Compiled by Kim McDarison
A spring general election will be held Tuesday, April 4. City of Fort Atkinson voters will find three candidates vying for three Fort Atkinson City Council seats on the general election ballot. They are incumbent Mason Becker and newcomers John Donohue and Kyle Jaeckel.
Those elected to council seats serve at large and for two-year terms.
With three candidates running for three seats on the council, each candidate is running unopposed with the exception of a possible challenge from a write-in candidate.
Voters headed to the polls also will find the name of incumbent Megan Hartwick on the April ballot. While Hartwick initially announced her intention to run, she later withdrew from the race. She has requested that voters not cast their ballots for her.
Fort Atkinson Online recently asked each of the remaining candidates to provide some biographical information and fill out a short questionnaire. Candidates were asked to respond to four questions using a combined total of between 700 and 1,000 words.
Candidates were asked to submit a photo for publication.
The electorate also will have an opportunity to see these candidates respond to questions in a videotaped Candidates Forum which will be presented online on this news site and on other online platforms.
A release date for the video will be announced soon.
Election polls on April 4 will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Fort Atkinson Municipal Building, 101 N. Main St.
Candidates’ responses to questionnaires, presented in alphabetical order, follow.
Mason Becker
Age: 42
Address: 1511 Stacy Ln.
Occupation: Development Coordinator
Number of years resided in city: 39
Education: BA – Speech Communications, UW-Whitewater, graduated 2002.
Currently pursuing Master of Public Administration, UW-Oshkosh.
Civic and other organizational memberships: Fort Atkinson Lions Club (current club president), Bethany Lutheran Church (served on church council for six years). Family business is a member of the Fort Atkinson Area Chamber of Commerce.
Political experience: Serving in fourth term on the Fort Atkinson City Council. Ran for State Assembly in 2020. Served on Residence Hall Association executive board at UW-Whitewater.
What are your reasons for seeking this position?
It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the city of Fort Atkinson for four terms. We still have much important work to continue in our community. When I came onto the council in 2015, our city was struggling in some areas. While there is still progress to be made, our streets are in objectively better shape than they were back then. We are taking a proactive approach to fixing our infrastructure, and this past year saw the successful replacement of the Robert Street bridge. I can also confidently say that we no longer have a reputation for being “anti-business.” Our downtown storefronts are mostly full again, and we even have some retail shopping again on Main Street. In terms of public safety, we recently modernized our emergency services, and other communities are now following our lead. There’s still more we can do to make Fort Atkinson a great place to live and work. I’m particularly concerned with attracting and retaining young talent and young families. If we can keep developing the types of businesses and amenities those individuals enjoy, it’s going to pay off for all of us in the long run.
What are the most pressing issues facing the position you seek?
We have an identified need to continue fostering new construction in our city, primarily two types: residential and commercial. As far as residential housing, we need to continue encouraging both rental and owner-occupied housing. I know it’s been a long time coming, but our investment in 75 acres along Banker Road will soon be paying off. We are already seeing some new apartment buildings that will be coming soon, and more good news will be coming as the year goes on. As far as commercial and industrial developments, we lack something that other communities have: large vacant buildings. That’s not a bad thing: many of the commercial strip malls in town have been filling back up, and our major employers continue to be successful. However, in order to bring new industry and jobs to Fort Atkinson, it’s going to require new construction. With higher construction costs and interest rates lately, the city is going to need to continue taking an active role in encouraging business development. The fact is that developers need assistance right now if they’re going to build in a city our size. Fortunately, our recently created TIF districts will help us foster that type of growth.
What unique perspective do you bring?
I’m the longest tenured member of the city council currently, and I’m also the only incumbent running for reelection this year. I’ve been fortunate to have worked with many great people on our council, who have brought many different perspectives these past few years. Now, I would like to help serve as a bridge to the next set of leaders in our city. It’s great that we have two newcomers who have been willing to sacrifice their personal time to run for local office. We will need more people who are willing to step up and do so in the future. I was also the council president when we hired our current city manager, Rebecca Houseman-LeMire. She has been a tremendous asset to our city, and I look forward to continuing to work with her and the rest of our very talented city staff.
Any additional comments?
Let’s continue with our positive momentum. We have so many tremendous attributes that we can build on in our community: great people, great employers, great schools, and great parks and other outdoor amenities. Sometimes I think in Fort Atkinson, we tend to fall into the habit of thinking “the grass is greener on the other side.” The fact is that many Wisconsin municipalities are looking to Fort Atkinson, and trying to emulate things that we’ve already done. We should be proud of the city that we have, and look to build upon the successes that we’ve accomplished by working together. Even though this election isn’t a contested one, I hope the voters will give me their “seal of approval” to serve for two more years. Let’s all keep making Fort Atkinson a great place to live, work, and play.
John Donohue
Age: 69
Address: 1550 Raveen St., 9
Occupation: Commissioned Officer, United States Army, Retired
Number of years resided in city: 23
Education: Master of Arts, Development Banking, American University, Washington, D.C.; Master of Social Work, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater; Bachelor of Science, Accounting, Strayer University; Bachelor of Science, Management, University of Maryland; Graduate of Fort Atkinson Senior High School, Class of 1971.
Civic and other organizational memberships: Volunteer at Hoard Historical Museum, and the Homeless Coalition of Fort Atkinson.
Political experience: None.
What are your reasons for seeking this position?
I begin by saying what a tremendous privilege it is to be a candidate for Fort Atkinson City Council on the upcoming April 4th ballot. I am grateful to everyone who signed my nomination papers. I have three reasons for deciding to run for council. First, I seek election out of love for this community. My family located here in Fort Atkinson in 1963. In a spirit of reciprocity, it’s time for me to make my fullest possible contribution of public service back to our city. Second, I am completely confident that I will give you, our citizens, every possible personal and professional quality necessary to make our city an even greater place to live, work, and raise our families. I am amply qualified to deal with our community’s challenges. And third, I want every citizen and every section of our community to know they are being fully represented in government. I am at a place in life where all of my energies can be focused entirely in representing our citizens.
I am optimistic that we will continue improving and growing as a successful community. It’s what we do here – we do things successfully. As a member of city council, and in helping to continue our success, I give you broad professional experiences including all that my military service and leadership exemplify, experience working in Washington, D.C., and being a former university educator and administrator. I seek this position because I want to serve you, the citizens.
Public service is a learning process, as well as a process of continuous improvement. I count collaboration and cooperation as among my greatest strengths. Accordingly, a group of us began an organization known as Citizens for a Better Fort Atkinson, which is a venue for sharing ideas and questions about city progress, as well as concerns about how we meet challenges. These questions and concerns are then taken back to city government for responses. This initiative represents “civic education,” as well as civic action. In meeting with citizens and groups thus far, what impresses me so deeply is that Fort Atkinson is truly a place where we take care of each other. We need to uphold this community culture to the utmost. As a member of city council, I am in a position of trust and responsibility to make sure our community caring is maximized.
What are the most pressing issues facing the position you seek?
Our “most pressing issues” represent community priorities – and these community priorities are my priorities as a member of the city council. These priorities are spelled out in the city’s 2023 Operating Budget document. The operational framework was well stated by our city manager in that document: “The 2023 budget meets the goals . . . and reflects the City’s continued commitment to provide a high level of service at the lowest possible cost.”
Our government leadership identified twelve major goals for 2023 in the city budget. This includes, among other things, an already approved and implemented referendum to improve public safety – to add much needed fire and police staffing, and 911 EMS services. In looking beyond 2023, however, there is consensus that we need to grow our tax base to meet increasing costs. The budget needed to properly maintain public services must be kept in check, but the tax burden cannot be carried on the shoulders of limited revenue sources. Expanding the tax base means to encourage and facilitate growth of everything that provides our community with economic benefit, specifically property ownership and the development of commerce. Of the six revenue sources identified in the 2023 budget, nearly 70 percent of total revenues derive from general property and “other” taxes. This is the key portion of tax base where growth is to be encouraged – not the tax itself, but residential and commercial growth and development itself. Both the city of Fort Atkinson and Jefferson County maintain Capital Catalyst Revolving Loan Funds for economic development.
We need to encourage new housing construction of all types as well as downtown retail trade. We also must continue dialog with adjacent communities, state legislators, and the League of Wisconsin Municipalities with respect to state shared revenues, which is referred to as a “broken system.”
What unique perspective do you bring?
Before addressing “unique perspectives,” let’s first understand the city council’s job description as stated on the council’s web page: The city council is the community’s legislative and policymaking body. Power is centralized in the elected council, which, for example, approves the budget and determines the tax rate. The council also focuses on the community’s goals, major projects, and such long-term considerations as community growth, land use development, and capital improvement and financing.
Accordingly, I see the job of councilperson as needing to have a broad view and understanding of issues and challenges, and a foresight to identify and evaluate opportunities.
I enter public service as a member of Fort Atkinson city council having a family history here, as I earlier mentioned. But I return to the community my military service and leadership experience – a strong ability to collaborate with others, organize, administer, and build cooperation. My military career was in the United States Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps – the legal branch of the military. I retired as a Chief Warrant Officer Legal Administrator after 27 years of service. As I was winding down my time in the military, I spent twelve years working in the Washington, D.C. law profession, and was also a university instructor. I enter the position of city councilperson with dual master’s degrees, my first being in economic development banking, and my second in social work. I have undergraduate degrees in accounting and management. All of this life experience furnishes me with more of a “unique perspective” than I would have ever hoped for. All of this experience now accrues to public service in and for Fort Atkinson.
Any additional comments?
I look forward to serving you with enthusiasm and accomplishment. Thank you.
Kyle J. Jaeckel
Age: 25
Address: 715 Messmer St.
Occupation: Construction Operator, Agriculturalist, Fabricator
Number of years resided in city: 3.5
Education: Blackhawk Technical College – 2017; Diesel and Heavy Equipment Technical Diploma; Worldwide College of Auctioneering – 2015, Fort Atkinson High School – 2015 High School Diploma
Civic and other organizational memberships: Bethany Lutheran Church
Political Experience: Candidate for Town of Koshkonong Board – 2018
What are your reasons for running for this position?
The function of local government has always intrigued me. While Fort Atkinson is a great community in which to live and work, I see surrounding communities bringing more opportunities to not only their residents but businesses as well. I want to see Fort Atkinson thrive and grow in areas from family recreation to business development. It is time to aggressively market our community rather than hoping that the city will progress without stimulation. The city council also needs more members that will be fully transparent, stand up for the residents and businesses, and be sure that the city is truly working for its constituents and not its own benefit.
What are the most pressing issues facing the position you seek?
The city is lagging in many areas such as road maintenance, economic development, and housing. Progress has been made in some areas over the last few years, but more needs to be done.
Fort Atkinson has made strides in road maintenance and repair. Funding for these projects through the wheel tax, property taxes, and water bills was necessary to continue these services for the benefit of all. It is also my understanding that the city has several big projects scheduled for the next 5 years that have long needed attention.
Economic development has been stagnant in our community while neighboring cities seem to be growing. Fort Atkinson has a large industrial park that has been nearly vacant for more than two decades. Over the years several businesses have inquired about building their facilities there but have withdrawn because of excessive rules and restrictions. The longer this area sits empty the more economic hurt it puts on our community as a whole. It is time the city revisits those ordinances and looks at what neighboring communities, such as Jefferson and Milton, are doing to fill their unoccupied industrial parks.
Nearly hand-in-hand with business development, I would like to see Fort Atkinson pursue more family recreational activities. UTV/ATV trails, for instance, could not only provide leisure activity but also potential stimulus for local business growth.
The city’s initiative to buy and develop land for residential housing concerns many Fort Atkinson residents. During the time the land is in the city’s ownership, it draws no property tax revenue. It becomes a liability until developers get involved to develop and sell parcels.
What unique perspective do you bring?
I come from a three-generation family business located just outside of Fort Atkinson. We serve many individuals, businesses, and municipalities around the Jefferson County area. Working in communities on all different types of job sites has given me a view of governments that are willing to work with residents and businesses toward the greater end.
Just as in managing a business, I know it’s essential to dive into numbers to ascertain where money can be cut and where it needs to be spent. I am also not afraid to make phone calls, ask questions, and do extensive research to make sure I have a full understanding on a subject before making a decision.
Any additional comments?
I hope to bring my experience from working with my family and for the Town of Koshkonong Department of Public Works to help navigate the city of Fort Atkinson to being a stronger and more economically friendly city. While circulating nomination papers, I enjoyed going door-to-door and hearing residents’ concerns and ideas. As a young father, I want to make sure what we are doing as a council and community will benefit future generations. I would greatly appreciate your support on April 4th to help shape the future of Fort Atkinson.
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