Oconto County spring election: County, local board candidates among those on the ballot
Voters will face a decision on who will be mayors in Oconto and Oconto Falls in the April 2 spring election.
In some areas, choices will be made in competitive village trustee and school board races.
Plus, all 31 County Board seats will be up for grabs, but only four are presently contested and one has no declared candidate.
And of course, the April election also serves as the state’s primary election for the 2024 U.S. presidential race.
A few local races will require a primary election, which will be Feb. 20.
Information about your polling place and registering to vote can be found on the MyVote Wisconsin website at myvote.wi.gov/en-us.
Here’s a roundup of what’s going to be on your spring ballots.
City of Oconto
The mayoral race will be a rematch of election won by John R. Panetti in 2022. In that race Panetti garnered nearly 61% of the vote to defeat Cliff Martin, who had a long career in the paper industry and serves on the city's Police and Fire Commission.
A number of people are running for a seat on the City Council, include Panetti. Seeking a spot as one of the four alderperson at large positions are Darrell Anderson, Kim Bronikowski, Rachel Demerath, Dee Donlevy, Mike Feldt, Magan Holz, Panetti, Casey Sowle, Lori Stenstrup, Jamie Younger and Dan Zoeller.
A primary election on Feb. 20 will trim the candidates down to eight for the April vote.
Cheryl A. Young will seek another term on the Oconto Municipal Court. The judge filled the rest of unexpired term of the late Mike Bake after winning an election on April 4.
City of Oconto Falls
Incumbent Brad Rice will seek his seventh term as mayor against a challenge from Clint Braun, who co-owns PROCAR, an automotive repair shop, in the city.
Meanwhile three incumbents will seek reelection on the City Council. Jeff McDonald looks to keep representing Aldermanic District 1 (Wards 1 and 2), while Marty Coopman aims to do the same in Aldermanic District 2 (Wards 2, 4 and 7) and Tim Holman in Aldermanic District 3 (Wards 5 and 6).
Richard J. Cromell will be the lone candidate on the ballot for municipal judge as James Patenaude decided not to seek another term.
City of Gillett
Jonathan Blaskowski will run to become the city's next mayor, replacing Josh McCarthy, who opted not to seek reelection.
The City Council race will see Nanette Mohr seek another term in Ward 3 while no one is running for open positions in Ward 1 or 2. Jon Gildemeister represents Ward 2, but he chose to not run again.
Oconto County Board
Here are the candidates who will seek a two-year term on the County Board:
District 1: Incumbent Elmer Ragen will face challenger Rhonda Strehlow
District 2: Incumbent Theresa Willems
District 3: Incumbent Brandon Dhuey
District 4: No candidates
District 5: Incumbent Guy Gooding
District 6: Incumbent Dennis Kroll
District 7: Incumbent Wayne Kaczrowski
District 8: Incumbent David Behrend
District 9: Incumbent Jolene Barkhaus
District 10: Incumbent Tim Cole
District 11: Incumbent Patrick Scanlan
District 12: Incumbent Richard Pillsbury
District 13: Incumbent John Wittkopf will face challenger Riley Sowle
District 14: Incumbent Al Schreiber
District 15: Incumbent John Matravers
District 16: Incumbent Tom Bitters
District 17: Incumbent Joel Lavarda
District 18: Incumbent Stephanie Holman
District 19: Incumbent Bart Schindel
District 20: Incumbent Keith Schneider
District 21: Incumbent Char Meier
District 22: Incumbent David Parmentier
District 23: Incumbent Robert Wolf
District 24: Incumbent Tracy Ondik
District 25: Tracy Winkler will be the lone candidate after incumbent Gary Frank opted not to run.
District 26: Mike Beyer and Todd Carlson will compete for the seat held by Doug McMahon, who won't seek reelection.
District 27: Incumbent Alan Sleeter
District 28: Incumbent Carol Heise
District 29: Incumbent Judy Buhrandt will be challenged by David Van Zeeland
District 30: Incumbent Don Bartels Jr.
District 31: Incumbent David Christianson
Town of Brazeau
Four candidates are running for fill two supervisor positions – David Parmentier, Matthew Milatzo, Rodney Gretzon and Randy Nasgovitz.
Town of Little Suamico
Douglas L. Allen Sr. is the lone candidate for the Sanitary District #1 Commissioner
Town of Mountain
Voters will be asked a referendum question: Shall the person holding the office of Town Clerk/Treasurer in the Town of Mountain be appointed by the town board?
No elections involving these towns
Towns of Bagley, Breed, Chase, Doty, Gillett, How, Lakewood, Lena, Little River, Maple Valley, Morgan, Oconto, Oconto Falls, Pensaukee, Riverview, Spruce, Stiles, Townsend and Underhill.
Village of Lena
Three incumbents will be on the ballot to serve again as trustees – Linda Hinds, Judy Patenaude and Craig LeFebre.
Russell Buhr will seek reelection as the lone candidate for municipal judge.
Village of Pulaski
Three candidates are seeking trustees positions - Ernie Allen Jr., Bruce Brzeczkowski and Stephanie Rodgers. Brzeczkowski and Rodgers are incumbents while Gordi Black opted not to seek reelection.
Village of Suring
Four people are running for three seats as a trustee – three incumbents Richard Kramp, Jacob School and Randy Schuettpelz, and challenger Angie Whiting.
Stephanie Lupe will seek another term as municipal judge with Jeff Whiting challenging.
Coleman School District
Adam Bieber and Corey Kutchta are seeking the two spots up for election on the school board. Kuchta, the current vice president, is seeking reelection while Bieber is a newcomer. Scott Herzog will not seek another term.
Crivitz School District
Kim Hanson, Gary Huc and Kris Heidewald will battle for the two seats available. Huc and Heidewald are seeking reelection while Hanson aims to join the board.
Gillett School District
Kimberly Schaal and Jamie Heroux are seeking the two three-year member at-large terms, while Scott Buhrandt is running for the two-year member at-large term. Heroux and Buhrandt are incumbents. Katie Daul opted not to seek reelection.
Lena Public School District
Incumbents Charles Imig and David McNurlen will be the only candidates on the ballot as they each seek one of the two school board seats up for election.
Oconto Falls School District
Incumbents Bryan Baumler and Clint Gardebrecht and candidate Ginny O'Harrow will be on the ballot for the three available school board seats.
Oconto Unified School District
Two incumbents aim to win new three-year terms for their respective school board seats.
Samantha Boucher will seek reelection to her rural seat while Bobbi Christopherson will run for the city seat.
Peshtigo School District
Tony O'Neill, Josh Seefeldt and Steve Coble are running unopposed to retain their seats on the school board.
Pulaski Community School District
A primary election will be held Feb. 20 to narrow down the school board member at-large seat from three candidates to two for the general election. Running for that seat are Corey Juelich, Steve Liegl and Jennifer Rybicki.
Megan Mills-Koehler filed a declaration of noncandidacy in December, so a newcomer will fill the position.
Incumbents Dennis Kaminski and Sara Mangold will be only candidate of the ballot as they seek to regain their seats. Kaminski is running for Zone 2, which includes the towns of Chase, Little Suamico and Morgan, while Mangold is running for Zone 5, which includes the town of Pittsfield and the village of Suamico.
Suring School District
Jennifer Kruse and Paul Thomson will battle to represent the town of Breed on the school board, while no one will be on the ballot to represent the village of Suring.
Incumbents Dennis Piepkorn of Suring and Wendy Wozniak of the town of Breed both opted not to seek reelection.
Wabeno Area School District
Andrea C. Brugger, Dawn C. Jakubiec, Benjamin J.R. Larson, Penny McLaughlin and Raletta Shampo-Ashbeck will battle for the two positions available representing the Forest County area, which includes parts of Forest, Langlade and Marinette counties. A Feb. 20 primary will trim the five candidates down to four ahead of the April 2 election, which will pick the final two.
Jakubiec is the lone incumbent seeking reelection as David Seeber and Katryna VanEperen decided not to run.
Jason Boor will be the lone person on the ballot to represent the Oconto County area on the board. Only one seat is available in this election.
Contact Kevin Dittman at 920-431-8416 or kdittman@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Oconto County, local board candidates up for spring election 2024