A Wisconsin Rapids businessman has joined the ranks of candidates currently vying for the Republican nomination for governor of Wisconsin.
Scott Paterick is a financial adviser at Investor’s Choice in Wisconsin Rapids. From 1985 to 1989, Paterick served as alderman for Ward 13 on Wisconsin Rapids’ Common Council. In 2002, he was appointed to the City Police and Fire Commission, which he became president of in 2005.
In a statement released late last week, Paterick said he has spent the last year meeting with politicians, business leaders and citizens to hear their concerns, and his reason for running for governor is “based on a deep desire to give back to my community, as well as my state.”
Paterick said he believes Wisconsin needs a governor who can work to bring people together in order to solve the problems facing the state, the statement said.
“I look forward to meeting with the citizens of Wisconsin to listen to their concerns, ideas and hopes,” Paterick said in the statement. “Together, we can move Wisconsin forward.”
His main concern in this election is creating jobs and decreasing the unemployment rate, according to Paterick’s statement.
Paterick is the fourth Republican to enter the race for governor, with the others being Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, former Congressman Mark Neumann and Appleton businessman Mark Todd.
Neumann’s campaign spokesperson Bruce Pfaff said Neumann is currently concentrating on his campaign rather than on his fellow Republicans participating in the gubernatorial race.
“Mark is focused on his message — which he believes in — to bring Wisconsin’s economy back from what it has become in the past eight years and put Wisconsin back on track,” Pfaff said.
The Democratic Party as of now has only one announced candidate, an 18-year-old from Ellsworth named Jared Christiansen. Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton withdrew her candidacy for the Democratic nomination Oct. 26, citing personal reasons.
Other possibilities for the Democratic nomination include Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, though neither has made a decision regarding joining the race.
