Alderman to add his name to ballot for mayor

Port Washington Ald. Dan Benning announced Monday that he is running for mayor.

Benning, who has represented the city’s 4th District since 2017, is the second person to throw his hat into the ring since Mayor Marty Becker announced last month that he won’t seek a second term.

The other candidate is Ted Neitzke, who served as an alderman in the mid-1990s and is currently the chief executive officer of CESA 6.

Candidates for mayor and four aldermanic seats — those representing the city’s 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th districts — can begin circulating nomination papers on Tuesday, Dec. 1. They have until 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 5, to return their papers.

Aldermen not running for re-election have until 5 p.m. Christmas Day to file non-candidacy papers.

Benning said he decided to run for mayor at the request of family and friends, adding he wants to continue to work on some of the city’s current initiatives in more of a leadership role.

Those initiatives include the formation and progression of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, which he proposed — “I’m not going to change the world but I think we need to be much more intentional, to realize we’re a diverse world and we need to be inclusive,” he said — and the construction of a new fire station. Benning is a member of the Fire Station Task Force.

  A member of the city’s Finance and License Committee, Benning said he wants to work with City Administrator Tony Brown to help the city deal with its financial constraints, adding that one step in that process is to increase development.

However, he said, the city shouldn’t rush to develop too fast, noting mistakes are often made in hasty decisions.

“We have to find the right balance for what we envision the city to be,” he said.

Improving communications with constituents, is important, Benning said, adding he believes there should be at least a quarterly communication with residents and formal and informal listening sessions with constituents.

Building stronger partnerships with surrounding towns and villages as well as school districts and the county is also a goal, Benning said.

Benning worked in information technology leadership at Johnson Controls for 30 years, retiring in 2019. That, he said, gave him the time to dive into his work with the city.

He also works part-time at Eernisse Funeral Home and with a professional fireworks crew.

Benning is active at Grand Avenue United Methodist Church and in the formation of Lighthouse Youth Ministry, an ecumenical effort of five churches in the Port-Saukville area. He serves on the Lighthouse board of directors.