The following information appeared in The Sheboygan Press on Jan. 22, 2021 in an article written by Diana Dombrowski.
Mike Vandersteen
Mike Vandersteen
Age: 68
Campaign Facebook Page
Occupation and highest education level:
Sheboygan mayor, Sheboygan County Board chairman, Sheboygan County Board supervisor, Sheboygan councilperson, manager of DuBois Formalwear, attended University of Wisconsin-Green Bay for two years
Relevant experience:
Tripled the average miles of streets resurfaced per year; reconstructed 11 substandard railroad crossings; City Hall remodeling project; City Green development; introduced new garbage cart system; developed Sheboygan Insider monthly e-newsletter; increased the number of Neighborhood Associations from two to 12; funded beat cop code enforcement officers; developed the SouthPointe Enterprise Campus
Why are you running for office?
I love Sheboygan. I enjoy meeting and listening to residents to build a better Sheboygan. The people of Sheboygan deserve experienced, positive leadership. I make a personal commitment to Sheboygan residents to continue to move Sheboygan forward. I take pride in business growth, new housing and infrastructure projects we, as a community, have achieved. I firmly believe that my working to make Sheboygan a safe, affordable place to live, work and play is essential for continued growth. It has been an honor to serve two terms as your mayor that have brought Sheboygan to an exciting point in terms of economic development and vitality.
What makes you the better candidate in this race?
My style of leadership echoes the view that we are “better together." My collaborative style of leadership means that I am able to creatively solve problems and develop new opportunities for our businesses and our residents. The real-world experience that I have from serving as County Board chairman and Sheboygan mayor, managing a business, and serving in leadership positions on the boards of community organizations are examples that demonstrate my leadership. I have been told that I listen to people and look at both sides of an issue. I have a proven record of getting things done.
What are residents telling you are their most important issues, and how would you address them?
Diversity. Sheboygan has become a more diverse community. The Sheboygan Area School District already has a majority minority student population. I will work with residents to find solutions that see everyone in Sheboygan is treated with dignity and respect.
Business recovery. Sheboygan had a booming economy pre-COVID19. I will see that revenues that we receive are directed to businesses that are struggling to survive. In addition, I will support the growth of business with the formation of our Innovation District and support from our revolving loan fund.
What are the top two issues the city should address?
Streets. My emphasis was and is aggressively increasing funding for street resurfacing. The average miles of resurfaced streets per year has tripled since I took office. Safety.
Our neighborhood revitalization programs support the Police Department Community Policing program. I will work to add to the 12 active Neighborhood Associations.
Low-income housing. There are 264 new or remodeled workforce subsidized apartments and 123 dormitory units constructed during my terms as mayor, and 240 additional workforce subsidized apartments are now under construction for occupancy in 2022. I look forward to the results of the low income housing study that the city is conducting to project how many more units are needed to serve the Sheboygan population.
What will you do as mayor to address the COVID-19 pandemic?
We need to get Sheboygan vaccinated. I will work with the medical community and county officials to be sure that the proper amount of vaccines are available. I will make city buildings available for vaccination clinics and share educational information on the vaccines with the community on city media and COVID-19 update videos. Until the vaccines are administered and effective, I will continue to encourage residents to mask up and keep social distancing.