Following our earlier exchange (here and here) regarding pay for elected officials, Trustee Candidate David Tatarowicz and I exchanged several emails. Below is the full email exchange between Mr. Tatarowicz and myself, which more fully illuminates the themes from his original letter to the editor. Although my interpretation of his original letter was made in good faith, it is now clear to me Mr. Tatarowicz' actually is not urging higher pay for elected officials.

Letter 1

From: Steve Koczela
To: Trustee Candidate David Tatarowicz

Hi Dave –

Thanks for your response. To be honest, I was surprised to hear that your letter was not intended to call for higher pay for elected officials. This was my honest reading of it. After receiving your response today, I re-read your letter to locate the specific phrases which made me believe that you intended to call for higher pay.

Specifically, it was several excerpts from your letter that made me believe this was your intention.

"As important as it is that the pay and benefits of our elected officials be in line with those whom they govern, it is equally important that those who are from less affluent neighborhoods can also afford to serve."

"And when only the very rich can afford to actually be in office?"

I understood you to be saying that, in order to allow those from less affluent neighborhoods to be able to
afford to serve, pay and benefits would have to be more generous. This would be a new idea for Shorewood, and since I thought this was your intention to make this case, I felt it to be a newsworthy item to point out for the readers of the site.

Finally, I have no particular agenda surrounding this election other than to disseminate as much information
as possible about the candidates, their positions, campaign events, and anything else related to the election. If I write something with which you disagree, please feel free to write and let me know. I will be happy to publish your rebuttals and clarifications.

Best Wishes,
Steve Koczela

Letter 2

From: Trustee Candidate David Tatarowicz
To: Steve Koczela

Hi Steve

Thank you for your reply, and I am glad to hear that you are not running a hidden agenda. I understand how semantics can confuse issues, so I do try to be very concise in what I say and write --- although I recognize that there is always a risk of being misunderstood. I willingly share any blame in any such communication of my ideas. Also, as I am sure you are aware, when you write a letter to the editor at the Journal, or any other publication, they reserve the right to edit the letter --- and they do --- sometimes leaving out sections that may seem redundant, but what are in fact, refinements and clarifications, of the author's intent !

In an effort to better explain myself ( and at the risk of digging a bigger hole ! ) --- my main theme in the letter was meant to be that I am concerned that our elective offices are often going to those with the deepest pockets --- and that the cards are stacked against lesser affluent folks. I fear that ultimately, our elective offices will become the equivalent of the "House of Lords" --- with no opposing "House of Commons".

In regards to the re-numeration that elective officials receive, in almost all cases, I think it is either adequate or more than adequate. And specifically, in regards to the pay for Village Trustees, I think the $1000 paid is fine. I do not view the Trustee position as a full time position, nor even a position that should re-numerate for time spent. I think the Trustee position is a "quasi volunteer" position, and the salary is more symbolic than actual pay for services.

It is only in full time elective positions, in which we expect our elective officials to give of themselves fully, that I think the salary, and benefits, should enable those who are not independently wealthy to serve. Having said that, I recognize that a large number of our representatives in both houses of the WI Legislature have additional employment. However that is only practical for those legislators who own their own businesses, or are in professions such as doctor, lawyer, etc., who can possibly juggle their time to serve more than one master. (Whether those elected officials who do have other jobs, really give the commitment they should, I will leave for another discussion).

Anyone who is interested in serving as a legislator, who does not have the ability to leave their regular employment at will, needs to have a reasonable salary and benefits to make elected office viable for them. I believe the salary levels and benefits that presen