By Zach Jensen,
District 4 Supervisor candidate Cheryl Wieseler spoke to a group of potential constituents during a public presentation Sunday afternoon at Freeport Park. (Photo by Zach Jensen)
As a heatwave scorched the Midwest over the weekend, Cheryl Wieseler also turned up the heat in the race for District 4 Winneshiek County Supervisor. The former educator of more than 25 years and co-owner of Cluck Ewe Farm and Bakery of Decorah hosted a public presentation Sunday afternoon — giving potential constituents an opportunity to meet her and get to know her politics.
“As a no-party candidate, I really didn’t know what kind of support I would have from the people of Winneshiek County,” said Wieseler, who is also a second-degree black-belt in Taekwondo. “It seems that many people today are in the habit of voting more for a party than for the individual candidate, so it’s hard to know what the reception will be for a no-party candidate such as myself. However, I have been overwhelmed by the incredible amount of support that I have received from not only Independents, but from Democrats and Republicans as well. I am incredibly optimistic.”
Wieseler, registered as no party, is running against Republican incumbent District 4 Supervisor Chair Dan Langreck. Weisler said she has been watching Winneshiek County Board of Supervisors meetings over the last year, and she has grown concerned about several aspects of Langreck’s behavior.
“I have been increasingly dismayed by Langreck’s lack of transparency and his unreceptive responses to public comment or criticism,” Wieseler said. “I have personally witnessed him raise his voice or interrupt constituents or other supervisors when his views or opinions have been challenged, and he has displayed an unwillingness to consider the viewpoints of both county residents and heads of various county departments. Langreck has also displayed a reluctance to compromise with county employees on budget and salary issues, and his communication style when speaking with them sometimes comes across as overly harsh.”
The mother of three went on to say she has been considering running for public office for several years — during which she has observed the divides between people at the national, state and local levels.
“I have always been interested in how our government works and the role that each citizen plays in that system,” she said. “Winneshiek County is my home and has been my home for over 20 years. I care about the people, the land and other natural resources here and want to do my part to preserve the health and security of both.”
To that end, Wieseler indicated attending the board meetings in person have helped her learn as much as she can about the job for which she’s campaigning.
“I have attended, listened carefully, taken notes and researched topics that I need to learn more about,” she said. “Although I could continue to watch online, attending the meetings in person allows me to not only hear the conversation, but to also witness the interactions between the supervisors and constituents. Body language and expressions often lend additional nuance to the discussions at hand.”
Wieseler said she fell in love with Winneshiek County after her first visit to the area, because “it’s such a beautiful and unique area with amazing people,” and she said public service is one way she believes she can give back to the community she loves.
“I would not have my business without the support of the people in Winneshiek County,” she said. “I feel that I can give back to the people of the county by being a representative who will listen to their concerns and do what I can to protect the interests of Winneshiek County and of those who live here. When a public official is elected, that means that their constituents have put their trust in that individual. To me, that means serving with integrity and transparency. Public servants need to be objective and ready to serve all of their constituents to the best of their ability and reject partisanship, while putting the best interests of the county and of the people who live there before personal interests as well as being fiscally responsible with the tax dollars that they have been entrusted with.”
Wieseler said she’s also running for the District 4 Supervisor seat to help restore a measure of the public’s trust in the board of supervisors.
“I also feel that there is a sense of distrust toward some of our county supervisors right now,” she said. “Years ago, I saw the board of supervisors as an impartial group who, despite political affiliations, mostly put their differences aside and worked together as a team to make decisions in the best interest of the county as a whole. People overall trusted them and respected the decisions that they made. As a county supervisor, my goal is to regain that trust in the board and to help constituents feel welcomed at board of supervisor meetings. Without the trust of the people, our government bodies cannot be effective.”
Wieseler also hopes winning a seat on the board will help her educate the public on the importance of being involved in the political process.
“I hear people all the time saying to me, ‘I don’t pay attention to politics,’” she said. “My response is always that you might not pay attention to politics, but your life is going to be affected by politics at some point, so you need to start paying attention. When I get feedback from people saying things like, ‘Hey, I looked into that issue you were telling me about, and now I want to know more,’ it makes me really happy to think that maybe I’ve made a little bit of a difference. I suppose that’s still the teacher in me.”
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