A question of leadership

0 Comments | La Crosse Tribune, Nov 30, 2002 | by Magney, Reid

La Crosse County Administrative Coordinator Patrick Thompson's departure for a new job in Colorado is raising questions about what kind of leadership county government ought to have.

The Greater La Crosse Area Chamber of Commerce and county board Chairman Steve Doyle think the time is ripe for an elected executive - like a mayor for the county.

Others, such as former board chairman Jim Ehrsam, believe the county needs to continue with a professional manager like Thompson and his two predecessors, "rather than a politician."

Joe Heim, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, said change will continue to affect all levels of government and suggested that coun ty residents need to ask themselves what kind of structure is "right for the future."

Because of budgetary pressures at the state level, "the county is the vehicle of the future, and it's waiting to be used," Heim said. But what's holding it back is that there's nobody to provide strong leadership and nobody whom all the voters can hold accountable, he said.

Doyle has long been an advocate of an elected executive, but has been a minority on the board until this year, when he garnered enough support to defeat Ehrsam by a vote of 19-16.

Doyle said having an administrative coordinator or administrator "works well when you have a homogeneous board. But when you have factions, it's hell to pay for the administrative coordinator."

When a board is divided, the administrative coordinator doesn't have the kind of authority he or she needs to manage the county, Doyle said.

An executive would be in a much stronger position to represent the county's interests on several fronts, including economic development and collaboration with other governments, Doyle said. "An executive is a go-to person who can provide leadership.

"Economic development is trench warfare today, but the county has been laid back," Doyle said. "We're not set up to move quickly."

"An executive is a person," Doyle said, "who can sit down with the village of Holmen or the town of Burns and say, 'Let's cut a deal.' "

None of that thrills Ehrsam, who was board chairman for 12 years and did three stints as the acting administrative coordinator.

"I think it's just another form of hierarchy," Ehrsam said. "We need a professional rather than a politician. It's got some good points, but there's more negatives."

Ehrsam said the negatives include "diluting the power of the board itself. The executive can veto the board, but it takes twothirds of the board to override a veto. There have been a lot of problems with executives all over the state."

He did not elaborate.

Whenever the chamber or some other group suggest a change in county government - be it an executive or a smaller county board - Ehrsam and others have pointed out that La Crosse County residents already enjoy some of the lowest county taxes in the state.

The county has about 1,300 workers, but doesn't have a lot of high-paid staff people to run things. Instead, the county relies on its 35 part-time supervisors to keep a watchful eye on taxes, spending and policies.

La Crosse Mayor John Medinger said he's always supported having an elected county executive.

"I like Steve Doyle, and he's a good friend," Medinger said. "But I can't hold him accountable" because he's elected to the board by voters in the town of Onalaska and elected chairman by the other supervisors. "The chair's allegiance is to his peers on the board, not to all the county's voters," Medinger said.

Medinger said he also has high regard for Thompson and the job he has done for La Crosse County, but that in the end, the administrative coordinator is "a bureaucrat."

Al Trapp, chairman of the chamber's government action committee, said he likes the idea of an executive because through elections "the people of the county have a direct voice on countywide issues and policies. ... It's hard to get a single focus when you have it all divided up into 35 districts.

"The chamber has no ax to grind with members of the county board," Trapp said. "The situation in county government is not bad, but there's a sense La Crosse County is missing an opportunity and might be able to perform a little bit better for the people."