MADELINE ISLAND

NEWS AND INFORMATION

THAT'S THE ISLAND!

by Edward Itor

Things appear to be heating up in La Pointe as the recall election of Mike Starck for his District 12 seat of the Ashland County Board of Supervisors.  Opinions of La Pointe residents have recently appeared in the Ashland Daily Press, both online and off and on this website as well. 

Starck’s comments to reporter Rick Olivo that appeared in an article about the election in the Ashland Daily Press seems to have infuriated many of the residents who signed the recall petition.  (Click here to read the story online at  www.ashlandwi.com.)

With over 1/3 of the registered voters in La Pointe signing a petition to recall  Starck before an opponent was even announced says something about the opinion many hold of the job that Starck has done. 

Many seem to agree that even though Starck is an overall good citizen, citing his past fund raising efforts for the community, most agree that he is unfit for the job citing his performance on both the Town Plan Commission and Town Board. With no previous experience in legislation or law, Starck has been involved in the “zoning ordinance revision project” since day one, back in 2006. Not only did Starck and various others fail to obtain legal counsel throughout the entire project before submitting their work to the Town and County Boards, they also ignored avenues of both financial and legal assistance which were presented to them as options by other town officials throughout the project.

Recently, town's Attorney Michael Fauerbach recommended a hold be put on enforcement of any of the new zoning citing conflicts with existing La Pointe zoning, and the Town Board has put the body of work back into the hands of the Town Plan Commission for review. Now, under the leadership of long time resident Ted Pallas, many in the community are breathing a sigh of relief.

However, a few will not be satisfied until Starck is completely removed from the political picture.  However, one does wonder why Starck is allowed to give input during Town Board meetings, rather than confined to statements at the beginning of the meetings like the rest of the public.  Some think, myself included, that he has done enough damage already.

Starck’s challenger, Tom Nelson is a colorful change from the status quo. Unlike Starck, Nelson is a La Pointe native and is no stranger to politics.  It was not Nelson’s intent to run against Starck, however with the lack of a candidate, Nelson himself decided to step up the challenge of running against Starck, and has volunteered to pay for the election out of his own pocket.

As the election gets closer, and a “Gazette” nearly to the press, you can almost be assured that there will be other opinions on this election in the days to come.  As some would say, "That's the island!"

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