Theilen is supported by Laborer’s Local 477. He says he regularly polls residents for their input on key votes, like transferring money from the hotel/motel tax to keep employees from being laid off. Stout accuses Theilen of “raiding” city funds for other uses, but Theilen responds by saying that many Ward 8 residents were worried after employee layoffs were announced. They asked him to spend that money to reinstate city employees, he says.
Stout also criticizes Theilen for not having a listed telephone number. Theilen says that his wife, Lori, is listed because the phone is under her name. Theilen’s wife, Lori Theilen, is the only person listed at their address in the 2010 White Pages due to an error by a phone service provider, says Theilen. Stout’s name is not listed in the White Pages.
“It’s really none of Tim Stout’s business how I’m running my campaign,” Theilen says. When asked what he thought of Stout’s campaign, he says he doesn’t know because he’s not paying attention to it.
Other issues in the race for Ward 8 include infrastructure and the city budget, as well as how candidates will manage the shortfall.
Theilen says that he looks at the budget “line-by-line” every year. He favors increasing the parking fine, which is currently $5, but disagrees that the city should implement the dining tax, a 1.5 percent tax, because it would “single out” the fast food industry when the city recently had an income tax increase.
Stout disagrees with Theilen on the dining tax, and says he would vote for the 1.5 percent increase.
“If you think about a $10 bill, that’s 15 cents, right? What’s that going to hurt? Nothing,” he says.
He hasn’t personally read the budget, but says that it’s “nothing but a bunch of hoaxes, guesses, estimates.”
He began his write-in campaign after being removed from the ballot during the winter. The electoral board voted him off of the ballot 2-1 because of invalid notary signings.
“So I decided to cut my losses and go as a write-in,” Stout says. “It’s hard to do, it’s just lucky I got a short name.”
– Holly Dillemuth
