A former city councilor is eyeing the opportunity to lead Superior to its future.
Greg Mertzig, who represented the city’s 4th District from 2009 to 2011, formally announced plans Sunday to run for mayor in the April election.
Mertzig is the third candidate to throw his hat in the ring formally. Mayor Bruce Hagen is seeking re-election, and County Board Supervisor Jim Paine is vying for the city’s top-elected post. City Councilor Mike Herrick, a mayoral candidate in 2007, also took out papers for the post, according to City Clerk Terri Kalan.
Mertzig announced his candidacy at the Marcovich Wellness Center at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, the campus where he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in sociology. He holds an associate degree in law enforcement, and now is working toward a master’s degree in clinical mental health.
He works as a Community Offender Re-entry Program case manager for Soar Career Services in Duluth.
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“My education opened my eyes for alternative ways to solve community problems,” Mertzig said. “Education has equipped me with new ideas and skills to move Superior forward.”
Mertzig said among his primary goals is improving the city’s infrastructure to create the kind of community that draws people, and working to retain the city’s youth.
Deployed to Iraq in 2005 and the Helmand Province of Afghanistan in 2007 with the U.S. Army, Mertzig said he learned the value of selflessness.
“If elected mayor, I will bring that value with me in everything I do for the city of Superior,” the 38-year-old South Superior homeowner said. “After my last tour in Afghanistan, I realized my future was in Superior.”
That realization prompted Mertzig to run for City Council in 2009. He was elected to a two-year term, but he lost a write-in campaign in 2011, after a filing error kept his name off the ballot. At the time of the filing, Mertzig was away serving with the Army Reserve.
Mertzig said his time as a city councilor taught him about the issues the city faces and motivated him to one day continue his service to the city as its mayor.
“I have the skills. I have the energy, and I have the ideas to bring groups of people together to make Superior truly superior,” Mertzig said. “Over the course of the next several months, I will be clearly detailing my plans to move Superior forward in a way we can all be proud of. I believe that we must work together - business, our labor force and government must all work together. I believe we’re only as strong as our weakest link.”
To move Superior forward means strengthening the entire community, Mertzig said.
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If elected in April, Mertzig said he plans to serve no more than two terms in the office.
“Fresh energy, new ideas and motivation cannot be maintained for extended periods of service,” Mertzig said. “If elected mayor, everything I do will be to benefit the people of Superior.”
Among his goals is making it easier and more affordable for people to improve their personal property, as well as improving city infrastructure and working with the education system and youth to make Superior a more desirable place to stay.
“Right now in Superior we have amazing asset, such as great medical care, outstanding police and fire, a workforce that is second to none - which by the way, I will always have their backs - excellent schools, and amazing geography.”
For more information, visit www.gregmertzigformayor.com .
