The “Local government feature” series is coming to an end for now (see you again in April 2024!) with District 14 Alderperson Chris Croatt. Croatt also serves on the Outagamie County Board of Supervisors for District 17.
Croatt was born and raised in Appleton and has spent his entire life here. He was first elected to the Common Council in 2008 because he wanted to be involved in the community he loves. He left the council for two years between 2020 and 2022 to spend time with his wife, since he also travels a lot for work. When he learned that his successor was stepping down, he ran for the seat in April 2022 and was unopposed.
Although the Appleton Common Council has both progressives and conservatives, Croatt often finds himself on differing sides. He tries to come into meetings without fully deciding how he’s going to vote. He noted that as an elected official, his constituents will have a variety of opinions, and it’s important to represent all of them. Although he has his own viewpoints and partisan leanings, he tries to keep those separate from his role.
“I always try to take as much information from everyone,” Croatt said.
In April 2023, Croatt was one of three alderpersons who voted for District 15 Alderperson Chad Doran’s resolution to repeal No Mow May from the city code, which allows residents to not mow their lawns during May. He said he voted for it because it is important to protect the property values of neighborhoods and feels that some residents use it as an excuse to not mow their lawns because they don’t want to. He added that it creates a lot of work for city staff in June.
In February 2023, Croatt was the sole alderperson who voted against the College Avenue road diet. Although he voted against it, he hopes that the plan works. He voted against it because he was concerned about potential negative impacts to businesses and didn’t believe that it would resolve the poor driving habits that the plan targeted, and hoped that the city would instead put resources towards enforcing traffic violations.
Croatt has voted in the past in support of the LGBTQ+ community, including voting to ban conversion therapy in 2020, and voting to censure District 14 Outagamie County Supervisor Timothy Hermes for anti-trans comments. As someone who values respect and decorum, and represents diverse constituents, Croatt found Hermes’ comments unacceptable.
Although some believe that it isn’t right to hold two offices at once, Croatt doesn’t agree. He was encouraged to seek appointment for his current post on the Board of Supervisors by his predecessor when she was stepping down. He noted that she asked him to do it even though they have political disagreements because he has an open mind. He feels that he’s able to serve his community in different ways by serving in both legislative bodies and believes that it doesn’t cause any conflict, adding that the county job is a lot less commitment than his city job.
Looking to the future, Croatt wants to see more money spent on public safety and infrastructure, while keeping taxes as low as possible and maintaining services.
As chair of the Safety and Licensing Committee, Croatt oversees issues relating to policing. Although he supports the police, he also supports accountability when police act unethically. He doesn’t like that when there is misconduct, other police departments in the state are often called to review police departments in different cities. He would prefer to have a neutral, unbiased third party review police misconduct and believes that it’s important for citizens to hold police accountable. He added that the new leadership of the Appleton Police Department has been more transparent with citizens and praised Chief Polly Olson.
“There’s a true need for having policing in our community: there’s a true need for them to act professionally and ethically,” said Croatt.
Outside of politics, Croatt works in Sales and Training at Miller Electric, a welding company. His job takes him all over the United States and Canada, which he appreciates, because he feels it gives him perspectives that help him serve his community better.
Although he does not represent Lawrence, Croatt is grateful that the Lawrence community is part of the Appleton community.
“A lot of people don’t realize the gem we have in our community and downtown is Lawrence University, and all the people that work there, and all the students that come to school there,” Croatt said. “I’m glad that students and faculty get involved in our city business, whether you’re here for a couple years or whether you put down roots here.”