Based on their responses to a questionnaire from the League of Women Voters, it's a little tough to distinguish between the three candidates in the only primary race for the Dane County Board. But certain buzzwords do emerge, making it easier to classify the candidates.
The Dist. 19 seat - which covers parts of Sun Prairie and the towns of Bristol, Windsor and Burke - is currently held by Jeff Kostelic, who is not running for reelection. Three candidates are on the Feb. 16 primary ballot, which will narrow the field to two.
The candidates are: Bill Clausius, a former Sun Prairie councilman and member of the Dane County Regional Planning Commission; Marc Gofstein, a member of the Dane County CDBG Commission, who works as a youth group leader and served as a legislative aide in California; and Steve Schwartzer, who runs an insurance business.
All three cite public safety as a prime concern. But asked what the county's new Regional Transit Authority should accomplish, Clausius says, "a robust transportation system helps attract new employers to Dane County and will create new jobs." Gofstein says, "it will be able to create multiple, cost-effective public transit solutions."
Taking a more conservative line, Schwartzer favors "a cost-effective alternative to commuter rail" and work toward "the implementation and completion of a greatly needed North Beltline."
