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Ontonagon Matters: Village Board president candidates Waldrop, Johnson discuss pressing issues

ONTONAGON – Incumbent Village Board President Ken Waldrop and challenger William Johnson discussed concerns going into the Nov. 8 election.

“My biggest thing with the village council is it’s not working with the public,” Johnson said. “If I get in, the people will understand they come first. To be a good leader you must be a great servant. They forget they work for the people. You need to get out there and be part of the community.”

Johnson said other than being paid $75 per council meeting, the position is unsalaried. Waldrop wasn’t sure of the amount but confirmed his pay was all from attending meetings.

“I don’t do it for the money,” Waldrop said of his past two years as president. “I care about the village. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t care.”

He sees the crowds currently coming to council meetings is a good sign since when he became president barely any residents attended.

“Not only do we care, this shows we are receptive to the community,” Waldrop said. “I really believe we have the support of our constituents.”

Johnson alleged Waldrop is too busy running radio stations to have time to devote to the job.

“It’s kind of obvious he doesn’t have the time,” Johnson said, noting that Waldrop missed a recent council meeting.

“I’ve missed two meetings in two years,” Waldrop responded, adding he’s always on the job, addressing public concerns as they arise. “There’s no downtime from it.

“Being busy is an accolade. It’s not an insult,” Waldrop said, adding he also attends Downtown Development Authority meetings, after helping revitalize the group.

But Johnson doesn’t think that’s enough.

“There’s a lot of stuff Joe’s (Village Manager Joe Erickson) doing that the president should be doing,” Johnson said.

“We want him to work for us,” Waldrop said of Erickson, adding Johnson may not understand what the village manager does for the council.

“I’m very proud of how our council is running now,” Waldrop said, highlighting council work on hiring a grant writer, pursuing a small harbor sustainability project and developing downtown parks, including a proposed outdoor amphitheater. “That’s proactive. We need to be writing applications to get grants.”

He said these and other proposed and ongoing projects are designed to bring both people and jobs to the area.

“I want a happy balance of tourism and industry,” Waldrop said, noting attracting people and business will be more successful if the village has a plan to deal with run-down properties. “I’ve started a battle with blight, with the county.”

By working together, the village and county want to develop a land bank to make both municipalities eligible for grants, such as brownfield redevelopment funds which are available to deal with neglected and abandoned properties in areas with a higher number of residents than live in the village alone.

Johnson, who runs JJ’s Tackle Shop with his wife, said another one of his priorities is, “Jobs, jobs, jobs. I can bring jobs here.”

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