Opinion: Editorial

The Rudy Giuliani Award: Nancy Mistele

The sound of calls coming into the 911 Center is deafening, but the ringing doesn’t faze Nancy Mistele anymore. Nothing does.

Mistele now spends all of her time there peering between the flaps of the pup tent she pitched on the center’s main floor, a notepad and pen in one hand and a towel for wiping the sweat off the center operators’ brows in the other.

It’s been a tough job — the desperate pleas for another cold compress or a Snuggie to warm the long, cold nights in the Center are frequent — but someone has to shed light of the complete failings of the center, and Mistele has proven herself worthy of the task.

During her recent failed bid for Dane County Executive Mistele quickly established herself as the candidate who focused on the important issue — issues, that is — working swiftly to point the finger at the real culprit: current Dane County Executive, Kathleen Falk.

“When it comes to the 911 Center, Falk has failed, and I will fix it,” Mistele said during a January debate against her foe.

How? Mistele very specifically answered this question in March.

“I will first and foremost work to restore our 911 Center so that when our public calls, they know that help will come,” Mistele said, quelling a fear clearly held by all Dane County residents.

But it’s not like Mistele is an alarmist — and certainly not an opportunist — she just has a lot of feelings. Not once did she let a debate or speech go by without mentioning the tragic circumstances surrounding the homicide of University of Wisconsin junior Brittany Zimmermann, in which a call from her phone was admittedly mishandled by 911 Center operator Rita Gahagan.

Mistele’s tent is loneliest at nighttime, but a poster with her smiling face calms her shaken nerves. “Mistele for Dane County Executive of 911 Center” is emblazoned upon it and assures operators that everything will be OK.