MONROE - Richard Thoman, who volunteered in 2006 to represent his Monroe westside neighborhood on the Green County Board of Super-visors, is doing it again, this time at the city level.
Thoman confirmed Thursday, Jan. 22 that he is running as a write-in candidate for the Ward 9 seat on the city's Common Council.
"The main reason is I don't want it to sit empty," he said.
Charles Schuringa, the current Ward 9 alderman, filed non-candidacy papers, and no one else filed nomination papers for a name to appear in print on the April ballot.
Thoman is currently a county supervisor, having been re-elected every two years since he was first appointed in October 2006. And he will be on the ballot for re-election to the county District 9 supervisor seat again this April, without opposition so far.
City ward boundary lines follow county district boundary lines, so if Thoman does win both seats, he will be representing the same constituents at different levels of local government.
"We have to make sure somebody is looking after our ward," he said.
Schuringa asked Thoman to run for the council seat early enough to actually get nomination papers turned in to be listed on the ballot.
"I was waiting, hoping someone else would step up," Thoman said.
Thoman said there is no one issue the city or council is dealing with that is of particular interest to him right now, but he is concerned about keeping the city's infrastructures current to retain businesses and attract new business.
"If we don't have that, businesses will go elsewhere," he said. "Internet, water, sewer and roads are extremely important, if people are looking to live here."
Thoman also said he was a "fiscal conservative," who doesn't want to see tax money wasted.
The county board seat for District 9 sat empty for about six months in 2006, before Thoman volunteered to be appointed. There was no particular county issue Thoman was interested in at that time, either. However, the timing of his appointment landed him in the middle of the controversial vote on whether to build a justice center near the sheriff's department.
From the time he volunteered until his first meeting, about two weeks, Thoman had researched the issue; determined security was an important aspect of relocating the county court system; and talked with constituents - most of whom wanted to spend the least amount of money to build a justice center, which he said meant they wanted it built by the sheriff's department.
Thoman confirmed Thursday, Jan. 22 that he is running as a write-in candidate for the Ward 9 seat on the city's Common Council.
"The main reason is I don't want it to sit empty," he said.
Charles Schuringa, the current Ward 9 alderman, filed non-candidacy papers, and no one else filed nomination papers for a name to appear in print on the April ballot.
Thoman is currently a county supervisor, having been re-elected every two years since he was first appointed in October 2006. And he will be on the ballot for re-election to the county District 9 supervisor seat again this April, without opposition so far.
City ward boundary lines follow county district boundary lines, so if Thoman does win both seats, he will be representing the same constituents at different levels of local government.
"We have to make sure somebody is looking after our ward," he said.
Schuringa asked Thoman to run for the council seat early enough to actually get nomination papers turned in to be listed on the ballot.
"I was waiting, hoping someone else would step up," Thoman said.
Thoman said there is no one issue the city or council is dealing with that is of particular interest to him right now, but he is concerned about keeping the city's infrastructures current to retain businesses and attract new business.
"If we don't have that, businesses will go elsewhere," he said. "Internet, water, sewer and roads are extremely important, if people are looking to live here."
Thoman also said he was a "fiscal conservative," who doesn't want to see tax money wasted.
The county board seat for District 9 sat empty for about six months in 2006, before Thoman volunteered to be appointed. There was no particular county issue Thoman was interested in at that time, either. However, the timing of his appointment landed him in the middle of the controversial vote on whether to build a justice center near the sheriff's department.
From the time he volunteered until his first meeting, about two weeks, Thoman had researched the issue; determined security was an important aspect of relocating the county court system; and talked with constituents - most of whom wanted to spend the least amount of money to build a justice center, which he said meant they wanted it built by the sheriff's department.