No one filed nomination papers to run for the 1st Aldermanic District seat on the Waupaca Common Council this spring.
“There will be no name on the ballot for District 1,” said Deputy City Clerk Sandy Stiebs.
The deadline to file nomination papers for the April 1 election was 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7.
Ald. Dave Shambeau is not seeking re-election in that district. He announced his decision in late November.
Stiebs said any citizen living in the 1st District may file at City Hall to run as a write-in candidate.
That person’s name would still not be on the ballot.
People may also run as write-in candidates without officially filing at City Hall, she said.
The person who receives the most write-in votes in the April 1 election will be contacted by Stiebs.
If that person turns down the Distict 1 seat on the council, it is not offered to the person who received the second most write-in votes, Stiebs explained.
Instead, the city would advertise the council seat is open, just as it does any time there is a vacancy.
She said those interested in the position would then apply for the seat and speak about their interest at a meeting of the Common Council.
The council would then vote.
There are 10 representatives on the council. Each year, half of the seats are up for election.
In the city’s other four aldermanic districts, all the incumbents filed nomination papers and are running unopposed. The mayor is also up for re-election this spring. He filed nomination papers and is unopposed.
The annual salary for the alderpersons is $3,766. It is $9,177 for the mayor.
Mayoral race
Mayor Brian Smith is seeking his seventh term.
He was first elected mayor in April 2002 and has been re-elected every two years since then. Before being elected mayor, Smith served on the council, beginning in December 1996 up until first being elected mayor.
A native of Waupaca, Smith received a bachelor’s degree in accounting and business education from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He taught in Racine from 1979 until 1983, when he moved back to Waupaca with his wife, Terri.
Smith taught at Waupaca High School from 1983 through 1989. He started his accounting business as a part-time venture in 1985, before going into it full time and moving the business to its present location in June 1989.
“The reason I’m running is that I still have that fire to be the mayor of Waupaca,” he said. “I think there are still things which need to be accomplished.”
Among them are making improvements to the city’s public works facilities, whether it is remodeling or building new, he said.
Another project that will be discussed is the reconstruction of Main Street.
“Obviously, Main Street is vital to the whole city,” Smith said. “I like being part of that.”
The mayor also said with all the city’s department head positions filled, the city may move forward.
“Debt is falling off,” he said. “I want to make sure we are very conscious of that and make sure that we are taking advantage of having funds available to start doing projects and maintaining equipment and buildings we haven’t been able to do in the last five years.”
Smith believes he gets along with the city’s staff and members of the council.
“Most importantly, I like doing the job,” he said.
2nd Aldermanic District
In the 2nd Aldermanic District, Eric Olson is seeking re-election.
He was appointed to the council on Nov. 20, 2007, following the resignation of Rich Lowe, and has served since then.
A native of Stevens Point, Olson graduated from UW-Stevens Point with a bachelor of arts degree in communications.
In 1993, he and his wife, Tina, moved to Waupaca with their daughter, Katarina, when he got a job at Waupaca Foundry. Several years later, the couple’s family grew when they had their son, Benjamin, and then daughter, Elizabeth.
Olson has worked at the foundry since August 1993. He spent 14 years in production at Plant 1 and transferred to Plant 2/3 in March 2007 when he became project manager-new production introduction, the position he continues to hold there.
When asked why he is seeking another term on the council, he said. “I’ve been on the council since 2007 and truthfully, I really had no idea what to expect at that time. Now that I’ve got a few years behind me, I can truly say I feel I have a much better grasp on how city government operates, and I’m happy to be a small part of it.”
Olson said, “I was on the council in ‘08 and ‘09 when the city was going through the country wide recession and had some very difficult decisions to make at budget time, and thankfully, we got through them with little or no change to the hard working taxpayers of the city of Waupaca. During my time in Waupaca, I’ve seen some great things accomplished in the city, and I’m excited to be a part of the future. I was recently selected to be a part of the Main Street re-beautification project, and I’m honored to be involved with something that will hopefully have an impact on the city that will last for decades.”
3rd Aldermanic District
Paul Mayou is seeking another term in the city’s 3rd Aldermanic District.
He was first elected to the council in April 2002 and has been re-elected every two years since that time. He is the current council president.
Mayou grew up in Minnesota and received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from UW-River Falls.
In 1992, he and his wife, Paulette, bought the Dairy Queen in Waupaca. The couple moved to Waupaca in 2001. Mayou is also a partner in T-Dub’s Public House, in downtown Waupaca.
Mayou enjoys working with the other members of the Common Council and with city staff.
“It’s a very good group. The mayor does a great job. The staff is wonderful. Our staff is top notch,” he said.
Mayou’s motivation to seek another term is related to several upcoming projects – a decision about the city’s public works facility and discussion about the reconstruction of Main Street.
“I’d like to make sure a good decision is made on the public works facility – not that it will be built in the next two years. But, there will be lots of decision making in the next two years,” he said.
That will also be true in regard to the Main Street discussion, and Mayou wants to be part of that project discussion.
In addition, the city will have to make a decision about Waupaca Online sometime this year since its provider will come up, he said.
“I’m thinking we will be negotiating with Charter or some other provider in the next six to eight months,” Mayou said.
Also motivating him to seek re-election is to find a way to make the city’s capital budget part of its regular budget.
“I want to work with the mayor and the rest of the council to try to devise some kind of plan where eventually, capital projects are financed in a way other than borrowing money,” Mayou said.
4th Aldermanic District
In the 4th Aldermanic District, Deb Fenske is seeking re-election.
She served a term on the council in the late 1980s and in April 2006, was again elected to a seat on the council. She has been re-elected every two years since then.
Fenske moved to Waupaca with her family in 1967 and studied elementary education at UW-Stevens Point.
She worked for Gusmer Enterprises for 24 years in sales and marketing. She and her husband, Steve, have lived in the 4th District for almost 14 years. Prior to that, they lived in the 3rd District.
Currently recovering from a broken heel, Fenske says she has time to serve the community.
She also explained her decision to seek another term.
Her father, the late Jim Boyer, always told Fenske and her siblings the city had been good to them and they should do something to give back, she said.
“He instilled in us,” she said.
In addition, Fenske said after several years of the council working to keep the city budget balanced during difficult economic times, it will now be time for the council to give back – to the community and city staff.
“I’m anxious to see what we’re going to do,” Fenske said. “I’m excited about this time. I want to thank the people for sticking with us through the tough times.”
With future decisions about Main Street and a facility for public works, she said, “I’m excited to see what the community will look like.”
5th Aldermanic District
Alan Kjelland is seeking his first full term on the Common Council. He is running for the 5th Aldermanic District.
He was appointed to that seat on Jan. 15, 2013 to replace Jim Boyer, who passed away in December 2012.
Retired since 2005, Kjelland worked at Alliant Energy in Madison for 28 years in a variety of positions, including consumer services, sales, business development and environmental.
He has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master’s degree in business administration from UW-Whitewater.
Kjelland served in the U.S. Army for four years. He and his wife, Sharon, moved to Waupaca 3 1/2 years, ago after living in Sun Prairie for 34 years.
Prior to being appointed to the council last year, Kjelland had not held a public office.
“I enjoy being on the city council,” he said. “I see it as paying back the community. I love and enjoy Waupaca. We don’t regret for a moment moving.”
Kjelland enjoys working with his colleagues on the council and says spending money prudently in view of cutbacks from the state and yet continuing to make Waupaca the vibrant community it is, is a goal.
He is anxious to see how the improvements at South Park turn out and believes being part of the downtown revitalization as a member of the Main Street Concept Planning Committee will be an interesting.
In regard to the city’s public works facilities, Kjelland said the city has to do something.
“They are clearly operating in antiquated facilities,” he said. “It’s disruptive to have them spread out.”