After tense election cycle, Bill Morgan and Jennifer Grant unseat Green Bay City Council incumbents, among 5 newcomers

Natalie Eilbert, Green Bay Press-Gazette
·2 min read
An election observer watches the central count for the spring election on April 5, 2022, at Green Bay City Hall.
An election observer watches the central count for the spring election on April 5, 2022, at Green Bay City Hall.

GREEN BAY – Two incumbents lost their seats on the Green Bay City Council in an election season that featured a series of gaffes in the February primary, a push by council members to tighten conduct around city elections, a last-minute shortage of poll workers and over $200,000 in out-of-state money flowing into campaign ads.

Among 10 City Council districts with elections, incumbents Barbara Dorff and Lynn Gerlach lost their seats to political newcomers following inflammatory ads against Dorff by a Waukesha County-based special interest group called the Wisconsinites for Liberty Fund.

Dorff became a council member in 2016 after she beat 10-year incumbent Jerry Wiezbiskie. She ran unopposed in 2018 and 2020. She served as chairwoman for the Finance Committee.

Jennifer Grant defeated Dorff 794 to 681.

Gerlach served one term after running a successful campaign against 18-year incumbent Andy Nicholson. She lost a second term to William "Bill" Morgan by 23 votes, according to unofficial results from Tuesday's spring election.

Nicholson lost his bid to return to Green Bay City Council to Jim Hutchison by 171 votes, but he defeated incumbent Amanda Chu by 74 votes to win a seat on the Brown County Board.

Melinda Eck, who helped promote "Stop the Steal" rallies and took part in a Jan. 6, 2021, protest outside City Hall following former President Donald Trump's loss to Joe Biden, will join the Green Bay council after beating Michael Poradek 673 to 564.

Five incumbents retained their seats.

Absentee voting was made more complicated this election cycle, with the state banning ballot drop boxes and absentee ballot assistance. Still, absentee ballots remained a popular option in Green Bay, with just over 6,000 requested and 4,668 returned.

Green Bay City Council election results

Here are the unofficial results of contested races Green Bay residents voted in on Tuesday. Winners are denoted by an asterisk and incumbents with (i).

DISTRICT 1

Barbara Dorff (i): 681

Jennifer Grant: 794*

DISTRICT 2

Jim Hutchison: 939*

Andy Nicholson: 768

DISTRICT 3

Lynn Gerlach (i): 508

William "Bill" Morgan: 531*

DISTRICT 4

Bill Galvin (i): 590*

Natalie Hoffman: 437

DISTRICT 5

Craig Stevens (i): 590*

Robert Maccaux Jr.: 298

DISTRICT 6

Steven Campbell: 310*

Aron Obrecht: 299

DISTRICT 7

Randy Scannell (i): 354*

Robert Miller: 252

DISTRICT 9

Brian Johnson (i): 576*

Tarl Knight: 300

DISTRICT 10

Mark Steuer (i): 617*

Eric Kuzma: 390

DISTRICT 11

Melinda Eck: 673*

Michael Poradek: 565

Natalie Eilbert is a government watchdog reporter for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. You can reach her at neilbert@gannett.com or view her Twitter profile at @natalie_eilbert.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay Common Council spring election 2022 results