Sheboygan letter-writers on Donald Trump & local candidates in April 1 election

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16-03-2025

Here are this week's letters to the editor of the Sheboygan Press. See our letters policy below for details about how to share your views.
It's official — the United States of America is now one of Donald's private clubs. For a mere $500 million, you get a Gold Card so you, too, can be a member. No pesky waiting period, no pesky background checks. And no tests to take.
Man, am I glad that Osama and Saddam were poor. There's no way they could afford the greens fees. I don't think Iran or the Taliban have all that much money to waste on a U.S. Club Card membership.
Let's say we have nothing but wealthy people living in the United States of America. Who will pay taxes for them? Who will clean their houses? Who will feed them? Who will do their yard work? Wipe their butts? Their spoiled children?
Everyone dreams of utopia. So far, nobody has found it. Not that I know of.
Robert R. Ries
Sheboygan
Local government is vital to our day-to-day lives. They make decisions on critical services such as property taxes, road repairs, economic development and park maintenance.
My wife and I recently bought our first home, so property taxes are top of mind for us, as well as quality public services. My wife and I want a tax rate that respects the taxpayers and that actually goes to quality services for all citizens, not just a select few.
Politics is too divided and polarized. At the local level, we want common-sense elected officials who will represent all citizens. As someone who advocated for common-sense policies across Sheboygan County for years, I understand the importance of electing the right leaders.
Ryan Menzer is that leader. Ryan is a hometown Sheboygan guy who, like me, attended UW-Green Bay and eventually settled back in his hometown to start a family. Ryan has years of experience in business and in nonprofits. His current role as a business analyst will serve him well in making tough decisions on behalf of Sheboygan residents, taxpayers and families.
Ryan isn't beholden to special interests or agendas. He is a family man. The last few years of city leadership show the importance of having leaders who will speak truth to power.
With an open aldermanic seat, now is an amazing time to elect a young, forward-thinking leader to represent us on the city council. Ryan Menzer would be an incredible choice. He is accessible and open to hearing your opinions, no matter your background.
Jacob Immel
Sheboygan
I applaud the five candidates seeking seats on the Sheboygan Area School District Board of Education in the April 1 election.
I support Denise Wittstock, Allie Tasche and Mary Lynne Donohue for the three seats up for election.
Denise, through her position as executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters WI Shoreline, knows the value of sound, lasting relationships between children and mentor-like adults. Also, she is a parent with children in the school system. As such, she understands the need for parental involvement in the development of curriculum and policy in our schools.
Allie is both a classroom teacher and an advocate for children with autism and special needs. She can use her unique perspective to ensure instruction and policy guarantees all students can succeed in the classroom and beyond.
Mary Lynne has experience in both government service and work on public and private boards and commissions. She knows the value of collaboration with others when seeking solutions to problems and ensuring that agencies, public and private, function efficiently. She also understands that state and local agencies must work together to solve problems.
Do they know all the answers? No. But they demonstrate a willingness to do the legwork and research the issues that will aid the school board in developing curriculum and district policies to benefit our most precious resource — the children of our community.
Joe Gulig
Sheboygan
My wife tells of her dad Russell loading his family, their dog Gypsy and four furry guinea pigs into the family station wagon in Massachusetts and heading West for his shot at the California Dream.
Fresh from the great carrier battles in the Coral Sea and around Midway and Guadalcanal, he and his shipmates knew the American Dream didn't get better than life and liberty in the port cities of Seattle, San Francisco and San Diego.
His death spared him seeing Californians, too busy living the dream to maintain it, delegate it all to bureaucrats who created chaos and bureaus to increase their authority. He didn't see their prosecutors refuse to enforce the little laws, allowing his golden cities to spiral into the squalor of today's San Francisco and the smoking dysfunction of the City of Angels.
By then, it was too late for them. Bureaucrats had seized their Supreme Court and ordered them to shut up or ship out, because they really worked for the bureaus, not the reverse as had been taught in the old civics books their schools no longer used. They found themselves residents, not really citizens.
Now, Wisconsin, which had used Walker's ACT 10 to escape bureaucratic control, is back in their crosshairs. If they can get Susan Crawford, notorious opponent of Act 10 and even voter ID, elected to form a majority of our Supreme Court, the Wisconsin dream will evaporate, too.
We need to elect Brad Schimel to keep Wisconsin Dreamin'.
Art DeJong
Sheboygan
As President Trump purges the federal government of 'woke' initiatives, here is a sample of the few hundred words that agencies are to limit, avoid or remove from documents: accessible, inclusive, at risk, biased, clean energy, climate science, equity, cultural differences, discrimination, diversity, environmental quality, equal opportunity, equality, feminism, gender diversity, inequalities, injustice, LGBTQ+, marginalized, minorities, multicultural, oppression, sexual orientation, pollution, prejudice, racial inequality, racism, social justice, transgender, underprivileged, vulnerable.
The words above are in sentences that demonstrate Christian values of empathy and compassion; concern for others; care for the environment; a common belief of equal opportunity, and justice.
The words below are but a sample of Trump's name-calling that demonstrate dehumanization and humiliation; bullying and belittling; they're classic examples of verbal and mental abuse:
To specific people: stupid, dumb as a rock, pathetic, dopey, stupid bastard, mentally disabled, retarded, bum, dummy, slimeball, schitt, watermelon head, bozo, pervert, crooked.
To specific women: nasty, slimeball, fat, wacky, crazy, tampon, low IQ, maggot, dog, horseface, ugly, lowlife.
He rants derogatory names for any foreign leader, political group, journalist, Republican or Democrat who dares oppose him.
Trump's supporters somehow choose to ignore the repulsive stream of names he incessantly spews. Most are also now ignoring the caring and empathetic words that are being removed from our country's documents.
Words have a powerful impact — they can create goodwill and remind us of our common struggles, or they can divide us and fuel anger and hatred. The words we use matter!
Steve Griffith
Sheboygan
Letters to the editor are published in the order in which they are received and letter-writers are limited to having one letter published per month. Letters can be emailed to [e-mail] and Editor Brandon Reid at [e-mail]. Letters must meet specific guidelines, including being no more than 250 words and be from local authors or on topics of local interest. All submissions must include the name of the person who wrote the letter, their city of residence and a contact phone number. Letters are edited as needed for style, grammar, length, fairness, accuracy and libel.
This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Sheboygan letters to the editor: Election endorsements & Donald Trump