MADISON, Wis. -- A former Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education member Nancy Mistele announced on Monday that she intends to run for Dane County executive next year.

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Mistele, a real estate agent from Waunakee, said that she hasn't filed candidate papers to enter the race but will sometime in December.

Mistele, who is politically conservative, said that public safety concerns and Dane County's besieged 911 system are primary reasons that she decided to step into the race, WISC-TV reported.

She said that current County Executive Kathleen Falk has "fallen down at the wheel" when it comes to addressing consultant concerns with the 911 call center over the years and that a "common sense" approach is needed to fix it.

The call center has been the subject of controversy after allegations surfaced last spring that a 911 dispatcher mishandled a call from the phone of University of Wisconsin-Madison student who was later found slain. The call center returned to the headlines in recent weeks after a man was beaten to death in a Madison park and a report released earlier this month said dispatchers should have sent police, but didn't until after the man was found dead.

"We can do better," Mistele said of issues concerning the dispatch center.

Mistele twice ran for state Senate as a Republican. The last time was in 1998 when she spent a then-record $300,000 in her unsuccessful bid to oust Democratic state Sen. Jon Erpenbach. Mistele might best be remembered for her fiery conservative rhetoric on the liberal Madison school board between 1992 and 1996 when state spending caps became an explosive issue.

She said that she's not out to run a one-issue campaign, but Falk's leadership on the 911 dispatch over the last year will play a big role in her campaign, WISC-TV reported.

She said that Falk's lack of action on a 2004 report on the 911 center means she's responsible for two people losing their lives. Falk's campaign calls that accusation "shameful."

"What is shameful is the fact that she didn't address this issue four years ago," Mistele said. "That is shameful. And I think for that, Kathleen Falk owes this county a huge, huge apology for not taking the report that was done four years ago by an independent group seriously."

Melissa Mulliken, Falk campaign manager said, "Facts have never been Nancy's strong suit and she's flat out wrong that Falk ignored the 2004 audit. For example, it identified areas for attention such as quality assurance, training and more staff and Kathleen's budgets since the audit have funded those things. And, it is shameful and shameless of Nancy to exploit the loss of life as a political talking point. This kind of reckless, WMC-style tactic is deplorable."

"Three dollars out of $4 tax dollars are spent on either public protection or Human Services. That's a record that I'm really looking forward to talking about in terms of Kathleen's record," Mulliken said. "And I'm looking forward to contrasting that with Nancy's extreme positions."

Mulliken said that Mistele's past statements on not overtaxing the rich and her close ties to Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce during her runs for state Senate. WMC officials declined to answer questions about Mistele's candidacy, saying "It's a local race."

Besides the 911 call center, Mistele said that her other priorities if she wins includes a north Mendota Beltline and reducing land acquisitions and shoreline regulations.

Falk will have served as the county executive for 12 years next April.

Stay tuned to WISC-TV and Channel 3000 for continuing coverage.