By Press Times Staff
BROWN COUNTY – Candidates running this spring for a variety of local municipal races had until 5 p.m. Jan. 4 to get on the ballot.
Some incumbents decided not to seek reelection, and challengers seek to oust existing officeholders who are running again.
The spring general election is set for Tuesday, April 5, with primaries on Tuesday, Feb. 15, to reduce the field of candidates.
This spring, redistricting takes effect to reflect changes in population in the 2020 census, which could alter districts where voters and candidates reside.
De Pere
James Boyd is running unopposed for his second two-year term as mayor for the City of De Pere.
Four of the eight aldermanic seats are also up for new two-year terms, with contested races in two of them.
In the 2nd District (Wards 6-9), incumbent Kelly Ruh is being challenged by Pamela Gantz.
In the 3rd District, incumbent Mike Eserkaln is running against Devin Perock.
Incumbents Shana Defnet Ledvina, 1st District (Wards 1-5), and Dan Carpenter, 4th District, (Wards 17-23), are both running unopposed.
The municipal judge serving De Pere and the Town of Ledgeview, David Matyas, is running unopposed for a new four-year term.
Green Bay
Three incumbents in the 12 aldermanic seats on the Green Bay Common Council won’t be seeking new two-year terms – Veronica Corpus-Dax (District 2), Kathy Lefebvre (District 6) and John Vander Leest (District 11) filed declarations of non-candidacy.
Lefebvre and Vander Leest, who are also on the Brown County Board of Supervisors, are both, however, seeking reelection for another two years to their county offices, but ending their terms on the city council.
The candidates who filed papers in District 6 include Andrew Gerlach, Steve Campbell, Aron Obrecht and Paul Boucher. They will face each other in a primary, from which the top two vote-getters advance to the general election.
Melinda Eck and Michael Poradek filed papers to run in District 11.
Because Corpus-Dax filed her non-candidacy declaration with the city after the Dec. 24 deadline, City Clerk Celestine Jeffreys said the filing deadline for other candidates interested in running in that district was extended to 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 7.
Andy Nicholson, Cassidy McGowan, Michael Shea and Jim Hutchison filed papers to run in District 2, which will also have a primary.
Of the nine remaining aldermanic seats where incumbents are seeking reelection, seven are being contested, with District 4 requiring a primary.
Those races, with the incumbent listed first, include:
• District 1, Barbara Dorff and Jennifer Grant.
• District 3, Lynn Gerlach and Bill Morgan.
• District 4, Bill Galvin, Douglas Yates and Natalie Hoffman
• District 5, Craig Stevens and Robert Maccaux.
• District 7, Randy Scannell and Robert Miller.
• District 9, Brian Johnson and Tarl Knight.
• District 10, Mark Steuer and Eric Kuzma.
Only incumbents Chris Wery (District 8) and Jesse Brunette (District 12) are running unopposed.
In the citywide race for municipal judge, in which Jerry Hanson is not seeking a new four-year term, Jonathan Gigot filed papers to run.
Allouez
The only municipal race this spring in the Village of Allouez is for a new three-year term for village president, with the incumbent, Jim Rafter, running unopposed.
None of the six trustee seats, which also have three-year terms, will be up for election this spring.
Ashwaubenon
In the Village of Ashwaubenon, Mary Kardoskee is running unopposed for a new three-year term as village president.
None of the six trustee seats, which also have three-year terms, will be up for election this spring.
Bellevue
A primary will be held in February with the seats of two of the Village of Bellevue’s four at-large trustees up for election for two-year terms.
One incumbent whose term expires in April, Tom Katers, is not seeking reelection. The other incumbent, John Sinkler, is in a five-way race for the two seats with challengers Jackie Krull, Larry Hamsing, Victor Hoffman and Kenneth Garwood.
The top four candidates in the primary advance to the general election.
Hobart
It will be a four-way race for two of the Village of Hobart’s four at-large trustee seats, currently held by Debbie Schumacher and Ed Kazik.
The incumbents are being challenged by Vanya Koepke and Tammy Zittlow, with the top two vote-getting winning two-year terms.
There will be a special election this spring for the municipal judge serving Hobart and the Town of Lawrence, currently held by Gregg Schreiber, who was the only candidate to file to run for the remaining two years of the four-year term.
Schreiber, a Lawrence resident who was a municipal judge in the Village of Howard for about 20 years, was appointed in March as the Hobart/Lawrence municipal judge by the village and town boards following Ronald VanLanen’s resignation last February.
Howard
In the Village of Howard, four of the eight trustee seats are up for new two-year terms.
Only the incumbents – Cathy Hughes, District 3 (Wards 5-6, 19); John Muraski, District 4 (Wards 7-8); Scott Beyer, District 5 (Wards 9-10, 15); and Ray Suennen, District 6 (Wards 11-12, 18) – filed paper’s by Tuesday’s deadline to run unopposed.
Pulaski
Four candidates have filed to run for the three at-large trustee seats up for election this spring for new two-year terms in Pulaski. They include incumbents Bruce Brzeczkowski and Gordi Black and challengers Stephanie A. Rodgers and Tom Chartrand.
Suamico
In the Village of Suamico, Sky Van Rossum is running unopposed for the office of village president, which hewas appointed to last year. The special election this spring is for the final year of the three-year term.
Van Rossum was previously a village trustee, a seat now vacant.
That at-large seat and the one currently held by Mike Schneider will be up for new three-year terms.
Schneider and two challengers, Michael Romes and Amy Brey, are in a three-way race for two seats.