De Vries Retains Dodge County Judicial Position

4/5/17 – The Dodge Court Circuit Court Branch Two will not see a change in judge. Incumbent Martin De Vries was victorious over challenger and Beaver Dam Attorney Randy Doyle. De Vries was appointed to the position by the governor last year to fill the remainder of the term created following the early retirement of Judge John Stork. De Vries secured 64-percent of the 12,400 votes cast while Doyle picked up 36-percent.

Mayville School Referendum Approved By 13 Votes

4/5/17 – There was a tight window of separation between yes and no votes for the Mayville School referendum, with 1215 in support and 1202 against. The $24.5-million-dollar referendum will target classrooms and lab space upgrades, safety and security enhancements, and enlarged classrooms for band, choir and show choir at the high school.

Glewen Elected Beaver Dam Mayor

4/5/17 – There will be a new mayor in the City of Beaver Dam. Challenger Rebecca Glewen picked up 63-percent of 2951 votes cast in unseating incumbent Tom Kennedy in yesterday’s election. Glewen says she is thankful for the support and felt she had a good campaign movement going. Adding that, overall she felt things were going to turn out well but was excited to hear the outcome. Glewen attributes the victory to her great campaign group. Glewen says she has already started work on improving the quality of life for residents in Beaver Dam which was a big component of her campaign. She also highlighted a few other things she wants to accomplish as mayor, such as grants and the drug and alcohol piece.  Glewen has served as Alderwoman of Ward 8 for less than year and her term as mayor will be 3-years. In Ward 9 of Beaver Dam, incumbent Lisa Davidson easily withstood a challenge from Richard Barcus. In Waupun, the recently appointed mayor Julie Nickel will serve her first full term in office. And in Columbus, Alderman Michael Thom will replace Kelly Crombie as mayor. Crombie did not elect to run again and Thom was not challenged on the ballot.

Hustisford School Referendum Fails

4/5/17 – The Hustisford School referendum failed to get enough votes to pass yesterday. Last November, a similar referendum failed to garner enough support failing by 80 votes. The biggest difference between the two referendums was the price tag which increased by $235-thousand dollars to $5.8-million due to cost bumps throughout the construction market. If it had passed, the referendum would have addressed facility upgrades at John Hustis Elementary School including the creating of a safe, secure entryway.

School Board Race Results

4/5/17 – In the three-way race for Mayville school board, incumbent Terri Wilkens lost her seat to Dave Ognenoff and Joe Hohmann. Wilkens and Ognenoff were supporters of the referendum while Hohmann led a group that was opposed. In Columbus, where four candidates were vying for two open seats, the top vote getters were incumbent Cindy Damm and outgoing Columbus Mayor Kelly Crombie. In the Waupun School District, incumbents Jennie Patrykus and Dylan Weber withstood a challenge from Stephen Chene. In Hustisford, where three candidates were running for two seats, Steve Weinheimer and Lisa Bosse topped Michael Beisbier.

Two of Three Larges School Referendums Approved

4/5/17 – Voters have approved two of Wisconsin’s three largest school building projects Tuesday. And that’s sure to trigger outrage among conservative state lawmakers, two of whom vow to again seek limits on school referendums which they say hurts their efforts to cut taxes statewide. In Verona, the vote was 73-to-27-percent for one of the largest bonding referendums in state history — 162-million dollars for a new high school plus other renovations — and more than 60-percent okayed another 20-million for new Verona athletic facilities and operating funds. One of every ten Wisconsin public school districts had either building projects up Tuesday, or requests to exceed the state’s taxing limits — and Green Bay voters said yes to both, as 70-percent agreed to borrow 68-million for a rebuilt elementary school and other projects, and 63-percent said yes to raising school taxes by 16-point-five million dollars above state limits for each of the next ten years. The state’s third largest package was in the Burlington district, where voters overwhelmingly rejected 92-million dollars for a new middle school, and a new performing arts center.

Township Election Results

4/5/17 – There will be some turnover on the Town of Fox Lake Board with yesterday’s election. The community had been split over a series of votes last year that transferred the townships zoning authority to the county. Town Chair Carlton Schley lost his seat to Thomas Wissing, who had lost his seat to Schley in 2015. Former township supervisor and treasurer Ed Benter unseated Julie Flemming for the Supervisor One seat. Incumbent Wayne Kok withstood a challenge from Christopher Thurk for the Supervisor Two seat. Wissing, Benter and Kok were all proponents of county management of zoning. Also, Raymond Caballero bested Travis Paul for Clerk-Treasurer replacing Mason Zantow. In the Town of Beaver Dam, Neal Stippich lost his chairmanship to town supervisor John Kuzniewicz. Jacon Kern lost his Supervisor One seat to Jesse Hankes. In the Town of Clyman, barring a successful recount David Blank will be chairman after defeating Mark Othmer by one vote, 101-votes-to-100-votes. Bryant Halverson beat Brenda Wenzel by two votes for Town of Leroy treasurer. Greg Fredrick was elected Town of Lebanon supervisor over Carole Vawter. Dale Dyer defeated Perry Billings for Town of Theresa supervisor. Robert Long bested Ron Johnson for Town of Shields Supervisor.

Village Election Results

4/5/17 – In the village of Clyman, Michael Siegel beat Daniel Finger in the race for village president. In the three-way race for Clyman village trustee the top two vote-getters were J. Hartman-Tollefson and Amanda Swanson. In the village of Neosho, Steven Gonzales defeated Jeanne McDermott for village president. In the three-way race for Neosho village trustee the top two vote-getters were Michael Weynand and Chad Mintzlaff.

Voter Turnout

4/5/17 – Voting numbers in Dodge County surpassed expectations in yesterday’s election with a 26-percent turnout at the polls. Of the nearly 53-thousand registered voters, over 13-thousand cast ballots. Dodge County Clerk Karen Gibson noted no calls came in from upset voters and no reports of machine failures were made during the night. All the official numbers were in by 9:15pm, much early than in past elections.

State Superintendent Results

4/5/17 – Seven of every ten Wisconsin voters choose Tony Evers, who wins a third term as the state’s public school superintendent. He received about 490-thousand votes on Tuesday to 211-thousand for former Beloit and Whitnall Superintendent Lowell Holtz. Evers says people feel positive about their schools — and while his margin of victory surprised him, Evers says he won because he maintained a positive campaign. Holtz, an advocate of tax funded private school vouchers, says he was obligated to focus on the problems that involve failing schools. Holtz says he hopes his campaign would broaden the way people view education reform, including his effort to throw out the Common Core standards. Holtz, who also ran for state superintendent in 2009, was outfunded four to one in his campaign.