Sunday, October 6, 2024
Serving Algoma, Casco, Kewaunee, Luxemburg and all of Kewaunee County
In Kewaunee County's April 2 election, four races are contested, while other candidates run unopposed.
The Town of Luxemburg has two contested races, with Town Chairman David Barrett seeking re-election against challenger Robert Berger; and Amanda Nimmer and Jennifer Rank contending for Town Clerk to replace Marilyn Barrett, who is not seeking re-election.
The other Town Chair contest is in West Kewaunee, with Dan Kassner and Milt Swagel hoping to replace incumbent Tom Kruse, who is not running for another term.
In the Town of Lincoln, incumbent Nick Cochart is challenged by Jordan Nowak for the Supervisor 1 seat.
The Star-News sent a survey to each candidate in a contested race. Below are their answers:
Age: 46
Current occupation: Branch Manager/Director, Dickenshied Cravillion Insurance Services
Family members: Wife, Kim; daughter, Payton; son, Brandon
How long have you lived in your community? 22 years
Political and community service experience: 12 years as member of Kewaunee School Board, last nine as treasurer (retiring from this office in April).
Contact: 920-388-2071 or kazz@att.net
Why are you running for office? After serving the last four terms as a member of the Kewaunee School Board, I decided to step down from that position at the end of my current term. I had heard that a few long-term members of our local township were retiring from their positions and felt I could serve the local community in this different role. I believe my work experience and financial background could serve the Town of West Kewaunee in a positive way.
Is there a specific issue on which you plan to focus when in office? When it comes to most local townships, the majority of the budget is spent on road maintenance and repair. The challenge is to find ways stretch our dollars further. The problem is the costs to keep up with road maintenance have increased significantly and we need to find ways to maintain the infrastructure of what we have on a limited budget. If elected, I intend to work with the other town officials and explore ways to enhance our current infrastructure wherever possible.
The other issue that is seen in many parts of the county is water quality. Without a reliable and clean source for all residents of the township, further growth will be challenging at best. If elected, I would attempt to work with other towns, the county and our business partners in the area to ensure “best practices” are used to maintain the quality of life we enjoy here.
Age: 57
Current occupation: Farmer
Family: Parents, Ray and Betty
How long have you lived in your community? 32 years
Political and community service experience: Officer, Kewaunee Knights of Columbus; former member and director, Kewaunee County Farm Bureau.
Contact: 920-388-0274 or 920-304-6734
Why are you running for office? To serve my neighbors. I'd like to get my conservative values out there to save money for the taxpayers.
Is there a specific issue on which you plan to focus when in office? I would look at expenses for plowing snow, cutting the grass, things like that. If I can cut costs for the town, cut costs for the taxpayers ... Most people say they pay enough on their property taxes. I don't know what we can do, but I will see.
Age: 80
Current occupation: Retired
Family members: Wife, Marilyn
How long have you lived in your community? 56 years
Political and community service experience: Luxemburg Town Chairperson since November 2005; Town Clerk 1971-2005.
Contact: 920-845-2872, david@barrettwi.com or marilyn@barrettwi.com
Why are you running for office? I have time to respond to every call or problem. I am used to it. All daytime meetings with the county or businesses for summer road work contracts and such are real easy to schedule based on what's available to them. I have time to ride roads and check for problems, winter or summer.
Is there a specific issue on which you plan to focus when in office? Just normal things. One road was damaged with the flooding and will have to be rebuilt.
Age: 53
Current occupation: Auto mechanic
Family members: Wife, Stephanie; children, Beau, Erin and Nicholas
How long have you lived in your community? 52 years
Political and community service experience: None listed
Contact: 920-845-5434
Why are you running for office? I'm running for Town Chairman because I feel I can represent the people of the town and hopefully provide a better of understanding of issues and problems that occur.
Is there a specific issue on which you plan to focus when in office? Communication. I feel a lot of issues could be resolved by common communication. I intend to keep an open mind and try to make the correct decision when called upon.
Age: 57
Current occupation: Retired, previously worked 29 years for Humana.
Family members: Husband, Greg; two daughters; four grandchildren.
How long have you lived in your community? 57 years
Political and community service experience: Church functions at St. Joseph Parish, Champion, especially the church picnic.
Contact: mandy.nimmer@gmail.com.
Why are you running for office? I have worked in De Pere for the past 29 years and want to get reacquainted with my community. Working the elections will help.
Age: 41
Current occupation: Playground aide
Family members: Husband, Dennis; daughters, Elizabeth and Morgan; son, Dylan
How long have you lived in your community? 18 years
Political and community service experience: None listed.
Contact: None listed.
Why are you running for office? I was approached by someone that currently holds an office and was asked to run.
Age: 37
Current occupation: Superintendent of the Algoma School District
Family members: Wife, Amy; sons, Lane and Nolan
How long have you lived in your community? 14 years
Political and community service experience: Town Board Supervisor since April 2013; advisor to Door/Kewaunee County Legislative Days; member, Kewaunee County Clean Water Task Force; DNR task force on best management practices; developed and implemented the only water kiosk available in Kewaunee County; other service on local, regional, state and national levels.
Contact: 920-901-0618 or ncochart@gmail.com
Why are you running for office? I have been very fortunate in my life to serve in many leadership capacities. I am proud to continue a long legacy of community service that started in the Town of Lincoln with my great-great-grandfather. I understand the systems, policies and governance structures that are required in civil discourse and promote the collaboration necessary to operate effectively and efficiently. Furthermore, I am committed to serving all of our community members while maintaining the traditions and culture that make the Town of Lincoln a great place to live and raise a family.
Throughout my professional career I have embraced the role of leadership, implemented initiatives, and effectively worked with diverse stakeholders. My service in the Town of Lincoln is based on a collaborative and strategic approach to move our community forward. This collaborative approach has afforded us the opportunity to tackle challenging situations in the best interest of all community members. I am proud of the improvements we have made and will continue to make. The Town of Lincoln has many assets and the most important one is our citizens.
Age: 36
Current occupation: Foreman at DeGroot Construction, Inc.
Family members: Wife, Jenny
How long have you lived in your community? 36 years
Political and community service experience: None listed.
Contact: 920-371-3713 or jj_nowak415@yahoo.com
Why are you running for office? It’s time for a change in the Town of Lincoln and I would like to be part of that change. There are some great people in this town that I love calling my neighbors and I hope to do right by them. I would like to get involved with the town budget to ensure the funds are going to where it can benefit the community the most.
Is there a specific issue (or issues) on which you plan to focus when in office? Transparency. I would like the town to know where their hard-earned money is going. I would like the minutes from the town meetings and the budget to be accessible to everyone in the town. When decisions are made, I want the townspeople to not only provide feedback but be aware of these decisions that directly affect them, like garbage pick-up or Town Hall matters. I believe a lot of people feel in the dark on very important issues like this, and if I can get on the board and help make decisions more transparent, I think we can do a lot of great things.
All other races in the county are uncontested. In some cases, write-in candidates will be needed to fill open seats, notably on the Kewaunee School Board, where Deanne Schultz is running to represent the unincorporated area but there are no candidates for the city and at-large representatives.
Also, the Village of Luxemburg has three trustee seats on the ballot but just two candidates, Michelle Seidl and Lori Bonk. The Town of West Kewaunee has no listed candidate for Supervisor No. 2 and Town of Lincoln and Town of Pierce have no listed candidates for constable.
The only statewide race on the ballot is for Wisconsin Supreme Court, with Brian Hagedorn facing off against Lisa Neubauer to replace Justice Shirley Abrahamson, who is not seeking re-election.
Hagedorn has been on the bench of the state Court of Appeals in District II, based in Waukesha, since August 2015 and prior to that was chief legal counsel for then-Gov. Scott Walker. Neubauer also served in the District II court, starting in 2007, before she was appointed Chief Judge for the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in 2015.
In a regional race, Lisa Stark is unopposed to retain her seat as judge in the District III Court of Appeals.
The unopposed races in the county are:
Alderperson: District 1, John Pabich; District 2, Jacque Wiese; District 3, Mitch Groessl; District 4, Lee Dachelet.
School Board (vote for two): Barb Rodgers, Joan Wiesner.
Alderperson: District 1, Arthur Schiller; District 2, Jeffrey Dworak; District 3, Joseph Mills; District 4, David Kuehl.
President: Kenneth Tebon.
President: Kelly Pinchart; Trustee (vote for two): Troy Alsteen, Dennis Cravillion.
School Board (vote for two): Julie Lemmens, Teresa Kane.
Chairperson: Gerald Gary Paape; Supervisor: No. 1, Tom Stoller; No. 2, Kenneth Dreves; Clerk: Sharon Grosbeier; Treasurer: Shelly Anderson.
Chairperson: Gerald Gary Paape; Supervisor: No. 1, Tom Stoller; No. 2, Kenneth Draves; Clerk: Sharon Grosbeier; Treasurer: Shelly Anderson; Constable: Jason Walechka.
Chairperson: Joseph Lukes: Supervisor: No. 1, Perry Pavlat; No. 2, Barry Fenendael; Clerk: Terrie Gabriel; Treasurer: Pamela Nuthals.
Chairperson: Richard Wochos; Supervisor: No. 1, Katie Duckart; No. 2, Janes Wacek; Clerk: Todd DeGrave; Treasurer: Judy Kunesh.
Chairperson: Cory Cochart; Supervisor No. 2: Jess Jerabek; Clerk: Mary Ann Salmon; Treasurer: Tim Strnad; Assessor: Joseph Jerabek.
Supervisor: No. 1, Linda Jonet; No. 2, Leonard Wachal; Treasurer: Gerald Zellner.
Chairperson: Scott Jahnke; Supervisor: No. 1, Kevin Ferry; No. 2, Jon Webster; Clerk: Shaefer Oshefsky; Treasurer: Steven Doell; Constable: David Van Deurzen.
Chairperson: Brian Paplham; Supervisor (vote for 2): Mitchell Stauber, Kurt Burmeister; Clerk: Bonnie Selner; Treasurer: Linda Gretz.
Chairperson: Mike Sampo; Supervisor: No. 1, Jeff Dorner; No. 2, Chuck Kinnard; Clerk: Eric Corroy; Treasurer: Ken Bouchonville; Constable: Kevin Vandertie.
Supervisor No. 1: Shawn Siebold; Clerk: Kristen Richard; Treasurer: Mary Bertrand.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Meet the candidates, Kewaunee County elections: Town of Luxemburg, Lincoln, West Kewaunee
