Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk’s announcement she would step down from the seat she’s held for 14 consecutive years shook up the county’s political landscape last fall, but after the initial surprise came a sea of opportunity for a crew of well-known Dane County politicians vying for the office.

Not long after Falk’s announcement and the resolution of the confusion about when she would step down, a variety of names on the state and local political scenes stepped up and threw their hats into the ring.

The first to announce was Dane County Board Chair Scott McDonell, who served as acting county executive for a brief period in late December and early January.

McDonell has led the County Board for more than five years and is a close ally of Falk. He has said he plans to maintain a diverse economic base while endorsing further conservation and environmental efforts.

One of the board’s most conservative members, Sup. Eileen Bruskewitz of Waunakee, was the most recent candidate to announce. Bruskewitz, mentioned in some circles as a potential member of Gov. Scott Walker’s administration, announced her candidacy just days after Walker announced his cabinet.

Bruskewitz said she also hopes to focus on job creation and public safety, claiming current late night transportation services, especially for students, are inadequate. She also said the development process throughout the county has become too politicized.

“Epic [Systems] was in Madison before, and because they met such difficulty with the planning and development department, and with the political approach of not wanting to have more business in Madison, we ended up with Epic moving out to Verona,” Bruskewitz said.

She added while Epic’s decision to stay in Dane County was lucky, not all businesses are willing to adapt to a political climate, making development difficult.

Aside from Bruskewitz, however, the candidates for executive are mostly liberal or progressive. Zach Brandon, who announced his candidacy in December, works for the state Department of Commerce, while state Rep. Joe Parisi, D-Madison, has served in the Capitol as a predominant environmental candidate since 2004.

Additionally, former Democratic State Senator Joe Wineke of Verona announced his candidacy for executive in December, promising to be a vocal opponent of conservative policies expected from the Walker administration.

“Our way of life in Dane County is under attack,” Wineke said when announcing his candidacy. “Drastic cuts to state aid and large reductions in the area’s workforce will hit the county budget hard, and and will have even more dire effect on local businesses.”

Brandon has received kind words from former Gov. Jim Doyle, who said Brandon will be able to keep businesses in Dane County despite the difficult economic times. Brandon assisted Doyle and the Department of Commerce in persuading companies like Mercury Marine and Harley Davidson to remain in Wisconsin.

Similar to Brandon, Parisi has worked in the Legislature as an advocate for job creation, which he said is also the central issue of his campaign. Parisi has proposed an office of economic development within the executive’s office to achieve these goals. 

“I graduated from the UW and I know that the main reason that most people go to college so they can get a better job when they graduate,” he said. 

Spencer Zimmerman, a local business executive, is running on a platform of abolishing the office of county executive, calling himself a candidate to be the “last Dane County executive.”