Cool Dude #3: Jim Tipple
[A Note from Dino: We again want to state that these pieces are not about candidates. They are about people in office, already serving. It is not our intention to create buzz for candidates, or to show support one way or another. We believe that people who are willing to stand up and lead are cool dudes. Each and every one of them. Even if we do not agree with them. We also want to remind you, that we reserve the right to remove that that is uncivil or factually incorrect. We ask for civility, and the ability to have a discussion without becoming disagreeable.]
I want to be upfront about this: Jim Tipple is my first Mayoral interview, and as a result I admit to being a little star struck by the whole thing. I am a political romantic, and sitting down in the Mayor’s office – well that is just something that makes my feel warm all the way to the core. I do not think I will gush, but I have to tell you that it made me feel pretty special to have time, one-on-one, with a Mayor.
Recently we closed TIF 1. Our first TIF. Made to make the mall happen, I think. I have a personal experience with that TIF, and that area. The mall was constructed over my family’s business, a business that had to that point served 3 generations of my family. So I have a direct understanding of that area.
As a result, when writing this, I realized that Mayors build on one another. The passing of Mayor Kannenberg draws this into stark contrast. It was Kannenberg who laid the brick for the development we have today. It was Kannenberg who drove the first stake in the railroad that is our development.
After an hour with Mayor Tipple, I knew he understood that. He came away as a team player, and a man of boundless energy. He reflected on all the mayors before him, and talked about them with great respect. I tried to give him credit for this or that project, and he said that he was not about that credit; he really just kept the plan of greater development going.
So Jim Tipple is a fascinating man. He worked at Wausau Insurance until he retired at 55. He then told me a story of realizing it was too soon. That while his wife loves him, it might have been good to get him out of the house. So he decided to run for Mayor. Some men, when they get older, volunteer, or become fishing guides, or work the phones at Eastbay, but Jim Tipple runs for Mayor. I had to follow up by asking why not just run for council, to this he replied with a story about cross country skiing. I was lucky enough to have Steve Osswald as a friend growing up so, the metaphor was not lost on me. He compared city council to the Kortolopet, and the job of Mayor as the Birkebeiner. Both great races, but he always wants to do the bigger thing. I found this fascinating, and a bit more instructive than what everyone talks about Mayor Tipple, the company line if you will.
It appears that people think he is a go-along/get-along sort of fellow. That line about not being a good public speaker; good one-on-one, but not in a group. I found this all to be contradicted by the fact that this was a retired man, who acknowledged he was fine where he was, but instead he took on a giant public challenge. Taking on an enormously popular Mayor (Lawrence) and running hard, and winning. I find this to be in stark opposition to the ‘aw shucks’ personae that people are painting of Mayor Tipple. His aggressive vision, and managing the tremendous change in Wausau is not something of a aw shucks guy.
If we examine the changes in Wausau over the passed few years, we notice a clear amount of growing pains. Almost violent changes to the very culture of our city. Some have been popular, some not so much, and Tipple has led us through all of this. He has taken the beatings for projects that other Mayors started, and as a result has been a large target these days. Garage Mahal, Dudley Tower, the Palladium Project, the downtown Hotel – this has been a time of change and constant pain. For everything we gain, we seem to lose something we love. Like a growing child, the city sometimes lashes out at the Mayor and the Council, and like a good parent Tipple handles all of that evenhandedly.
Mayor Tipple talked about his wife and two kids openly. How they supported him running for Mayor; they like the idea of Dad doing something good for the city that they live in. As the campaign grinds on, its clear that they are getting less and less interested in the attacks on their father, but at the same time he said that they understand the process.
So, there you have it, some stuff about Mayor Tipple. My thought about him is this; he is a guy who wants to do something. To actively do. He has been saddled with a divided City Council that is entrenched in this sort of war they have going on, and has not complained publicly about it. He has not stepped in to the extent that some might think is possible, but a lot of things have happened that have shown us that we can progress in spite of ourselves. We can see the separation on the council, and yet a lot of good things have happened. Most of that credit goes to the Mayors of the past, but some of it goes to Jim Tipple.
As with Hadley, I don’t know Tipple. He seems to have a plan, and seems to be working that plan forward. I just hope you vote for someone.
Cool Dude #3: Jim Tipple said:
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March 19th, 2008 at 11:24 am #
erik said:
Nice read, Dino. Thanks for this service. It’s great to see Citizen Wausau act as a nice alternative to the other, more traditional, media in the Wausau area.
March 19th, 2008 at 3:28 pm #