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Challengers lead New London School Board primary

Two new candidates seeking seats on the New London School Board led the primary election held Tuesday, Feb. 19.

Tina Ruckdashel, the sister of school board Clerk Connie Neely, won the six-way primary with 478 votes, according to the School District of New London’s unofficial vote totals. Ruckdashel is the social emotional development specialist for the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Head Start program and a former substitute teacher for the school district.

Pete Bosquez, a substitute educational assistant for the school district and a Waupaca County Board supervisor, finished second. He garnered 438 votes.

The two incumbents vying to keep their school board seats came in third and fourth, making the cutoff to appear on the final ballot this spring.

Chris Martinson, owner of the business Martinson Lumber, took third with 400 votes.

Virginia Schlais, the current school board vice president, collected 275 votes to finish in fourth.

Two challengers did not advance to the general election.

Mary Swifka, who previously served on the school board and the Catalyst Academy governing board, received 231 votes.

Jeremy Pues, father of five New London students, collected 129 votes.

Voters in Tuesday’s primary selected up to two candidates. The vote totals will be canvassed on Thursday, Feb. 21.

The top four vote-getters – Ruckdashel, Bosquez, Martinson and Schlais – will move on to the general election on April 2.

The two candidates who earn the highest number of votes in the general election will serve on the school board.

To learn more about the candidates’ views, read the recent Q&A they participated in prior to the primary.

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