This April, there will be six names on the ballot for the three open seats on the Village Board.
Candidates were nominated during a Jan. 10 caucus.
The three incumbents on the board – Per Dobbe, Kathy Gaynor and Randy Hofstetter – were all nominated for additional two-year terms.
Also nominated were Jim Falke, Dewey Tangwall and Steve Van Lyssel.
Dobbe grew up in Waupaca and is a graduate of Waupaca High School. Following graduation from high school, he attended the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, where he studied business.
Dobbe moved to Fremont seven years ago and is in his 21st year of working at Thyssen-Krupp Waupaca, where he is a quality engineer.
He is a recent graduate of Fox Valley Technical College, where he received an associate degree in business management. He is currently taking night classes at UW-Oshkosh, seeking a bachelor’s degree in business management.
Dobbe is co-founder and president of the Waupaca Area Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.
He is seeking his second term on the Village Board and said he is running for re-election “to continue trying to work to get the downtown going, improving and expanding. I like to be involved in the community.”
Gaynor is also seeking her second term on the board.
Originally from the northern suburbs of Chicago, she is retired after working in human resources for 28 years.
She has had a condo in Fremont for 18 years and became a full-time resident of the village 3 1/2 years ago.
Gaynor is a volunteer at Neuschafer Community Library, president of the library board and a member of the Friends of the Library.
She delivers Meals on Wheels and is active in the American Legion Auxiliary, the Fremont Area Historical Society and at Hope Church. She also volunteers at Fremont Elementary School.
Gaynor is seeking re-election because she is disappointed that after last April’s election, the slow, no-wake hours on the portion of the Wolf River that runs through the village were overturned.
“It takes 12 minutes in the slow, no-wake to get through the village. They were saying it (the previous hours) hurts business. I would claim it is the economy, not the slow, no-wake,” Gaynor said. “I think village trustees should not have their own interests at heart. They should look out for the best interest of everyone in the city.”
Hofstetter is seeking his second full term on the Village Board.
He was appointed to the board in July 2009 to fill a vacant seat and was then elected to his first full term in April 2010.
A native of Brookfield, Hofstetter is a graduate of Brookfield Central High School and served a total of nine years in the U.S. Army – three years as active and the remainder in the Reserves.
A resident of Fremont since late 2001, Hofstetter has worked for the YMCA since 1997 and is presently the property manager at the Neenah-Menasha branch of the YMCA of the Fox Cities.
He is seeking re-election to the village board, because he believes the village’s taxpayers deserve to have their concerns heard regarding such issues as noise and slow, no-wake hours on the Wolf River.
“I’m concerned about the village taxpayers and our community,” Hofstetter said. “I’m there for the taxpayers and the future of Fremont.”
Falke is seeking his first term on the board.
He grew up in Weyauwega and graduated from Weyauwega-Fremont High School in 1988. He then began working at Wausau Homes and also at Ted’s Grandview Supper Club in Fremont.
Falke continued to work at the supper club and is the kitchen manager. His wife Jenni also works there.
Outside of work, he promotes races throughout the state as the president of the Central Wisconsin Ice Racing Association. He has been involved in that for about 20 years.
When asked why he decided to run for village trustee, Falke said, “The reason I’m running is because I was nominated. I think a lot of people that run for townships or village board have an agenda because it is a small town. One thing I can say is that I do not have an agenda in any form.”
A village homeowner since 1990, he said, “I live and work in the community.”
Tangwall is also seeking his first term on the board.
Originally from Rice Lake in northwestern Wisconsin, he moved to Fremont in 1971 and taught middle school reading and language for 10 years in the W-F School District.
Tangwall went to Barron County Teachers College for his first two years of college and completed his bachelor’s degree in education at UW-Stevens Point.
“I was working on my master’s degree when I had an opportunity for a career change,” he said. “I had an insurance agency in Fremont until 2010. Then, I sold it and retired,” he said.
For 25 years, he was an EMT and a volunteer firefighter. He is also a past member of the village’s Board of Appeals and Library Board.
Tangwall said he is running for village board because, “When I was working, I didn’t have the time to devote and now that I’m retired, I do. I feel the people of Fremont deserve to have someone on the board who’s will listen to the majority of the people and how they feel.”
As a businessman in the village, he got to know many members of the community. “Some people are really upset that some are not representing the village and its people,” Tangwall said. “If I’m elected, I intend to listen to the people and vote that way.”
Van Lyssel has lived in the Fremont area his entire life and in the village for about a year.
A graduate of W-F High School, he graduated from UW-Madison with a bachelor’s degree in business and from the University of Phoenix with a master’s degree in accounting.
Last May, he purchased the Bridge Bar & Restaurant. Prior to becoming the owner, Van Lyssel worked for the previous owners of the business a total of eight years, including about three years as the manager.
His previous work experience also includes being a financial adviser.
Van Lyssel, who is seeking his first term on the village board, plans to join the Fremont Area Chamber of Commerce.
As both a business owner and a village resident, he can offer two perspectives and sees being part of the village board as a way to get the views and opinions of himself and others heard.
“I think it would be a good opportunity. I think there’s a lot of things that can make this town better and keep it a thriving village,” Van Lyssel said of his reason for running for village trustee.