Wesley Sparkman Is Running for Dane County Executive: Community Connections (Part 2 of 2)
Wesley Sparkman came to Madison to attend UW-Madison as a 17-year-old and has been a fixture in the community ever since
by Jonathan Gramling
Ever since Wesley Sparkman, who is running for Dane County executive, came to Madison as a 17-year-old undergraduate at UW-Madison, he has had a connection with the Black community and the community as a whole. He has been a relatively quiet force in making change in the greater Madison area, letting his actions speak for him.
Sparkman has worked for county government for most of his professional career. Currently, he is the director of the Tamara D. Grigsby Office of Equity and Inclusion. Sparkman has been in a position to get a strong understanding on how county government works. And it works best when everyone contributes.
“One of the things that I learned is have an open door, be able to listen to suggestions, try to get an understanding before you make a decision and be able to communicate my feelings in a way that is constructive and collaborative as opposed to divisive and argumentative,” Sparkman emphasized.
Sparkman feels that he has a good working relationship with the county board of supervisors and has been working with them to give the supervisors a better understanding of the diverse people whom they serve.
“Right now, we’re working on a plan for training for the supervisors that is ongoing,” Sparkman said. “Last year, there were some concerns about the need to have a little more education on Black History and public service in the county. My choice was to bring in Dr. Christy Clark-Pujara to provide a history lesson. And it wasn’t just African American history. It was American history that she talked about from the African American lens. I think it was so helpful for
the county board members. I think it was appreciated by those who participated to hear the history of African Americans in Wisconsin and Dane County and get a better idea of what is implied by some of the decisions and the policies that are made.”
Dane County is growing right now, the fastest growing county in Wisconsin. And so Sparkman wants to make sure that all Dane County residents can contribute to that growth and reap the benefits of it.
“I’m working towards a Dane County that is going to be accessible to everyone, where everyone can grow and thrive,” Sparkman emphasized. “My concept of having a human services is one that supports healthy life outcomes over the years. In my department, we started a process of developing an internship program for young people to visit and work at county departments. We would do a collaboration with the Boys & Girls Club so that first, people can realize all of the different county departments that exist and the fact that they can work there. That is part of my vision in the long run that young people can see themselves working for the county and enjoying a county that they are paying taxes to live in. That is part of the vision that I see.”
Sparkman looks at the growth through an equity and inclusion lens.
“Developing our Black, minority and emerging small business contractor base is important,” Sparkman said. “Milwaukee has done it. Milwaukee has figured out ways to have diverse qualified vendors working on very high-level and important contracts. That is something that we need to do in Dane County and we need to grow our effort in reaching out and excelling in that area.”
With a fast-growing population coupled with the impact of climate change, Sparkman is concerned about being ready natural and man-made crises that will occur.
“Another thing that comes up that people don’t talk about a lot is emergency management and being prepared for those emergencies that come up,” Sparkman said. “We learned a lot during COVID-19. Again, I have to say that I’ve worked with a lot of excellent department heads and county leaders and leading the way is Mr. Charles Tubbs at Emergency Management.”
And there is the land and water quality.
“We have to be concerned about our water,” Sparkman emphasized. “There is the PFAS situation in county lakes and the concern about who is fishing out of those lakes. PFAS has been found in the fish. We have to keep everyone healthy. But first we need to be aware of the public health crisis that could be looming if we don’t pay close attention to how the condition of the water and how it affects us. Getting the phosphorus out of the water and trying to eliminate the runoff into the water is a start.”
Wesley Sparkman feels that he is the right candidate at the right time to help lead Dane County to a better future as it deals with today’s issues. In August, we will see if the voters feel the same.
