There will be changes in many local governmental bodies following Tuesday’s spring election. According to the preliminary – and unofficial – numbers, 35 percent of Sheboygan County voters turned out at the polls, even while wintery weather did its best to discourage going outside.
As expected, the Presidential Preference supported the expected candidates, with Donald Trump taking 19,780 votes and Joe Biden taking 9,298 votes. “Uninstructed Delegation”, largely a protest vote against the administration’s handling of Gaza in the Democratic preference poll, garnered 436 votes.
Many positions on the ballot were without challenge. Among those with a contest:
In the City of Sheboygan where several aldermanic races were seen, the biggest surprise saw John Belanger defeat long-time District-2 incumbent Roberta Filicky-Peneski 604-524. In District 4, Robert La Fave defeated Deb Yochis 214-125. Incumbent, and current Common Council President Dean Dekker holds onto his District-6 seat having won a challenge by Joseph Vugrinovich 362-116. Zachary Rust maintained his hold on the District-8 seat, defeating Jesse Roethel 378-251. And in District 19, Joe Heidemann barely held onto his post, putting down a challenge from Marcial Reinthaler 407-411, a result that will be closely examined by canvassers to determine if one of the few conservatives on Sheboygan’s Common Council will remain in place.
Sheboygan Falls voters kept current Mayor Randy Meyer, with challenger Al Mayer falling short in his challenge in a 1,137-986 vote. And for Sheboygan Falls District-1 Alderperson, incumbent Terry Van Engen defeated Robyn Denning 463-333.
City of Plymouth residents elected John Binder over incumbent Robert Schilsky 210-153.
In County Board races: For County Board Supervisor District 2 – Paul Gruber defeated Travis Gross in a close contest, 552-529. For County Board Supervisor District 3 – Kathleen Donovan easily won over Isabel Rivera, 542-152. In the County Board Supervisor District 12 race, Robert Ziegelbauer was unable to re-take the seat he last held in 2022, with Suzann Speltz winning 545-424. Carl Nonhof took the County Board Supervisor District 20 race 813-443 over Michael Vogl. There were only write-in votes for District 15 (219) and District 19 (123), with those contest results pending the canvassers’ examination.
Township governments also saw some contested seats on Tuesday. Town of Plymouth voters selected Gary Vanderkin and Roger Rortvedt as supervisors, eliminating Ken Velier. The Town of Rhine Board Supervisor #3 race went to Derek Schukow, 296-244 over William Jacob Jr., while the Supervisor #4 race went to Larry Eberle 231-337 over Jeffrey Lingford. In the Town of Sheboygan, Randy Blindauer defeated Pat Schmidt 1,008-609. And in the Town of Wilson, Nancy DesJardins and Stu Stempihar were selected out of a field of four with votes of 542 and 520 respectively.
Village of Kohler voters had a field of six vying for three Trustee positions. The winners were John Ewert, Tracy Thomas Lyons and Kelly Jensen Kasten with 233, 338 and 383 votes respectively. In the Village of Random Lake, another field of five was reduced to three winners, with Duane Urbanski taking 241 votes, Rachel Fuller with 216 and Blaine Werner taking 223 votes.
School District Boards were also on Tuesday’s ballot. In Howards Grove, Courtney Athorp with 969 votes, and Brandon Suemnicht with 626 votes rose from the field of four. In Sheboygan Falls, Nicole Kuplic – 1,664 votes, and Adam Arnhoelter – 1,237 votes, were seated from a field of four.
New Holstein’s Rose Petrie and Craig Sesing garnered 11 and 13 votes respectively from Sheboygan County voters from a field of three contestants, but votes from Calumet County have yet to be accounted for. Sheboygan County voters also selected Tammie Stahl, Stuart Long, Jon Lee and H.M. Tre Waldren III as the preferred candidates for the Kiel Area School District Member-at-Large position…another contest that awaits out-of-county votes. Voters in the Sheboygan Area School District selected Peter Madden, Leah Hibl and Santino Laster – the only incumbent member – to positions.
Finally, voters in the Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah School District gave approval to spending $1.75 million dollars per year over state spending limits for the 2024-25 through 2027-28 school years by a vote of 672-485.
Two State Referendum questions were also approved by Sheboygan county voters, both concerning changes to the way elections will be held. Those initiatives also received statewide approval.
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