To the Editor:

On February 17th, the residents of Stevens Point will decide who is on the ballot for Mayor in April.

There are six candidates to choose from which shows that strong community service is alive and well in Stevens Point. The next mayor must be able to work with government agencies and the private sector to be successful.

As we evaluate the candidates for mayor, we strongly endorse Mike Wiza.  Mike’s service on the Stevens Point City Council and Portage County Board speaks for itself. Our endorsement of Mike stems from our interaction during the start-up phase of our business in downtown Stevens Point.

We are part of a group who purchased a building in downtown Stevens Point to open a micro-winery which we expect to open during the summer of 2015.

Opening a micro-winery requires permits at the city, state and federal level.  During the past year, we have had help from a variety of agencies at the various government levels. Mike Wiza has proven to be a wonderful resource to us with valuable knowledge of agencies at all levels. Mike has two traits that stand out to us most: common sense and progressive thinking.

Mike has been a tremendous sounding board as we sought funding to install an elevator in our building to provide access to people who need help getting to a second floor in our winery. His common sense approach helped us quickly identify CWED funds as the best source for the elevator. During our discussions with Mike, his first question is “what does our business need to succeed” so he can help us determine the path to achieve our goals. Mike has proven to be a huge supporter of small business and downtown development. He regularly checks in on our progress to see if we need any support on his own accord.

As residents of the town of Hull, we cannot vote for any of the six strong candidates for mayor. As business owners in downtown Stevens Point, we ask you to vote for Mike Wiza for mayor on February 17th.

Don and Kelly Guay

Town of Hull