WC Wisconsin News

City of Eau Claire city manager Stephanie Hirsch finally has the job she’s always prepped herself for.

“I’ve worked my whole life for this, really,” Hirsch told WEAU.com. “It was the kind of job that when I was 20 years old, I said ‘someday I want to be the chief, one of the chief executives in my hometown.’”

After nearly a two-year search, city officials moved to install Hirsch as a replacement for Dale Peters, who announced his retirement in May of 2020 and officially stepped down in October.

Between Peters’ announcement and Hirsch’s appointment as the first female in the position in more than seven decades, city officials have left no stone unturned, including having to deal with one finalist turning the job down in 2021.

Hirsch welcomes the burden of being the person in charge and feels the time is right for her to rise.

“It’s been really fun to have women in the generation of my parents' age, so like in their seventies and eighties, stop me on the street and say, ’I’m rooting for you,’” she added. “Because maybe some of those women didn’t have that chance to take on those leadership positions. I feel very much this weight of responsibility that I am the first and I need to do the very best I can for all of the people who might have wished to do this 100 years ago.”

Hirsch told WEAU that making Chippewa Valley life more affordable for residents stands at the top of her priority list.

“That includes housing-related issues and also other aspects of a household’s budget like transportation,” she said. “It even includes programs like recreation, which is a way to keep kids busy without costing a lot and that helps lower household stress and financial burden. It’s the main place where you can really impact people’s lives. So many different services that people touch, see, feel, experience are delivered by local government.”

Hirsch is vowing to be a hands-on leader.

“If you see me on the street, stop me,” she added. “Say hello. Let me know what’s on your mind, what you’re worried about and I’ll do my best to help. It’s the honor of a lifetime."

Born and raised in Eau Claire, Hirsch is a Harvard grad who served more than two decades in local government in Boston before moving back to her hometown in 2019 and working as the operations administrator for the Eau Claire County Department of Human Services.

Hirsch says the role of a city manager is similar to that of a mayor, with one of the only major differences being that a mayor is elected and a manager is appointed.

“[A] city manager works for the council,” she added. “It also works to support all of the directors. So I really see my role as helping those directors achieve their goals, helping them overcome any obstacles they have and it’s really working for every single resident of the city of Eau Claire.”

Hirsch added no matter a person’s background, income or political beliefs, the City of Eau Claire has the same responsibility to everyone.

“It’s our job to make sure that they are happy, that they’re healthy and that they’re able to contribute to their family and to the community,” she said.