Oregon Observer Q&A

Submitted to the Oregon Observer

2023 Town of Oregon Chairperson

Candidate Questions — Carl Walser

See the published story here: OregonObserver.com

Biographical Information

Age:

60

Years in the Town of Oregon:

My wife Julie and our kids Anna, Caroline, Craig, Miles, and Travis moved to the Ravenoaks neighborhood in early 2002. I’ve lived in Dane County since 1991.

Education:

I have a bachelor’s degree from Northern Illinois University with a major in Finance and a minor in Art History.

Employer/job title:

I’m the Marketing Director with a technology company called Level 9 that builds enterprise-level custom websites for credit unions and community banks. My overall career background includes finance, banking, marketing, and technology.

Political experience:

I’m a current Town Board Supervisor. Prior to being elected, I worked on Town of Oregon initiatives including acting as the committee leader for the town’s Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan project and the town’s COVID-19 Policy team. Throughout my current term, I’ve participated on Town Board and Fire/EMS District projects and committees.

Notable affiliations:

Volunteer and donor for United Way of Dane County, Second Harvest Food Bank, MSCR youth sports programs, and UW Extension Master Gardener.

Essay Questions

Why are you running for office?

Over the past year on the Board, it’s become more apparent that the Town must begin to dive into an intense phase of planning. And those plans must cover longer time periods than have previously been considered. Planning for the near future is a given, but we should have plans that reach out 5, 10, 15 years. Our lack of long-term plans has hurt us over the past years — especially in the areas of road maintenance, facilities and equipment upkeep, staff development and empowerment, new home construction, annexation mitigation, budgeting, and resident-powered vision planning.

I’m running because instead of me just thinking “Somebody should do something” and leaving it at that, I believe I can leverage my experience and background to help move the Board in a better direction that will help the Town. There’s one catch: I’ll need help from all residents — not just during this election, but beyond... into our future together in the Town of Oregon.

What makes you qualified to lead the Oregon Town Board?

My background is in finance, banking, marketing, and technology. I worked for a combined twenty plus years at two of Madison’s biggest credit unions in management positions that involved staff, budget, and project responsibility. Exactly the kind of experience that will continue to benefit our Town and the Town Board. I’ve had good success over the past year in nudging conversations toward more planning, better budget analysis, improvements to staff empowerment, regulatory compliance, and improved communication. I believe progress can happen faster and across a broader range of town functions and projects if I’m the chairman.

What is the most pressing issue the Town of Oregon faces in the next few years?

There are huge changes coming to the Town and we can either let them happen to us or we can take charge of them. It’s no exaggeration to say that the future of the Town as we know it is uncertain. Maintaining our rural character, adapting to annexation and development, managing expenses and budget constraints, and mitigating the effects of climate change — those and other challenges face us over the coming months, years, and decades. While the Board has undergone planning exercises in the past, the management and fulfillment of those plans have been underwhelming. We need to conduct a full-scale vision planning project and continue to keep our comprehensive plan updated to reflect the views of Town residents and the changing economic conditions. Plans for roads, facilities, equipment, and staffing are also vitally important.

The closure of the Town of Oregon Recycling Center (TORC) caused significant debate and tension throughout the community. How should the Oregon Town Board handle such disagreements moving forward?

I would agree that a group of residents were very passionate and vocal in their opposition to the town moving to curbside and in their opposition to the way that the project played out. I would not characterize that as occurring “...throughout the community.” Hundreds of residents have enjoyed the benefits of curbside for decades and now, thanks to the town-wide curbside rollout, all town residents will have access to this convenient service at a heavily discounted rate. It’s important to recognize, too, that the TORC has not closed. A wide range of services continue to be available there to meet the recycling, composting, and disposal needs of our residents.

An important matter that the TORC project revealed was that the town can do better at sharing information and communicating with residents. With the information overload that we all experience each day, it’s hard for the town to break through the noise with information about local government. Residents have varying levels of interest and available time, which means that the town might not ever get through to everyone with every attempt. Multiple channels are available, though — email, website, online meetings, in-person, direct mail, etc. — and the Town will continue to explore how to take advantage of the strength of each one. We’ll also work to encourage residents to stay connected, engaged, and informed.

What is your position on the future relationship between the town and the Oregon Area Senior Center?

The Oregon Area Senior Center provides valuable services to Town of Oregon residents and I hope that situation can continue into the future. Both the Village and Town are trying to do as much as possible to ensure mutual success while dealing with the constraints of tight budgets. Representatives from our Board and the Village meet regularly and continue to work toward sorting out budget challenges and strengthening the relationship between us. I’m confident that we will find a way to make this work.

What sets you apart from your opponent?

I don’t remember much about my opponent’s participation on the Board after he was appointed to fill a vacancy. Since his loss in the last election, I’ve read and heard very little from him that would describe and explain his views about why he should be elected chairperson. Without much to go on, I don’t know how to compare myself to him.

I can say this, though — We all, including my opponent, live here because town life fits us... farmer, subdivision neighbor, or country home owner. The mix of different people living different lives is exciting and challenging all at the same time. We have a lot in common, though. Let’s make the effort to build on what we share and create a better future together.

For Fairness. For the Future. For You. That’s why I'm running for Town Board Chairperson.