Dunn County Board candidate: Heather Seburn
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GLENWOOD CITY — Heather Seburn is the challenger for the supervisor position on the Dunn County Board for District 2 in the April 2 election and is running against incumbent Patrick Breslin.
Seburn, age 42, of Prairie Farm, has one son aged 23.
The Tribune Press Reporter sent a questionnaire to the candidates.
As of press time, after sending two e-mail messages to Breslin about the questionnaire, the Tribune had not received a reply.
Here are Seburn’s answers to the questionnaire.
• What is your occupation?
Project Management for a commercial construction firm here in Wisconsin.
• What is your educational background?
I hold two degrees; a BS in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix, and a BS in Construction Management from Indiana State University.
• Why did you decide to run for election to the Dunn County Board?
District 2 is a rural area with plenty of good people, and a lot of challenges. Many of our roads are in dire need of repair. Most of our community gets their water from wells that has not been tested in several years, if at all, and which share the same aquifer that supplies other local wells, recently tested by the County, shown to contain potentially dangerous levels of contaminants. And many people in my community don’t feel like our voices are being heard in Menomonie. I am running for a seat on the County Board to ensure that my neighbors have someone in their corner who will work to ensure that the needs of our rural community aren’t overlooked any longer.
• What do you believe to be the two biggest issues facing Dunn County?
With the recent closures of HSHS, St. Joseph’s, Prevea, and the Libertas Center, there is going to be an enormous amount of pressure put on remaining service providers, including certain services provided by the County. Prevea currently provides a considerable amount of the County’s physical and occupational therapy & early childhood care services. Most of the inpatient care for individuals experiencing a mental health crisis has been provided by HSHS. Libertas handles detoxification and substance abuse treatment services for the area, and patients may now have to travel hours away from home, and their support networks, to get help. And basic services that we may take for granted, like emergency care, routine outpatient care, and access to prescription medications, are all going to be affected. Healthcare in rural areas has been a problem, nationwide, for years. These closures are going to make it incrementally worse for the citizens of Dunn County.
A second significant problem for Dunn County is the current lack of adequate and affordable housing. Dunn County, currently, has more homeless than available beds. Low-income families have very limited options for affordable housing and may wait months, or even years, to find a home in their price range. Even those families and individuals who enjoy a certain amount of financial security are experiencing difficulties finding housing in their area of choice that meets their needs, and/or securing funding to purchase a home in today’s real estate market. And as our population ages, especially in the rural areas, those older individuals on fixed incomes are struggling to keep up with increasing maintenance costs, and finding they don’t have the resources they need to move to an affordable location with better access to supportive care.
• How would you go about addressing those issues?
To address the healthcare issue, as Supervisor, I would work to support the County’s Department of Health & Human Services with additional funding and resources and seek out creative solutions and partnerships with healthcare services outside of the affected areas to fill the gaps in care until normal services can resume in our local hospitals and clinics under new ownership.
To alleviate the affordable housing issue, I would work with my peers to pass some promising initiatives already in discussion, such as the change to zoning laws that would allow residents to build accessory dwelling units (ADU’s) on their privately owned, already-developed properties, which could provide housing for family members, or for caretakers for elderly residents looking to age in place. And I would seek out other non-traditional solutions, such as tiny home communities, and improved return-to-work initiatives intended to help low-income families access safe and affordable housing that might currently be beyond their reach.
• Anything else you would like voters to know?
I am a woman with a successful career in a largely male-dominated industry. I have had decades to learn to get things done via compromise and collaboration. I am adept at building teams to tackle complex problems, and I have the energy and dedication to keep working until the job is completely done. As Supervisor, you can expect that I will approach every issue as an opportunity, and that I will do my due diligence to make sure that every possible solution and decision is supported by fact-based evidence and not “gut feelings”. And most importantly, I will be the responsive representative who is willing to take the time to listen to, speak with, and advocate for the residents of my district, and my County.
