Schaffner seeking signatures to be added to mayoral ballot

A second man has announced that he is going to try to unseat Fremont Mayor “Skip” Edwards in November.

Carl Schaffner has taken petitions from the Dodge County Clerk’s Office to get his name on the ballot.

Schaffner, like Wesley Homes, decided to run for the mayor’s office after last week’s city council meeting in which a proposed ordinance targeting illegal immigrants in the city was voted down by a split council. Edwards cast the deciding vote.

Schaffner said he’s taking a different route than Homes because he wants Fremont residents to know that he is serious about running for office. Homes filed as a write-in candidate.

If Schaffner can get 1,419 signatures of registered voters from within the city limits of Fremont, his name will be on the November ballot as a “by petition” candidate rather than a party affiliation, said Dodge County Clerk Fred Mytty, who is also the county’s election commissioner.

The 48-year-old Fremont man said that he thinks that the city government failed at that July 26 meeting of the Fremont City Council.

“The clear role of government is to look after the residents,” he said. “City government has the right to write an ordinance for the citizenry of Fremont. That’s where they failed. I believe they are all good men, but they fell short.”

He said it was clear that he needed to do more than file as a write-in candidate.

“Write-in candidacies usually do not work,” Schaffner continued. “Checking a box is far easier for voters. The impact I want to make by having my name on the ballot is to show that this is an issue that’s important to Fremont. There’s no better way to do that than to have my name right there.”

After taking out the petitions Friday afternoon, Schaffner knows he has his work cut out for him. Mytty said he has until Sept. 2 to turn in the signatures.

“I’m a practical man,” Schaffner said. “My background is as an arborist �” a tree doctor. But I look at a situation and try to find a solution. I hate when people say that we have to do something a certain way because we’ve always done it that way.”

Even though the illegal immigration issue was the catalyst for Schaffner to enter the race, he said he realizes that there’s more to being a mayor.

“The mayor is not immigration. To be a city officials all you need is integrity and common sense.”

Now, he said he is looking for help to get his name on the ballot.

“I’m looking for a way to get the word out. I’ll have two or three people helping me go door-to-door with petitions for people to sign. I’m hoping I’ll have all the signatures I need in two weeks.”

He said he doesn’t have a Web site, but he can be reached on the Web at carl4mayor@yahoo.com.