03/29/2025
I'm not sure it has taken much convincing to highlight the current issues we can improve upon in the County Executive's office. There has been well-documented problems with communication, transparency, and accountability over the past four years. These issues were at the heart of the County Sheriff's entry into the race, as well as my own. But don't just take my word for it:
"Before voters elected Doemel in April, board member Vicki Schorse, of Oshkosh, planned to run again but said Doemel's "adversarial leadership style has created a toxic environment" not just for board members but also for county workers that led her to change her mind."
Under 16-year incumbent County Executive Mark Harris, the board was helping to bring positive changes in the way the county operated, said Schorse, who chairs the board's Emergency Management Committee. But since Doemel arrived, she felt that changed dramatically, and she did not have the time to deal with the new dynamic."
"Board member Joel Rasmussen, who represents part of the town of Algoma, said he was already considering not running again, but since Doemel took office, he's been "disappointed in the direction of the county."
Rasmussen said Doemel brought a more partisan mindset to conducting county business. Doemel's 2022 budget proposal, for example, did not factor a 1.15% increase in property value from new construction in the county into total tax collections that would have added an additional $680,871 to the budget through a tax levy.
Rasmussen, who chairs the board's Personnel and Finance Committee, felt Doemel's refusal to allow the small levy increase was a political move to "play to his base," something Rasmussen said he hadn't seen in his 10 years on the board. Although he acknowledges board members may have different ideologies, Rasmussen is adamant the county should remain nonpartisan.
"I would say our county has turned into what everybody hates about politics," he said. "I just don’t want to be a part of it anymore."
At least one-third of the board's incumbents will be gone after the spring election. Some say they're tired of the county executive's style.