June 22, 2020 – Town of Barton, WI – Town of Barton chairman Richard Bertram is resigning.
“My wife turned 70 and retired and I’m 72,” he said. “After eight years on the County Board and 27 years on the town board I can let somebody younger than me take over.”’
Bertram was first elected town supervisor in the mid-1990s. He took over as town chairman in June 2004 following a recall election of Russ Abel. “I said at the time I was not going to run but I got talked into it and actually did win,” he said. “I think getting the town out of the media spotlight and bringing things back to a sense of normal was one of my goals.”
Bertram’s current term expires in April 2021.
“If I went all the way to the end of my term it would be 28 years,” said Bertram. “As long as I give up my seat in the town after July 1, they can appoint my successor.”
Bertram will officially resign at the July 21, 2020 meeting. “I’ll chair the last meeting and then they can nominate somebody and I’ll just pass the baton at that time,” he said.
It is expected board supervisor Kris Turner will get the nod.
After nearly three decades on the town board, Bertram does not miss a beat when he says his greatest accomplishment is “staying alive this long.”
“I had three heart attacks eight years ago,” he said.
Bertram had his first heart attack when he walked into the hospital and dropped over dead on the floor. “The second heart attack happened 45 minutes later when they tried to transfer me to Menomonee Falls,” he said. “Eight weeks later I was back in the hospital with my third heart attack.”
It is not political stress that got to Bertram but venous veins. “We got it fixed and I have had 12 years with no problems,” he said.
Bertram served as Dist. 9 County supervisor for eight years. He turned in non-candidacy papers Nov. 11, 2019 and finished out his term.
“I enjoyed sitting on the county board to a certain extent,” he said. “I did what I thought I could for the county; six of the eight years I was on finance.”
When Bertram filed non-candidacy as County supervisor, he knew he was trying to step out.
“I’ve been driving truck part time for the past six years and when I sat down with my wife it was like a domino effect,” he said. “After stepping out from the county that was one thing off my plate. I quit trucking during COVID and the town board was the last commitment.”
Questioned what retirement would bring, Bertram said travel.
“We bought a 40-foot RV and we’ll do some traveling for a while, see our families and the grandkids and we’ll make other decisions later,” he said.
In terms of his time in local government.
“When you don’t see anything in the media bad about us… to me that’s a pretty good legacy,” said Bertram.
