The City of De Pere, Wisconsin

     As I prepare to leave the office of Mayor of the City of De Pere, I reflect on the past 24 years, with a sense of pride of the accomplishments that have brought us to where we are today.  I am most appreciative of the work done by my campaign committees and supporters who worked to get me elected.  So that being said, I would like to thank the citizens of the great City of De Pere for their confidence in me to elect and re-elect me 12 times.  I cannot express to you just how much that means to me.  I hope we have done some good common sense things over the years that have improved our community.  It was always my goal to leave the City a better place than when I first became the Mayor.  

     To the current and past council members, I want to thank all of you for your service to the citizens of the City of De Pere.  Without all of us pulling in the same direction we would not have been able to get the things accomplished we have over the past 24 years. I am most proud of the amount of decorum that has been maintained at the Council level.  Even though with disagreements, we have always agreed to disagree, and still could go out together for a refreshment later.  These are very difficult times and it will not be easy for all of us, but the City will persevere.  I feel the City of De Pere is positioned to continue to advance once all of these bad times are behind us. 

      I have been very fortunate to have been a part of many projects here in De Pere that have changed the landscape of the City, its expansion and the way the City does business. A lot of people deserve the credit for these projects that came to fruition, not just me. It was always a team effort.  Along the way I have been very fortunate to have worked with many talented people who are true professionals.  I want to thank all of the employees at City Hall, the Community Center, the Department of Public Works, the Park and Recreation Department, Fire Rescue EMS, and the Police Department.  I also want to offer a special thanks to the three City Administrators that I had the privilege to work with.

     After 24 years as Mayor, this is not the way I envisioned leaving this position being in the midst of bad times.  It was a difficult decision to not seek another term but I felt I needed to make the decision on behalf of my family.  I am not getting any younger and I want to spend more time with my grandchildren while I can still keep up with them.  I will miss the job and our citizens but after 38 years of community service (14 years on the Park Boards also) it is time to enter the next chapter of my life.  Over my 24 years of being the Mayor of the City of De Pere, I always said this was the ONLY job I ever had where I really enjoyed going to work.  It's been an honor and a pleasure to serve the citizens of De Pere and I have enjoyed it immensely.

Sincerely,

Michael J Walsh