Incumbent Burt McIntyre faces challengers J.D. Kopp and Michele Swaer in Howard village president primary

Doug Schneider, Green Bay Press-Gazette
·7 min read

HOWARD - Village President Burt McIntyre has two challengers this year as he seeks another term.

J.D. Kopp and Michele Swaer are challenging McIntyre, who has held the office for 15 years. All three names will be on the Feb. 21 primary ballot; the top-two vote-getters in the nonpartisan primary will advance to the general election on April 4.

Here are the candidates, and their answers to questions from the Press-Gazette in January:

J.D. Kopp

J.D. Kopp
J.D. Kopp

  • Address: 3190 Olde Hickory Trail, Howard

  • Age: 46

  • Occupation: Information technology director, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College

  • Education: Bachelor of arts, computer science and organizational management, Gustavus Adolphus College. Master of Business Administration, Cardinal Stritch University

  • Relevant experience: Through my work in the information technology field, I have over 25 years’ experience managing people, budgets, vendors, and complex processes. I’ve been a member of NWTC’s Senior Leadership Team for the past 11 years, and our governance structure at the college resembles how the village is run. I have extensive leadership experience in various churches and nonprofit boards, and I have small business experience running my own financial-advising firm, Kopp Financial. I’m excited about the opportunity to draw on all these experiences as Howard village president.

Burt R. McIntyre (i)

Burt McIntyre
Burt McIntyre

  • Address: 1108 Coprinus Drive, Howard.

  • Age: 82

  • Occupation: Retired field service manager, both domestic and for Europe and Asia; operations manager; interim director of manufacturing

  • Education: High school plus four-year mechanical apprenticeship, years of business courses, corporate manager training

  • Relevant experience: Three years village trustee, 15 years as village president

Michele Swaer

Michele Swaer
Michele Swaer

  • Address: 1307 Beechwood Court, Howard

  • Age: 51.

  • Occupation: Employee at Fosber America for over 18 years.

  • Education: I graduated from Green Bay East High School and the Wisconsin Department of Corrections Training Academy. I have also taken classes to further my education at Fox Valley Technical College and Northeast Wisconsin Technical College and completed the Green Bay Citizens Police Academy program.

  • Experience: I have been on the Village of Howard Sex-Offender Residence Appeals Board for 10 years.

Why are you running for office?

KOPP: I believe Howard is ready for a leadership change.  Residents are looking for more frequent and transparent communication about issues facing the village.  We need to vigorously discuss budget priorities and make wise decisions for village taxpayers, and we need a much greater emphasis on environmental stewardship in Howard.

MCINTYRE: First, it has been a pleasure and honor representing the citizens of Howard and working with an exceptional board and staff. The village of Howard has had phenomenal growth both in population and building projects. Since 2008, we’ve grown our population from 15,000 to 21,000. We’ve had some great projects, too many to list, primary of which is the Village Center Pavilion Complex now being constructed.

We are fortunate to have great employees who care deeply about doing the best for this community. Also we have a core of citizen volunteers that work on many of our village committees. I am proud to be a part of this community, and I want to be a part of the future of this village.

I can’t think of a better reason to continue as village president than what I’ve just stated. The bottom line: it is fun and rewarding.

SWAER: I am running for village president as I feel the community is looking for a new perspective on things.

What are residents telling you are their most important issues?  How would you address them?

KOPP: Taxes are a hot topic. Many residents were taken by surprise in December after receiving their property tax statements. There were changes to both assessed values and tax rates for the various taxing jurisdictions, and additional communication would have been helpful for residents to better understand the impact to their household budgets.

Another topic that will require excellent communication from the village will be the upcoming expansion of Lineville Road. Access to the schools and businesses on Lineville is an important aspect of daily life in Howard, so we need a robust communication plan to prepare residents.

Many people in Howard are uncomfortable with the fast pace of new housing developments, especially those occurring near environmentally sensitive areas like wetlands. I would like to see future development balance new housing with recreational green spaces and access to services. I’m also very concerned about the affordability of housing in Howard. Many of the new units are luxury apartments or condos that will cost as much as $400,000 to $500,000. These prices are out of reach for most people, so we should be working to ensure the new housing supply is aligned with demand.

McINTYRE: I appreciate that those challenging an incumbent must have issues that excite voters and which come across as needing immediate attention which the candidate will focus on if elected. There will always be with us those high-level social issues that we need to be conscious of. However, to me, the primary role of government must be in meeting its citizen’s day-to-day quality of life needs.

Obviously, property taxes are high on any priority list as they should be. Howard and other area communities are working with local state legislators to get a better revenue sharing program from the state. It is not reasonable to think that property taxes can keep up with the escalating municipal cost, especially when it comes to public safety requirements.There are other proven resource steams the state MUST consider providing that individual municipalities cannot. As always, the village is focused on cost controls and efficiencies to maintain our budgets.

Now, let me tell you what our citizens say what issues are important to them. From our Comprehensive Plan Survey November 2021. Responders felt the top issues are: Roads (new and maintaining),recreational facilities, shopping, trails, restaurants and emergency services. The village is always looking for investors and other opportunities to meet these issues.

SWAER: Taxes and preservation of environmentally sensitive areas like woodlands and wetland natural areas.

What do you believe are the top two issues that need to be addressed. How would you address them?

KOPP: Howard’s April 4 ballot will include a referendum to expand public safety services in the village.  We should pass this referendum.  We have a growing population in Howard, and we need to make sure response times are adequate, especially for emergency medical calls.

Public transportation is another issue I would like to work on.  Transportation to medical appointments can be a huge challenge for older residents.  Green Bay Metro has a Microtransit solution that addresses the issue.  These are smaller shuttles and not full-size buses, and some have equipment for people with disabilities.  Rides can be booked by phone or with an app at affordable rates.  We should work with the city to expand this service into Howard, including a connection to the new Schmidt Pavilion and Village Center, as that facility will draw some regional interest and should be connected to the public transportation network.

McINTYRE: Growth - Controlling the future growth in the village, especially the western part. With the new interchange of VV (Marley Street) this part of the village we expect to see rapid growth both commercially and by residential subdivisions. There are many environmental and housing issues (i.e. density, storm water, green spaces, trails, etc.) to be concerned with. We have met these challenges in other parts of the village and will continue to do so in the village as a whole.

Emergency services – Fire, Police, and EMS - Howard has relied heavily on volunteer firefighters for years. Unfortunately, like so many communities across the country, the number of people who can find the time to be volunteer firefighters has dropped greatly. In addition, state funding to municipalities that was cut in the early 2000s has remained flat while Howard’s population has grown to nearly 21,000. We believe using cross-trained firefighter/paramedics is the most efficient and effective way to improve response times for emergency medical calls and fires. Also, as calls for police service increase and the expectations of police work continue to grow, there is a need to add some additional patrol hours through our contract with the Brown County Sheriff’s Office. The public safety referendum that will appear on the April ballot will go a long way toward improving these services in Howard while keeping Howard as one of the most efficient public safety providers in the state.

SWAER: The top two issues for the village seem to be taxes and preservation of environmentally sensitive areas like woodlands and wetland natural areas.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Longtime Howard village president faces 2 challengers in primary