August 4, 2017 at 4:31 p.m.
Frederickson launches mayoral campaign
Man behind the yard signs sits for interview with River News
Frederickson launches mayoral campaign
Christopher Frederickson has lived in the Rhinelander area for 19 years and feels he owes the city a debt of gratitude. He would like to repay that debt by serving as the next mayor.
In an interview with the River News Thursday, Frederickson said he knows the city has had its share of challenges over the last few years and believes he can provide the leadership and problem-solving skills the community needs.
"I'm not afraid of problems. Every problem has a solution," Frederickson said. "You don't even have to pick the right one. If you learn from the wrong one, then you can move forward. It's just a matter of adjusting and learning from it, stopping what you are doing that is wrong and fixing it."
Frederickson's interest in politics dates back to his youth. An experience in college convinced him that local politics would be a better fit for him than higher office, he explained.
"I was pre-law for politics and was good friends with Dave Kleisner, who was policy advisor for (former governor) Tommy Thompson on environmental issues back in the early '90s," Frederickson said. "I realized why, at that level of politics, they call you the freshman class. They get you in a room and get you nodding and the next thing you know you're supposed to be agreeing with them. I couldn't stomach it, that wasn't me."
He took a year off from school and served as a student minister with the National Park Service. During that time he said he learned that "persuasion is only good if it is used for truth."
"So trust and the truth are pretty much the only thing that is going to build those relationships," Frederickson said. "Even if they're good, bad or ugly, it doesn't matter because they are going to be strong, based on the fact that they are built around the truth."
After his year off from college, Frederickson said he realized he needed a job.
He had a roommate who had cystic fibrosis and he learned something from that friendship.
"I didn't like the nurses, I didn't like the doctors, but I liked the respiratory therapists because they came in for 10 minutes, joked around, took care of you and left," Frederickson said. "I thought, I can do that job!"
He is currently employed as a respiratory therpaist at Ministry St. Mary's Hospitsl in Rhinelander.
After graduating from college and meeting his wife Kim, who was attending UW-Whitewater, the couple decided to look for a place to settle down, he continued.
"We were looking for a great community to raise kids in, because that was the next step in my life," he said. "We came up here and the city was so inviting from the get-go and we fell in love with it."
The next decision they had to make was whether to buy a house in the country or in town.
"We had to make that decision upfront, which were we going to do," Frederickson said. "And we decided to buy within the city because then our kids can be really active in programs with their friends and try to create that community again. One of the things I love about the town is that I live right across the street from Pioneer Park and they had the ice skating rink lit up, they had music at that time and there was an old lady in the warming house and I was like, 'OK, this is where I want to live.' Not quite a Norman Rockwell painting but close."
Heavily involved with youth sports - Frederickson took a girls' soccer team to England in August 2015 for some international competition - he came to the realization that if he were to become active in local politics he would have to give up that part of his life.
"I love watching those 12-year-old girls get better, because they actually become strong individuals who can make a difference," he said. "I didn't know if I wanted to give that up, I didn't know if it was worth it. But I realized that I can still have that effect on grown adults, the city and community and I'm empowered by that."
"I've coached a ton of hockey and soccer teams,and I realized our youth are still very absorbent - the character, the ideas, the trust," he added. "And don't get me wrong, but as a society, we're pretty jaded. But what I couldn't do in state politics, because I couldn't stomach it, I knew I could do in local politics because it is just reinvolving the people."
If elected, Frederickson said he would have an open door policy where people could come in and talk with him about city issues and would be transparent about his plans and goals.
"My two-year plan, my five-year plan, my two-month plan and my one-week plan will be up on the wall on boards written, of course, in dry erase for anybody to see," he said. "Transparency and accountability are two things I hold dear because they are the only thing that is going to continue trust. You don't have to agree with me but, at the same time, if I explain my ideas and it's out there there is no dishonesty, no reason to fight it."
As a newcomer to politics, Frederickson said he intends to show city residents that he has their best interests at heart and can be trusted. Along those lines, he said he wouldn't be afraid to seek counsel from others.
"Building the city is one thing, but maintaining it? That's a whole other beast to get that done, it takes hard work and it takes character. It doesn't take an idea that generates excitement," Frederickson said. "We have to be in it for the long haul, seeking lots of advice."
Some of the best presidents in U.S. history were those who surrounded themselves with intelligent people, he added.
"They weren't the smartest guy in the room, they actually were surrounded by people they would listen to," he said. "I have no problem, no pride, in listening to people and when I make mistakes to say 'I'm sorry.' One of the greatest gifts we have in life is that we can re-track and re-establish things, they're not just done when it's done."
Frederickson said he believes the city needs a chief executive officer and he has the skill set to be that person.
"I'm very relational, I do a very good job at bridging gaps and bringing pieces together," he said. "I work great with conflict management. I realize that when you put two people in a room, sooner or later they are going to have conflict. I'm very good at sorting through that and getting to the crux of what the situation is and moving forward."
Watching his father work through constant health issues showed him what work ethic looks like, he added.
"I have a ton of energy and anyone you ask is going to say that you cannot outwork me," he said. "I grew up with a father who developed polio as a child. He fell off a silo when he was 19 and was told that he would never walk again. (He had) diabetic retinopathy, open heart surgery and everything else, and he worked until the day he died, and the whole city (of Stanley, where Frederickson was raised) loved him. He recruited the prison to Stanley, he recruited an ethanol plant to Stanley, he did that because he knew what would be good for the city would be good for the people."
Frederickson said he sees the city's next mayor as being a salesperson for the area, tasked with attracting both new businesses and young families.
"I realize what we have to sell here in Rhinelander, even if it means going down to Madison..." he said. "What we have to sell is the value of life.... We have lakes, we have trees, we have other things. Those things can be shared, people are going to understand that there is going to be value now instead of later. Your businesses will come here. Our most successful businesses are (led by) families who wanted to have a family life that establishes sustainable growth in the Northwoods, rather than being in Milwaukee or Madison. They could have been there and they could have been rich, but they would have had to give up their family time, watching their kids grow up. That's the reason I came here is to raise a family and watch my kids grow up. I got to see it happen and I'm indebted with gratitude to the city because of it. There is just plenty of support here, it's amazing."
With several high profile resignations and a termination, city government has gone through a season of upheaval and controversy over the last year, but Frederickson said that can be overcome.
"We are somewhat dysfunctional and disjointed in how we want to put our energies, but other than that, we have really good people here," he said. "So now it is time to rally those (people), pick the things that we really identify as a city that we value, and start moving in those directions."
"Every problem has a solution," he added. "It's finding the right one, adjusting as you go, taking advice and learning from mistakes. I tell my kids when I'm coaching that failure is good, if you can learn from it. If you do not learn from it, if you have too much pride to actually let yourself grow, that's when it's bad. So I'm not afraid of failure as a leader."
It is his philosophy that there are only two ways to lead, by fear or by respect, he continued.
"People will either follow you because they fear you or fear the consequences of not (following you), or respect (you). And you can see that even in our national elections and everything else. They are afraid of what might happen so they just take what they consider the lesser of two evils. But do we truly respect the leaders who are there? I'm pretty darn sure that if you ask anyone who does know me what they think of me that respect will come to the forefront. They might not agree with me always, and that's fine. I talk a lot, I have a big mouth, I'm going to make somebody upset at some time," Frederickson said.
Another of his positive traits is he is not afraid to apologize and/or sit down with those who disagree with him and have a discussion, he added.
"Those are really the only two ways to lead, and I plan on earning the city's respect," he said.
As for how he would put an end to the recent dysfunction at City Hall, Frederickson said accountability is key.
"With transparency and accountability at the forefront, and gaining their respect," he said, when asked about changing the culture at City Hall. "Some of it is earning the respect of the people who are already there, you don't have to agree with what they are a part of."
He is a firm believer that partisan politics don't work and is interested in hearing from disparate voices.
"It has not worked for our country, it has not worked for any of us. We need to become more diplomatic," he said. "That (party politics) is leading by fear, politics is just fear."
He noted that people at the local level of politics are often better at working out their disagreements and being open to differing viewpoints.
"They might have a good idea and they might be on the other side of the aisle or on the other side of the table from you in local politics, but they might have a very, very good point," Frederickson said.
He cited the recent attempts to put in a dog park or second softball field in Pioneer Park as a good example.
"There is something about those parks that means something to them (the opponents of the dog park and softball field) that they cannot convey as easily as it will bring in this amount of revenue," he said. "My job as mayor is deciding if recruiting young families to town to buy up our rental properties to turn them around to increase the tax base is worth more than one person's personal investment in that park. We have to make that hard decision. But I will look them in the eye and explain to them why. That's the difference, I'm relational, I'm not there to say 'you are dumb and this is right.' Now I might be right, but that doesn't make the other person dumb or their experience less valuable."
That said, Frederickson said he knows the task of winning back the trust of the community is a tall order.
"That's half the reason I want to be mayor," he said. "Because I believe I can do it."
While the mayor serves the city residents first and foremost, Frederickson said he wants to restore the feeling of community between the city and the surrounding townships.
"A community has no borders," he said, adding that one of his ideas is to hold more block and ward parties so people can get to know their neighbors better and interact with city leaders.
"I offer open communication which starts to build community," he added. "When people talk to me they will not get the feeling that I'm not listening or that I have already moved on to the next idea."
Frederickson said he isn't one to play the fault or blame game, believing it is better to lead by example. He also intends to take the mantra he used as a soccer coach - meet, exceed, next - and use it as a guideline to tackle goals for himself and the rest of the city.
"The culture of change and inspiring people is a matter of speaking a certain language to what really adheres to their heart," Frederickson said. "When I say that I have a debt of gratitude to this city it's because my kids were raised here. People know I love my kids and that I have loved their children. Working at the hospital and seeing people die gives you a real clear perspective on what matters in life because you see what's there in the end. You can actually see a true value played out in those last few minutes, because somebody's legacy and who they are is played out by the people around them."
His experience in health care has taught him that investing in people is what really matters in life and that is something he would bring to the office of mayor, he concluded.
"Investing in people is never a bad investment, it just really isn't," he said.
Those interested in learning more about Frederickson can visit the Frederickson for Mayor Facebook page. He said he intends to answer questions and interact with the public through that site.
"I say that it is a day at a time because it is going to take time for that relationship to build," Frederickson said. "Social media is hard to answer to because there are probably 35 messages on there right now from what I said this morning. But I will try to keep that dialogue going with everybody."
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