I recently retired as facilities manager for the city of Greenfield after 10 years of service to this community. I have known and worked for Mayor RoxannWedegartner since she took office, witnessing firsthand the day-to-day issues and long term challenges this position faces. Mayor Wedegartner is the only qualified candidate for the job of mayor. It takes a thorough knowledge of municipal government operations, a full understanding of the budgeting process as well as how federal and state funding influences this, a leadership style that shows compassion, fairness, and firmness, and finally, a backbone to stand up to those who criticize and attempt to sabotage the vision this position must have to grow a city. Mayor Wedegartner has demonstrated all of those abilities without question.
During my professional career I have worked for a number of large, for-profit companies and was in a position to observe and work with members of upper management, including the CEO. All matters involving corporate strategy, fiscal management, product quality, and employee development ultimately landed on the CEO’s desk. The effective leaders that I observed had a solid knowledge of these functions and made good decisions with the collaboration of their management team and department heads. These decisions were not always welcomed by the employees and shareholders, but the results provided a stronger company showing solid growth. The position of a city mayor is no different than that of a corporate CEO and similar decisions are made with repercussions from employees and citizens. Mayor Wedegartner is the only candidate with the knowledge, experience, compassion, and backbone to make those tough decisions to ensure our city grows. I strongly urge you to vote Mayor Wedegartner a second term on Nov. 7.
George VanDelinder
Greenfield