Former Marshall Village Board President John Schuepbach has announced his candidacy to fill the position once again in the upcoming spring election. If successful, the return would mark the end of a three-year hiatus from village leadership after he declined seeking reelection in 2021.
Schuepbach told the Courier that he started to feel burn-out during his last term, and that he took a step back to spend more time at home. Now, he says he feels “well rested” and “rejuvenated.”
The former president stressed that while he misses the dynamic of working alongside board members to improve the village, he’s not a politician. In his words, Schuepbach waited until the “11th hour” to file for candidacy, hoping that other names would throw themselves into the hat.
“To tell you the truth, I wouldn’t run if other people would,” said Schuepbach. “I would love to see more people running for offices... But right now I think we need to get the right priority going again.”
In terms of what that priority may be, Schuepbach’s tune hasn’t changed much. He said that he’s hoping to have the opportunity to finish two projects he has been an advocate for in the past.
The first major initiative that he hopes to spearhead is the expansion of Whistle Stop Campground as a tourist attraction. Schuepbach said he would like to see the village use the land that it already owns surrounding the campground to expand or construct a combination of hotel accommodations or dining options.
The second project on Schuepbach’s mind was the construction of a large pavilion at Fireman’s Park. He stated that the village is in need of a sizeable gathering space for events such as weddings or reunions.
The former president’s reasoning for highlighting these suggestions ties back to his vision for the village’s future. Schuepbach said he believed that Marshall should be investing in its own resources to autonomously generate revenue. He also brought up improvements to the downtown area and bringing a full-service grocery store to Marshall.
At the same time, Schuepbach pushed back on high-density housing and big business. He said that the village has a hard time competing with larger, surrounding municipalities when it comes to having the resources to incentivize private development.
“I’m not a proponent of building a whole bunch of apartment buildings. We slowly do that, it’s in our plans,” Schuepbach said, “That comes almost naturally... But we don’t have a grocery store, a pharmacy, a doctor or mass transit. I can’t see putting a bunch of people out there without their basic needs.”
With as much time has the former president has had to mull over Marshall’s future, his priorities have not shifted much. Yet, Schuepbach shared that he regretted how conversations surrounding the future of village hall and the police department got out of hand in 2021. He stated that preliminary inquires into using the sheriff’s office for law enforcement were rushed to the village board and reinforced his support for the current village hall remodeling project.
If elected, Schuepbach said that he would support and rely on the existing expertise among the village staff. To do so, he will have to beat incumbent candidate Chris Campbell once ballots start to be turned in this coming April.
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