Doug Diny
CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Rare is the person who knows how other people see them.
And that’s a very important quality in someone running for political office.
Wausau Common Council member Doug Diny, running for mayor, needs to learn the lesson quickly. What knowledge I’d like to gift to him is this: Mr. Diny, voters know nothing about you. Yet there is a large and growing group of voters who don’t want four more years of current mayor Katie Rosenberg.
What Diny must realize is that he’s an unknown, having served only one year on the city council. And a rule-of-thumb in politics is either you define yourself, or you’ll be defined by your opponents. Diny has a couple of billboards up in high-traffic areas. There are lawn signs out for him. But a slogan that people drive past doesn’t tell me anything about a candidate. If he’s serious about winning, more is needed. I’d suggest commercials on local TV and on radio stations like this one.
This week’s primary results show that Rosenberg is vulnerable. Amid low turnout, 47-percent of voters favored someone other than the current officeholder. She’s just four points from being underwater. And that should be no surprise. Mayor Katie is a big spender. Your water bill is among the highest in the state. The city’s plan to filter PFAS to zero is breathtakingly expensive. The Mayor’s economic development projects tend to fail. And despite a $1.1-million increase in state aid, city taxes continue to go up. If elected to another four year term, taxes are certain to go up each year. That’s a lousy record to run on.
Is that gap closable between now and election day? Of course it is, if the time between now and then is used wisely, and if the messaging is right.
How about it, Mr. Diny?
Chris Conley
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