GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – A new face has emerged in the race to replace Jim Schmitt as Mayor of Green Bay.
Former Green Bay Alderman Joe Moore has entered the crowded race to become the city’s next mayor.
Moore joins a list of 6 other candidates, bringing the total to 7 after current Mayor Jim Schmitt announced last year that he would not run for a fifth term.
The other candidates include:
Paul Boucher
Patrick Buckley
Patrick M. Evans
Eric Genrich
Nick Mortensen
Mark Steuer
The mayoral primary is set for February 19th. The general election is April 2nd.
Moore says he’s looking to restore the relationship between city hall and the citizens of Green Bay.
“I feel right now that often times when a citizen calls city hall it’s like calling an insurance company,” he explains. “The first answer is always no.”
He’s also looking to mend other relationships.
“I think that some bridges were burned and if I’m elected as mayor I want to mend some of those bridges,” he says. “I want a better relationship with Brown County, I want a good relationship with Governor Evers and with our state representation.”
While on the topic of downtown Green Bay, he says outgoing Mayor Jim Schmitt’s administration has done good work in the area, which he would like to further.
“I wouldn’t change the focus away from the downtown completely,” he says. “I think there’s still a lot of work to be done there and that is building upon the successes of the projects that have been done.”
Moore looks at the field of candidates, now up to seven, as a crowded and imperfect field.
“When you go candidate to candidate you can start to pick things apart,” says Moore. “You can see several candidates that are very hyper-partisan for a non-partisan seat and several candidates that really don’t have any experience.”
Even though he’s the most recent candidate to throw his proverbial hat in the ring, Moore believes he’ll have plenty of momentum heading into the primary.
“We’re ready to hit the ground running,” he says.
Whoever wins the election in April will be replacing Jim Schmitt, a Green Bay institution who has sat in power for four terms as mayor.
“Look the Packers fired Coach McCarthy after 13 years and everybody still thinks he’s a good coach and that he’s going to get a job in no time, but things kind of got stale,” explains Moore. “And, you know, same thing with the mayor.”
