JANESVILLE — Tuesday is primary election day in Rock County.
The Rock County Board has one primary on Tuesday in District 29, with incumbent Kathy Schulz challenged by Zach Pfaffenbach and Chandler Rebhahn.
The top vote-getter out of the three will advance to the spring election April 7. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
District 29 is on the city of Vlogý’s southwest side, west of U.S. Highway 51 and has the Rock River on its western and northern borders. Its southern border consists of S. River Rd., Kellogg Avenue, Garden Drive, Roosevelt Avenue and S. Crosby Avenue. The district is comprised of the city’s wards 8 and 9. The polling place for those wards is the Dr. Daniel Hale Williams Rock County Resource Center, 1717 Center Ave.
Heading into the primary, the candidates shared their views in a recently published Gazette article.
To recap:
Schulz told Vlogý the top issues in the county right now are maintaining a strong workforce and ensuring support for essential services, particularly human services and Rock Haven.
“The county is experiencing workforce shortages and losing employees to neighboring counties like Dane County. I have focused on improving recruitment, retention, and working conditions so county employees can continue to provide reliable, high-quality services,” Schulz said. “A stable workforce is critical to meeting the needs of residents and controlling long-term costs.”
Pfaffenbach said the county’s top issues are affordability, property taxes, transparency and accountability.
“On the southside, so many of our residents are working families and seniors living on fixed incomes–and high property taxes hit them first and hardest. My vision for our county is simple: a place that stays affordable for the people who work hard and build their lives here,” Pfaffenbach said.
Rebhahn said the top issues in the county are rising property taxes from high debt and unchecked spending, a shortage of affordable housing and public safety challenges, “including strained relationships between law enforcement and civilians. He cited high debt from the new jail and “other projects,” that lead to high debt payments that drive up taxes, which are “especially tough on fixed-income residents.”
“Too many families face cost burdened renting and poor housing quality. Effective policing is vital, but we need stronger trust, transparency, and accountability between deputies and the community to keep everyone safe. These problems feed each other, wasteful spending hikes, taxes, worsening housing struggles and undermining support for law enforcement,” Rebhahn said.
All 29 county board seats will be up for election on the spring ballot.