodie Visker
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What draws you at this time to run for this position?
What resources would you like to see at the county level that would benefit your district?
What in your opinion are the top two issues facing La Crosse County?
How would you most effectively address the issues you identified in the previous question?
Education
BS Business Admin, MBA, Harvard Executive Leadership Program
I am about to complete my first term as county board supervisor for district 18. It truly takes a full term to gain an understanding of all that the county does and why. I have also served on the Health and Human Services Board, which oversees the largest part of the county budget and supports a myriad of programs that provide assistance to the neediest in our community. I have been inspired by the positive impact these programs have had and would like to continue being involved. Coupled with my 35+ years of business experience, I believe the knowledge I have gained over the last two years on the board will benefit the county in administering these programs effectively and efficiently.
I think we already have ample resources from county taxpayers, and I will continue to work on the board to help ensure we prioritize and use those resources wisely. In addition, I would like to see us obtain more funding from our state and federal governments to help us deal with mental health, substance abuse, and housing issues. As a member of the Health and Human Services board, I will support our team in pursuing additional grants to be used in these areas.
Homelessness is first on my list, which can also lead to an increase in crime. It is often a symptom of insufficient residential treatment options for mental health/substance abuse issues, but sometimes people just fall into hard times.
The county has also fallen behind in maintaining its infrastructure. Roads, guard rails, culverts, and clean drinking water are critical to the quality of life of our residents and in supporting a healthy economy. This is one of the most basic responsibilities of county government as a whole and all county board supervisors, whether urban or rural, have a responsibility to see that these basic needs are met.
I support the Pathways Home city/county partnership to end homelessness. The establishment of a database detailing who is homeless, or at risk of homelessness and why, will be of great help in steering the right services to the right people. The county’s role should be coordination and providing mental health, drug treatment and other social services. I do not believe it is the role of county government to purchase housing or to assume leases.
With regard to infrastructure, it simply needs to be prioritized in our budget process and I will fight to do this. There are additional state and federal monies available to help but they are conditioned on the level of funding provided by the county.
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