Former council member to replace Fenske
By Angie Landsverk
Lori Chesnut is again representing the city of Waupaca’s 4th Aldermanic District.
That is following the common council’s vote earlier this month to appoint her to fill the seat that had been vacant after Deb Fenske resigned on April 30.
“While I am sorry to hear of Alderperson Deb Fenske’s departure, I am excited for the opportunity to once again serve the city of Waupaca as an alderperson. I believe I have the knowledge of the city and the council’s duties having served on the council in past years,” Chesnut wrote in a May 11 letter to Mayor Brian Smith.
This is the second time Chesnut is being appointed to a District 4 seat on the common council.
She was also appointed to serve that district on Jan. 21, 1997, following the resignation of a council member.
Chesnut represented the district through March 1999, when she resigned from the council after moving outside of the city.
She moved back into District 4 in September 2012.
In April 2013, Chesnut sought to return to the council when she ran against Incumbent John Lockwood.
Lockwood won re-election that year, receiving 79 votes to Chesnut’s 62 votes.
Chesnut has lived in the Waupaca area since 1973 and for the past 15 years, has worked in the Waupaca County Department of Health and Human Services in its Children and Families Unit.
A graduate of Leadership Waupaca, she says she is vested in the community.
“This is where I have raised my children and now have grandchildren being raised in the city of Waupaca. My sons serve on the Waupaca Area Fire Department,” she wrote in her letter to the mayor.
Before applying for the open seat on the council, Chesnut said she “talked it over with a lot of people to make sure she could be committed.”
She is pleased to have the opportunity to serve the community.
“I’m just excited to be back,” Chesnut said.