‘The More the Merrier’

Joe Majeski

“The more the merrier,” was the first thing Joe Majeski said when he stopped by the Pulse office to announce his candidacy for the 1st Assembly seat being vacated by seven-term Assemblyman Garey Bies (R-Sister Bay).

That makes seven announced candidates for the seat – five Republicans and, now, two Democrats.

“We have a lot of candidates in the field right now,” Majeski concedes. “I think I’m a little different candidate in terms of being both from Kewaunee County and Door County.”

And that is an important distinction that no other candidate has made. Majeski’s life has straddled the two main counties in the 1st Assembly District. Majeski grew up in Kewaunee County and raised his own family in Door County. He refers to himself as “a proud fourth generation resident” of the 1st Assembly District.

The 1st District, as of the last redistricting in 2011, includes all of Door and Kewaunee counties, a northeastern section of Brown County and a small slab of northeastern Manitowoc County.

Name recognition in the two main counties would be advantageous for any candidate in this crowded field. The winnowing process takes place on Aug. 12 when state primaries are held for the November election.

But Majeski said he doesn’t plan on earning votes from the fact that he was born and raised in Kewaunee County and is a graduate of Luxemburg-Casco High School or that he retired last year after 24 years as a very successful administrator at Sevastopol Schools in Door County.

“My goal is to knock on every single door in Door County, Kewaunee County and little bits of Brown County and a few townships in Manitowoc County. I need to get out, meet them and hear what their issues are,” he said with an enthusiasm that suggests he wishes he were out there right now.

At least, that’s the goal for getting elected. Say that happened. What then?

“The number one goal is the people in the 1st Assembly District and what can be done to improve their quality of life,” Majeski said. “That’s critical. That’s where my skills are and passion is. I love when you can bring people together and solve problems. That’s number one. That’s really the heart of what I have done for 24 years as an educational administrator. Bring people together. Tough decisions. Tough problems. Let’s all sit around the table and think about what our number one goal is.”

But, the question has to be asked, with the government embroiled in do-nothing partisan politics, can one person make a difference?

“I’ve thought about that – can you really make a difference when one party controls pretty much everything there. Number one, I like being an underdog. Number two, you always have to try. I’ve never given up on anything.

“We built a school system that is pretty strong, consistently with test scores in the top 10 percent in the state, with a poverty level more than 50 percent, which is amazing in itself,” Majeski said.

“You don’t generally have an educational administrator going into politics after retiring from educational administration. Because they’re kind of burnt out, been in the public eye for a long time, have had to make tough public decisions, and they just want to kind of withdraw and disappear.

“I did that for about six months or so. I’ve still got a lot of energy, a lot of passion, I’d like to jump back in and see what I can do of service to people. I think we have some significant issues at the state level that need to be resolved. We need to make decisions that benefit people in the First Assembly district.”

You can learn more about Majeski at JoeMajeskifor1stAssembly.com.