WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI (WSAU) — Wisconsin Rapids Mayor Shane Blaser may be in a lame-duck period, but that doesn’t mean he is going to slack off before turning over the Mayor’s office to someone else next April.
He will do his best to make sure whoever gets the seat is well-informed by answering any questions that prospective candidates may have. He says he’s talked to a few interested parties, and many of the questions have been the same.
“A lot of the time it’s about the time commitment,” said Blaser. “You do have a lot of day-to-day responsibilities. A lot of people might think they know what the Mayor does, but realistically until you get in the seat [you don’t know.]
Those include behind-the-scenes administration duties and other tasks in addition to setting agendas and running the meetings. Blaser adds that whoever comes into the job next will have the advantage of working with a group of department leaders who know their roles and have built relationships with all the right people. “Staff isn’t changing. That will remain consistent. During my administration, I always tried to put staff forward to be that front person instead of always [having myself] as that front person.
“Mayors can change from term to term, so I’ve always felt it is better for businesses and community members to build relationships with those department heads,” added Blaser.
Blaser notes that the Wisconsin Rapids past mayor’s club is exclusive- four other people have held the seat that are still alive today, himself included.
Candidates for Mayor can begin circulating their nominating papers on December 1st. They are due back to the Clerk’s office in early January.
Other topics Blaser discussed with WSAU’s Mike Leischner include:
Start of video- Fallout from his decision to not run
4:30- City budget update
10:55- Small biz Saturday
13:13- Hunting!
