Nextdoor Chronicles #2 Mr. Fifricks broad brush of defamation
Out of the blue, Mr. Fifrick names me as a bullying culprit. So I respond. He can't give examples.
Randy FifrickKronenwetter • 1 day ago
Thank you to the organizers of the Kronenwetter Voters Forum and all those citizens who attended. It was great to interact with everyone and answer your questions as well as listen to the Kronenwetter Village Board candidates.
It’s unfortunate that my opponent chose to not participate in the forum and has not responded to local newspapers to answer their requests for candidate information. While we do share common ground on issues, we certainly have vastly different views on many others. It would have been a great opportunity for the voters to compare where we stand on the various issues. I commit to remaining open and transparent regarding where I stand on the issues important to the County, Village, and District residents. Mr. Straub seems content to sit behind his computer and make vague claims about protecting the citizens. In reality, it is his behavior on the Village Board along with Trustee Charneski that has fostered the toxic work environment and culture that now exists in the Village of Kronenwetter. It's clear that Mr. Straub does not understand the issues or even the role of the County Board based on his generic Nextdoor Campaign postings.
Working in local government during my professional career has given me the opportunity to learn both the policy and administrative sides of public service and bring that balance to the County Board and residents I represent. I bring a level-headed, logical approach to problem solving using research and listening to my constituents to inform my votes. I hope you will trust me with your vote on April 5th.
ken charneskiIt seems obvious to me that in order to compensate for the apparent weakness of his own re-electability, candidate Randy Fifrick has revealed his character by this political tactic of making false accusations against the apparently more popular candidate, Joel Straub, rather than deal with real issues. This kind of mudslinging behavior is a hallmark of dirty politics.
For some reason, this time Fifrick seeks to sling last-minute mud at me as well. I think that this is just desperation on his part, and his pandering to the village's small minority who seem to be appalled at the thought of accountability and responsibility in local government.
He parrots this fallacious “toxic work environment” canard created by his mostly liberal left cheering section on social media.
Rather than have him proclaim some vague “toxic environment” rhetoric, I think Randy Fifrick himself should tell us all why he has resigned from his position at Kronenwetter. If it is "bullying", let him give first-hand examples.
Let him also tell us how his lack of integrity and failures in his administrative performance have left the new Zoning Administrator to deal with the regulatory havoc left behind by Mr. Fifrick, due to his disregard for a whole list of ordinances and procedural requirements.
Fifrick can tell you how he promoted unnecessary approval for an expensive engineering contract that had no benefit to the Village. Or how he helped conceal the true cost of another engineering contract that I happened to help the Board very narrowly avoid at the last minute.
He can explain how he facilitated the sale of the Village Yard waste site by withholding key information from the Village Board, and bypassing committee and Plan Commission review of the sale. My research shows that this sale he managed was unlawful under Wisconsin Statutes and case law.
He disregarded the needs of our Public Works Department, which he never conveyed to the Board. The Village is currently left to rent back part of the property that we formerly owned, because we have no property of our own that is adequate for long term use. The Village will need to locate and purchase a new yard waste site at some point due to Fifrick's handling of the sale of the old yard waste site.
There seems to be a dividing line between those who believe the staff are the infallible, educated ones who should direct the Board's actions on the one hand, and on the other hand those who elect their trustees to do their own thinking, with informational support from staff. The first group either does not understand, or does not care about the representative form of government, or the responsibilities that an oath of office lays on those elected officials. Nor do they seem to care about what that way of thinking has cost the taxpayers. Over $150,000 in one case alone.
If any of the trustees called out Fifrick's administrative failures and lack of candor with the Board, this could not be fairly construed as the “bullying” that Fifrick claims to be a victim of. His claim is just a part of the over-all cover story invented by the left to misdirect the public attention from the real problem.
That very real problem was and is, the rampant and outrageous performance failures of people like Mr. Fifrick, Mr. Downey, and President Voll and others (appointed, hired, and elected) that have plagued Village Hall FOR YEARS.
It is plain to me that Fifrick's current attempt to discredit me is payback for my diligent efforts to identify those problems, correct the issues, and clean up the place to achieve competent, representative government, and administrative functionality.
When staff people cost the Village Taxpayers north of $100,000 a year to employ, it seems to me that they should demonstrate some level of trustworthiness, competence, and professionalism. There has been no accountability administered for the many failures in this area. This lax situation seems to me to have been more toxic to the taxpayers than it is to employees like Mr. Fifrick.
To be clear, the latest employees are working out great, and I'll stand by my opinion that the Village is much better off today than it was 6 months ago.
Fifrick now works for the City of Wausau, which common sense dictates to be a conflict of interest with the County Board position and the supposed advocacy for Kronenwetter interests.
Mr Fifrick left Kronenwetter employment under the cloud of a scandal which still has not been adequately resolved. This is all part of the public record.
It is no secret that he is currently under police investigation for his activities while working in his position at Kronenwetter. There are no charges at this time; only investigation.
From my point of view - After losing the trust and the respect of much of the Village Board, Fifrick's value as an employee was virtually nil, and in my opinion, he was actually a liability to the Village. I can at least thank him for leaving.
I have a full rundown of circumstances of each office employee who left in the past year or so. If you are interested in the real facts of the matter, you can read it at
kencharneski.blogspot.com
Decide for yourself who is telling the truth.
(edited) • Kronenwetter
So deleting your post from earlier this morning that I responded to doesn't change a thing, Mr. Fifrick. Just shows how non-transparent you really are.
(edited)I'd invite everyone to attend or listen to a Village Board meeting and witness this dysfunction first hand and make your own conclusions. In my experience, these attacks from Trustee Charneski and Straub are commonplace for anyone that opposes their way of thinking. I personally never wanted to leave my role with the Village, but did so because of these baseless claims and the misinformation spread every time they didn't get their way. When I started my new job, I could have walked away from my involvement in Kronenwetter but have chosen to stay active and involved in the Village. I care too much about this Village and community to walk away. I've seen first hand the damage they have done and have chosen to stand up to the bullying.
1 hr ago
Lol
1 hr ago
Joel Straub
Looks like your point was just proved.