FDL City Council Spotlight: Tiffany Brault

An already crowded pool of candidates for City Council in Fond du Lac, got a little more crowded with the announcement that Tiffany Brault has also entered the race. KFIZ News caught up with Brault on Friday, and had a chance to get her thoughts on running for office, as well as the key challenges facing the city right now.

“I was born and raised in Fond du Lac, and moved away for about 10 years. I recently moved back, and when my husband and I were deciding where our family should live, one of the reasons we chose to come back to Fond du Lac is for the many wonderful parks here. I fully support investing in our parks, and I was initially excited when I learned there were big plans for Lakeside Park. The Pavillion is in desperate need of renovations, and I really like the idea of an amphitheater. I would even support minor improvements to the Lighthouse Peninsula to make it more pedestrian-friendly.

But permanently altering an iconic spot in our City in a way that is so unpopular would be wrong. The Peninsula is a very small sliver of our community, but clearly it means a great deal to a great many people. I understand that much of the proposed project would be funded by donations. One major concern I have is that the current pandemic has hurt many businesses, so I wonder if the proposed amounts are even still available. If they are, I am concerned that they are conditional on the multi-purpose building being built in its proposed location, in which case the donors do not care about what residents want, but solely how the plan will benefit them. It is the City Council’s responsibility to take action in the best interests of our City as a whole. The plans for Lakeside Park as currently proposed are not in our best interests.”

“I do not support the proposed plan to build a multi-purpose building on the Lighthouse Peninsula. I stand by that statement. I think the Council was wrong to ever move forward with the Alternative Master Plan. I also agree that park property, buildings, etc should be owned and controlled by the city. I believe the petitions should go to referendum. At this point, both sides believe they are right. Putting it to a vote is the only way we can truly know what the citizens of Fond du Lac want.

One major issue I want to focus on is flooding. We’re seeing more heavy downpours that our storm drains cannot handle. I was lucky that our home only saw a little water in the basement in the recent floods, but I know many were not so fortunate. This is becoming a persistent problem and we need to address it.

Economic development is also an important issue. Talk of Downtown revitalization seems to have stalled as focus shifted to Lakeside Park. We’ve lost a lot of big retail businesses just in the past few years. The pandemic has hurt so many businesses, and many individuals and families are struggling to get by. If we want a strong economy, we need to form a plan now. I don’t know exactly what that could look like, but I am ready to get to work.

I also want to hear what concerns others have. As a City Council member, my hope is that I can be responsive to what our community needs, not just the issues that I am aware of. I would be happy to hear your thoughts! I look forward to hearing more from everyone here, and responding as best I can.”