Superior city councilor enters mayoral race

Now in his third term on the City Council, Mike Herrick is looking to expand his service to the city.
The 8th District city councilor announced Monday that he will be running to be Superior’s next mayor.
He is the fourth candidate seeking the post. Mayor Bruce Hagen is seeking a fifth term - the first three served between 1975 and 1987 - and Douglas County Board Supervisor Jim Paine and former city councilor Greg Mertzig are also vying for the post.
“It’s an exciting time,” Herrick said. “It’s something that has been in my long-range plan to do. I’d rather do it now that I have the desire and the energy. I just want to serve the public.”
Herrick joined the City Council in 2009, and has twice been re-elected to the represent the 8th District, running unopposed both times.
As a member of the City Council, he has served as vice president and president, in addition to serving on a number of committees, including human resources, finance, public works, Redevelopment Authority and the Community Development Block Grant advisory board.
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Superior, Herrick is also a graduate of the Superior Police Department’s Citizens Academy, and Superior-Douglas County leadership program. He has also participated in the Superior Fire Ops program and traveled to Madison as a lobby leader for the annual Superior Days lobbying effort.
He’s volunteered as a leader with the Boy Scouts, and has been active in youth sports in the area for more than 25 years.
“I feel I am qualified to seek this position,” Herrick said.
Superior is headed in the right direction, but needs to continue moving that direction, Herrick said.
“It is a priority that we continue with job growth,” Herrick said.
Businesses large and small are needed to create jobs, and provide the opportunity for the city’s youth to stay, he said.
Public safety and infrastructure improvement, as well as efforts to increase shared revenue, will also be among his priorities, he said.
“I believe Superior’s No. 1 asset is its citizens,” Herrick said. Among them are youth that he said seem to be staying more than they have in the past.
“They are our future and our future for job growth,” Herrick said.
As a city councilor, Herrick said the city’s biggest challenge is the operation of the landfill, which is the city’s single-largest expense, driven by the cost of regulation and tipping fees collected by the state.
He said finding a way to fund the landfill is going to be a challenge because of state-imposed restrictions on the city’s ability to charge a fee for the service. He said it’s also going to be a challenge to educate the public.
And he’s looking forward to being more involved in the community than he is now as a city councilor.
“I think this is a great area for business, a great area to raise a family, a great area just to grow,” Herrick said.
Herrick, who works at Super One Foods, encourages people who want to know more about him than they see from his service on the council to approach him.
“I’m open-minded,” Herrick said. “I’m friendly. I’ll listen.”