David Drewes

Yes, You Can Stop City Hall!: a History of Ambulance Service in La Crosse, Wisconsin and the Coulee Region David Drewes

People of knowledge shouldn't be the decision-makers on the body. The Mayor of La Crosse, Mark Johnsrud, in a public meeting at which the city and county were discussing how an Emergency Medical Service Commission was to be staffed, made the above statement. In doing so he got the biggest laugh of the night but didn't seem to recognize the incredulity what he had just said. The incidents leading up to the approval of the petition to stop the city were in some cases humorous while in other situations were frustrating with time lost and a waste of taxpayer dollars. As you can see by the letters from other communities, such thinking is not limited to a single area, but it is common for the elected to think they can do something better or in the worst case, more profitably for their electorate than private industry. The national debate over nationalizing health care is another example where government should have very limited involvement. Members of our local Citizens for Responsible Government led the activities and we all learned much about democracy in action. I can't emphasize enough the dedication of the men and women who spent many hours and much shoe leather gathering those needed signatures for the petition. In all there were 76 circulators who talked to their friends, neighbors, and anyone who would stop long enough to listen so they could explain the need to, "Stop City Hall".