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County Executive's Office

COUNTY BOARD FETES 100 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

April 12, 2018
Sharon Corrigan, County Board Chair 608.333.2285
County Board

Thursday meeting will honor seven outgoing veteran supervisors

 

The Dane County Board will bid farewell to seven supervisors with a total of 100 years of at its regular meeting Thursday night.

 

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in Room 201 of the City County Building and will also include a resolution honoring former Supervisor Fred Arnold, who died recently at age 76.

 

“County Board supervisors put in long hours -- not just attending meetings but also by listening and responding to the concerns of the citizens they represent,” says County Board Sharon Corrigan of Middleton. “It’s hard to offer enough thanks to those who provide such dedicated service.”

 

The longest-serving member leaving the board following the April 3 election is Supervisor John Hendrick, who has represented the east side of Madison since 1994.

 

Hendrick decided not to seek another 2-year term and is being replaced by Yogesh Chawla, who was elected last Tuesday.

 

“A lot has changed in 24 years, mostly for the better,” says Hendrick, who served as Dane County Board Chair in 2013 and 2014.

 

Also leaving the board is Supervisor Dennis O’Loughlin, who represented northeast Dane County since 1998 for a total of 20 years. He did not seek reelection and is being replaced by Julie Schwellenbach.

 

“Serving the residents of this district has been an honor and a privilege,” says O’Loughlin. “It has been very rewarding working on issues such as building the Courthouse and presently serving as chair of the complete rewrite of Chapter10 zoning code. The best government is local control of issues.”

 

Al Matano, who represented the near west-side of Madison for 18 years will also be leaving the Board.  Matano was defeated last Tuesday by Kelly Danner in the only race where an incumbent faced a challenger.

 

"I'm proud of the work I have done and will continue to do to advocate for transit and bicycle improvements, protecting our natural environment and the needs of the most vulnerable among us -- whether two-legged or four-legged,” says Matano. 

 

Other veteran supervisors being honored at Thursday’s meeting include:

  • Mike Willett, who represented the Verona area for 12 years. He did not seek another term and is being replaced by Jason Knoll.

  • Robin Schmidt, who represented east Madison and Monona for 10 years before deciding not to run this year. She is being replaced by Tanya Buckingham.

  • Ronn Ferrell, who represented the town of Middleton area for 10 years. He did not seek reelection and is being replaced by Steven Peters.

  • Nick Zweifel, who represented the Sun Prairie area for 6 years. He did not seek reelection and is being replaced by Analiese Eicher.

Following Tuesday’s election, women now hold 17 of 37 Dane County Board seats or 45.9%. That is the highest percentage in over a quarter century.

 

In 1990 women held 19 of 41 seats (46.3%) but that figure had been falling over the past quarter century before rebounding over the past several years. For some historic perspective in 1970, only 6% of board members were women.

 

All of the newly elected supervisors will be sworn in at the County Board’s organizational meeting on Tuesday April 17.  The only agenda items at that meeting will be election of officers and adoption of the county board rules for the 2018-2020 term.

 

Also on Thursday, the board will honor former Supervisor Arnold of Madison, who died on March 3 at age 76 of natural causes. A teacher by training long active in both local and global causes, Arnold served on the Dane County Board from 1986-1990.

 

Arnold also served as a member of the Elvehjem Neighborhood Association; an alder on the Madison Common Council from 1975 to 1981 and was a member of multiple community boards and commissions including chair of the eight-neighborhood Stoughton Road Revitalization Project.

 

“Whether it was raising three sons, volunteering in the Peace Corps, serving in local elected office, helping students understand economics, participating in social justice delegations, or engaging in long conversations with friends and family, Fred Arnold was always a positive, constructive contributor who was passionate about life and making a difference,” reads a resolution before the Dane County Board Thursday night.

 

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