GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – A ‘Get Out the Vote’ event was held at Hinterland Brewery on Thursday morning, discussing the election and hot topics related to this year’s vote.
With Former South Bend Mayor and one-time Democratic Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg hosting the event, much of the conversation focused on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy – and a different approach to dealing with the virus being offered by Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Mayor Pete was joined by Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich and Hinterland Brewery owners Bill and Michelle Tressler.
The conversation started with a general discussion about the current state of the economy across the country, and right here in the Green Bay area. Buttigieg says there’s a difference between building back to where we were, and building back towards a better economy.
“[Biden] talks a lot about Scranton versus Park Avenue. That could just as easily be South Bend or Green Bay versus Park Avenue. And it’s nothing personal about Park Avenue, except that our president right now says if the wealthiest people are doing well on the stock market, then that’s a good economy,” Buttigieg said. “I think when you’re a mayor – doing the blocking and tackling, working with small businesses, reviving neighborhoods – you know the good economy is one where people are getting by better.”
Buttigieg added that larger companies also tend to have an easier time handling bumps in the road, or more serious catastrophes.
“I’m pretty sure that [Hinterland Brewery] paid more in taxes than not just the president of the United States, apparently, but companies like Amazon that is able to pay zero some years,” Buttigieg said. “There’s also a chance to make sure that we have a more robust economy that works for everybody. That the small business gets on a level playing field with the kinds of corporations that have the armies and legions of accountants and lawyers, right?”
Buttigieg also asked Genrich about what it was like trying to address the pandemic situation from the mayor’s hot seat.
“People think the mayor is in charge of everything – like you’ve got this big dial in the mayor’s office you just turn it up or down on what the weather’s going to be, or crime, or anything,” Buttigieg said.
Pete Buttigieg and Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich speak during an event at Hinterland Brewery. (WTAQ/Casey Nelson)
“I reach for that magic wand in my drawer, but I don’t usually find it. It has been a real challenge,” Genrich replied.
“There’s a county health department, there is state trying to do the right thing, but they’re getting resistance in the courts from the political layer. You’re leading the city, but you’re also setting the tone for anybody who’s within reach of your TV stations. There’s a business community. What might it mean if you had a president making sure that there is clear and consistent communication lining up with the state, county, and local so that everybody could be on the same page?” Buttigieg asked.
“To have that cohesive, clear-eyed compassionate leadership at the national level I think would make a world of difference not just for states, but for local governments such as ours,” Genrich said.
Both men argued that the country needed a better response than what it has seen to the pandemic, especially considering the devastating blow it has dealt to the economy. That’s when Buttigieg really started pushing the Biden campaign plan.
“We shouldn’t have to settle for the worst outcomes and the worst performance of any country in the developed world…We’ve got the president contradicting governors. We’ve got the president contradicting federal CDC professionals…It doesn’t have to stay this way,” Buttigieg claimed. “Joe has made clear that things like testing, like a vaccine, should be free for everybody because that plays a role in accessibility and equity, and in speed.”
The Tresslers say Hinterland saw that lack of immediate accessibility, equity, and speed first-hand. For their business, the pandemic was like running into a brick wall rather than a hurdle on the track.
“We’re seeing a business increase of about 30-percent going into January and February, and then all of a sudden it was just – BOOM – the bottom fell out,” said Bill Tressler.
Only the brewery portion of the operation itself remained active during Wisconsin’s Safer at Home order, and even half of those workers were furloughed. Tressler says it was hard telling their nearly 100 employees that he had no idea what was going to happen, or whether there would be any kind of bailout or stimulus help to keep them on their feet.
“Just serving take out was a small drop in a million-gallon bucket. It just really wasn’t sustainable for us,” Bill Tressler said. “We started to build back [in June], and we got some traction, and then I got COVID and we shut down. We went through the whole staff testing, all of these things, but it’s just been a crazy journey.”
“That cost us a solid 10 days of business because we had to wait for individuals to get into testing and wait for the results, 3 to 7 days. By that time, many individuals had been around family and friends and other people. That could potentially have been a disaster from a contact tracing standpoint, but luckily it wasn’t,” Michelle Tressler added. “It was eye-opening because some people had a doctor they can text and say ‘Get me in tomorrow’. Many of our staff didn’t have that…National testing would have changed everything from the beginning. It really would have.”
Hinterland Brewery owners Bill and Michelle Tressler speak with Pete Buttigieg and Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich about the impact of the pandemic on their business. (WTAQ/Casey Nelson)
“The lack of preparedness, the panic in trying to get enough PPE to protect your staff. There was a large amount of time where you couldn’t get facemasks and we still are struggling to get enough nitro gloves and things like that,” Bill said.
“You wanted to make sure you were doing right by your employees, but the cost of that was so much greater than it had to be, if there had been that rapid response on testing,” Buttigieg chimed in.
“Third quarter, fourth quarter is when we make all our money. Back in March and April, we were all sitting home watching Tiger King and Zooming friends and relatively enjoying ourselves – all we kept saying was ‘We’ve got to do this so we can have a football season,’ – and here we are, worse than ever,” said Michelle Tressler. “There just hasn’t been a plan. And you can make a case that there should have been, and probably was a plan before March in place, but for whatever reason it wasn’t followed. What’s most disappointing is that we’re 6-7 months later and it still hasn’t improved.”
Both Tresslers voiced frustration in the lack of a national strategy to combat the virus and face it head-on with some form of streamlined system.
“A national strategy, some kind of plan, some kind of path forward through this – other than just turning a blind eye to it. It’s nuts,” Bill said.
“From a national leadership strategy, there just hasn’t been a plan. It’s super disappointing. I’m looking forward to the next administration coming forward with the national plan. You can’t contain an airborne virus locally or regionally, it doesn’t make any sense,” Michelle argued. “If we can get a system in place to contain the virus, it’s going to take care of the economic impact.”
The state’s Safer at Home order, mask mandate, and capacity limits have all come under fire and serious scrutiny as the governor and Department of Health Services continue to implement different ideas. Many businesses across the state have been critical of those decisions, claiming they have negatively impacted or even shut down some bars and restaurants. Some of that has been followed up by legal action against the orders.
But for Hinterland, it’s not necessarily those state-imposed restrictions that are causing the biggest issues.
“The governor’s order of 25-percent capacity whether or not that impacts us is really relative to our customers confidence. And we have a strong, loyal clientele who trust us. But as the numbers surged in the last month and a half, they stayed home.” Michelle Tressler said. “The economy doesn’t get fixed until the virus gets fixed, in my opinion. That’s what I’m really looking for. I believe strongly that we need a national leader who’s capable of providing an example and a plan.”
Buttigieg did provide a glimmer of hope amid the gloom and doom. But he stipulated that the best way for his optimistic view to happen – is to get out and vote.
“I actually think the 2020’s as a decade could go down in history as an amazing turnaround period for our country. And it would start here in the middle of the country,” Buttigieg said.
The presidential election is November 3rd. In-person absentee and mail-in voting is currently available in Green Bay and other communities across the state.
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