April Update: County Newsletter
Happy April everyone,
I am wishing everyone out there a happy spring. Big action in the County Board this month, as we have a new term starting and a new set of supervisors on the bench. I’ve highlighted below the positions that have turned over as a result of April’s election.
At our meeting on April 21st, all the new supervisors were sworn in, and the new session began. There was a vote for chair and vice chair of the county board; the vote was confidential, but here was the breakdown of the votes:
Votes for chair (1st round):
Daniel Gaschke: 10
Mark Nordigian: 10
1 abstention
Votes for chair (2nd round):
Daniel Gashcke: 10
Mark Nordigian: 11
Votes for vice chair:
John Morrissey: 7
John Franco: 14
So our leadership will be Mark Nordigian as chair and John Franco as vice chair. This leadership team will preside over county board meetings, make committee assignments, and serve as the leader of the governing body for the next two-year term.
On a special meeting on April 28th, committee assignments were released, and they can be found documented below:
One item of note is that Chair Nordigian chose to make committees smaller, five members instead of seven. His position is that this will streamline the process of discussion and increase accountability for attendance at committee meetings. I am excited to serve on the human services committee for a second term, taking everything I’ve learned the past two years and hitting the ground running.
I am also working to dig into real change work in the county this term. I am working to figure out how to draft resolution language, so I can address many of the concerns that you all have been reaching out to me about. I cannot overstate how much I appreciate the engagement from the community about priorities like immigration and ICE, homelessness and resources to keep unhoused neighbors safe in the cold, data centers and power plants (making sure that we protect our home), and so many more things. It’s the passion of folks in the community that really inspires me to keep learning in this role, and I can’t wait to serve you for another term.
Have a great April, and I will see you all next month.
Links:
County Board Meeting (4/8): https://www.youtube.com/live/FpKK0zSNIJ0?si=DgO2tdMTpkzIFayp
County Board & Organizational Meeting (4/21): https://youtu.be/Yd-1-ClJWXA?si=bWs8MckSxfCUWvpJ
County Board Meeting for Committee Assignment (4/28):
https://www.youtube.com/live/fQajJgnHP5A?si=fx_-Isj9Kfwu-Ngr
Press release for committees: https://www.kenoshacountywi.gov/m/newsflash/Home/Detail/3537