Dane County executive primary: 4 candidates face off

For the first time in more than a decade, Wisconsin’s second-most populous county will elect a new county executive.

Longstanding Dane County Executive Joe Parisi retired in May, creating an opening for the position which he held since 2011. Former Dane County Supervisor Jamie Kuhn is currently serving as the county’s interim executive.

Now, voters are deciding on a more permanent replacement as four candidates vie for the full-time role overseeing county administration.

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The top two vote-getters in the Aug. 13 primary will advance to the Nov. 5 general election. The winner of that contest will serve as county executive until at least April, through the last few months of Parisi’s term.

After that, voters will head to the polls for another election to fill the role for a full, four-year term.

Here are the candidates on the Aug. 13 ballot, in alphabetical order.

Melissa Agard

Melissa Agard of Madison is a Democratic state senator and former Senate Minority Leader whose district includes part of Dane County. As a minority member in the Republican-controlled Legislature, she’s pushed for marijuana legalization and advocated for issues including abortion and labor rights.

She stepped down from her leadership role in 2023 to run for county executive. Agard, who has Parisi’s endorsement, formerly served as a Dane County supervisor.

“The county must care for the most vulnerable folks in our neighborhoods, and we also need to protect what makes our community so very special by protecting our land and water, our agricultural heritage, investing in and supporting our businesses and our entrepreneurs, creating innovative workforce development solutions with the lens of fiscal responsibility,” Agard said during a July candidate forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Dane County and the UW-Madison Center for Communication and Civic Renewal.

Dana Pellebon

Dana Pellebon of Fitchurg is the executive director of RCC Sexual Violence Resource Center of Dane County. Before that, she was the director of housing and operations of Porchlight, Inc., which provides shelter, food, employment services and other resources to people who are homeless in Dane County.

From 2022 until this spring, she held public office as a Dane County supervisor representing district 33.

Pellebon is active in the local theater, and during a recent candidate League of Women Voters candidate forum, she highlighted her role as in the area’s arts scene, in addition to her day job working with vulnerable people.

“As the executive director of the rape crisis center, I make sure that services are accessible, and I do that with our county agencies,” she said during the forum.

Pellebon said she’s been doing that work for the last 30 years, in addition to serving on a variety of boards and committees.

“But what’s most important to know is that I have been here in the community, doing the work of the community, with the community, by the community,” she said.

Wes Sparkman

Wes Sparkman of Madison leads Dane County’s Office for Equity and Inclusion, a role he’s held for more than eight years. The office’s goals include eliminating disparities along lines of race, gender and disability.

That division within county government is also responsible with ensuring compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and with equal opportunity and civil rights laws.

Sparkman’s previously served as Rotary Club of Madison president and on the Madison Police and Fire Commission.

“After passing seven successful department budgets, I am very aware of the disparities that we face,” Sparks said during a forum late last month. “Vote yes for Wes for experience, fiscal prudence and social responsibility.”

Regina Vidaver

Regina Vidaver is a Madison alder. She was elected to represent district 5 on the city’s Common Council in 2021.

She has a doctorate degree in molecular biology and currently works for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services as section manager for chronic disease prevention and cancer control. That role includes overseeing more than 60 people and a $45 million budget, she said during a July 29 League of Women Voters forum.

“There are two questions that drive me all day, every day: Who isn’t thriving, and what would it take for that to change?” she said during the forum. “I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but as a trained scientist and public health professional, I do know to look to the data for what works and to the community for how best to implement those approaches.”

What does the county executive do?

The county executive is responsible for day-to-day county operations, including appointing department heads and overseeing thousands of county employees.

The executive can veto measures passed by the Board of Supervisors, and each year, the executive makes a budget recommendation for supervisors’ approval. Currently, that budget totals $179 million for capital projects and $789 approved for operational expenses.

Close to 40 percent of that operation’s budget goes to health and human services, including to Public Health of Madison & Dane County. In coming years, the county executive will work with supervisors to decide how Dane County spends millions of dollars from settlements with opioid companies.

The county’s voter base is solidly liberal and issues at the forefront of county politics include racial justice and environmental responsibility.

It’s also home to the fastest growing area of Wisconsin, where available housing has not kept up with demand and a quarter of county households are considered cost-burdened when it comes to housing.