An independent candidate has entered the field of challengers against Gov. Scott Walker, running as a write-in candidate to prevent the farther polarization of politics and to balance the state budget.

Steven Zelinski, an independent roofing and construction contractor from Webster, announced he is running for governor in the recall election as a write-in candidate.

As an independent candidate, Zelinski said the primary goals of his campaign are to prevent polarization of Wisconsin’s political parties. He said the divided government in Wisconsin reflects the national problem of current partisan politics.

“The recall election isn’t about Scott Walker, teacher unions or labor unions,” Zelinski said. “The reality is that the state is trying to say there are enough laws, rules, regulations and that we said we want a government by the people for the people.”

Zelinski said he would focus on the issues of health care, public education and most importantly, balancing the state budget.

He said he mostly closely identified with the Republican Tea Party, even though he supported the recalls and disagreed with many Republicans’ anger regarding the recalls. However, he said he did not sign the recall petition.

Zelinski imagines the majority of his supporters to be voters who are conservative with their money, rather than businesses or corporations. Following the Occupy Wall Street motto, he said he plans to appeal to the 99 percent of voters and the common individual.

“I’m kind of a middleman, a mediator and a problem solver,” Zelinski said.

He added he calls himself an advocate of “servant-style” leadership.

As for being a write-in candidate, Zelinski said he felt it “wasn’t appropriate” for him to have his name on the ballot. He said the timing was right in both his personal and professional lives to announce his candidacy now, and he had imagined a third party playing an active role in Wisconsin politics for years.

“The odds of me being a write-in candidate are like me telling you I am going to walk on the moon tonight. But I want to get positive words out there, and we need to preserve the democracy of our nation,” Zelinski said.

Before announcing his candidacy for governor, Zelinski held leadership roles in Burnett County government and politics. He has an engineering background and works in contracting and construction, a business he said prepared him greatly for understanding local political relationships. He also participated in “Leadership Wisconsin,” a leadership program offered by the University of Wisconsin-Extension.

Independent candidate for governor Hariprasad “Hari” Trivedi also agreed it would be nearly impossible to win as a write-in candidate.

“The voting rates are 35-40 percent, we hope it will be higher in the recall, but the majority of Americans don’t participate. I wish [Zelinski] well, but realistically I think it’s very difficult,” Trivedi said.

Trivedi also said fundraising would be an obstacle. Even though candidates don’t need millions of dollars, campaign finance is a “necessary evil.”

However, Trivedi said independent party leaders are now needed in Wisconsin.

“We had a Democratic government for eight years, and I think it’s time for fresh ideas and a new direction,” Trivedi said.

Zelinski said he also plans to also run for governor in 2014.