News – April 4, 2016

Several Contested Races In Dodge County

 

Dodge County Board

There are seven contested races on the 33-member Dodge County Board on Tuesday’s ballot. Ed Benter and Julie Fleming are competing for the District One, Fox Lake-area county board seat currently held by Darrell Pollesch who did not seek re-election. Jerry Nies is challenging incumbent Ed Nelson for his District Four, Beaver Dam-area seat.  In District Seven, Randy Grebel of Burnett is facing a challenge from Richard Bennett of Oak Grove. Holly Millard is facing incumbent Rich Greshay for the board’s District Eight city of Horicon seat. Stephanie Justmann of Mayville and Douglas Schulz of Iron Ridge are vying for the District Nine seat being vacated by longtime Supervisor Howard Kriewald. In Mayville’s District 14, Jeremy Bartsch mounted a challenge against incumbent Phil Gohr. Another Beaver Dam-area seat, District 33, has Becky Glewen going up against incumbent Rodger Mattson. Finally, nobody is on the ballot in the Waupun-area’s District 27.

 

Beaver Dam

The election season began with one contested race on the Beaver Dam Common Council but there are now three. Alderwoman Donna Maly is facing a challenge from Dan Doyle in the only contested city race with both candidates on the ballot. Sixteen-year council veteran Mick McConaghy originally decided to not run but registered as a write-in last week; Becky Glewen is the only candidate on the ballot in Beaver Dam’s Eighth Ward. Ward Six Alderwoman Teresa Hiles-Olson filed non-candidacy because she had intended on moving out of district but registered as a write-in after that plan changed; Ken Anderson is the only candidate on the ballot. Seats in the city of Beaver Dam’s evened-numbered wards are up for election tomorrow. Incumbents running without opposition include Mary Flaherty, Cristopher Olson, Don Neuert, and Mary Morgan. The three incumbents on the Beaver Dam School Board are also running without opposition.

 

Mayoral, Aldermanic

There are contested races for mayor and alderman in Mayville. Aldermen Joe Homan and Rob Boelk are competing for mayor. There are no candidates for the Ward Six seat Homan is vacating.  Former Alderman Kenneth Neumann and Eugene Frings are competing for the seat being vacated by Vince Longo. Neumann left the council late last year after moving out-of-district. Andrew Shoemaker was appointed to that open Ward Two seat and he will face a challenge from former Alderman Robert Smith. In Watertown, incumbent Mayor John David is facing a challenge from Jordan Turner. There is also a contested aldermanic race in Columbus where Andy Traxler and J. D. Milburn are vying for the District Three seat being vacated by Michael Clark.

 

Trustee

There are two contested trustee races in the Town of Fox Lake and one in the Town of Clyman. There are also village trustee races in Clyman, Hustisford, Lowell, Randolph and Reeseville.

 

School Board

Mayville School Board incumbents Norb Dornfeldt and Shannon Wild will see a challenge in April from Michael Amerling for the two seats up for election.  In the village of Fall River, there are three candidates competing for two open seats. In Watertown, there are four candidates vying for three open seats. In the Herman-Neosho-Rubicon District, six candidates are in the run for five open seats. Nobody has shown interest in the Waupun School Board spot that opened up when Roger Schregardus filed non-candidacy.

 

Vacancies

There is no one on the ballot for the Waupun-area seat on the Dodge County Board along with village trustee seats in Hustisford, Randolph and Reeseville, an aldermanic vacancy in Mayville and a school board seat in Waupun. State law does not require write-in candidates to register for uncontested races.

 

Election coverage will be held on 95.3 WXRO beginning after the polls close at 8pm Tuesday evening and immediately after the Brewers on AM1430 WBEV.

 

To listen to our interviews with candidates in contested races for the Dodge County Board, Mayville mayor and city of Beaver Dam alderman, click the link below:

 

http://www.wxroradio.com/common/more.php?m=49&post_id=53631

 

Dodge County Clerk Explains Online Voting Results

 

4/4/16 – With Election Day tomorrow, Dodge County Clerk Karen Gibson recently discussed how her office gets voting results from municipal polling places.  Gibson says most locations use the ‘optical scan voting system’ while a few also allow touch screen voting.  When touch screen results are modemed to the county office in Juneau, Gibson says that automatically claims the precinct is reporting even though optical scan votes have not been submitted.  As a result, Gibson says her office does not release the number of precincts reporting until all totals have been received.  When voters check the Dodge County website on election night, Gibson says they will see the words ‘unofficial, incomplete results’ until the end of the night when that changes to ‘unofficial, final results.’

 

Beaver Dam Aldermanic Candidates On Community Comment

 

4/4/16 – We spoke with the two candidates running for alderman in Ward Six. Hiles-Olson filed non-candidacy because she had intended on moving out of district but registered as a write-in after that plan changed. We asked Hiles-Olson how she voted on the Watermark, a $2.1-million dollar recently-completed community and senior center that divided some on the council because of its use of taxpayer dollars alongside grants and donations. She says she has always been very much in favor of the Watermark and while she voted against certain aspects of the project based on constituent input but when it came to a final vote she voted yes because she felt it was a satisfactory plan. Anderson says if he was on the council he would have supported the project because it is for the whole community and is worth the taxpayer money for the city to offer the facility offering what it does.

 

CBS Poll Has Cruz, Sanders Leading In Wisconsin

 

4/4/16 – Just like most other recent polls, a C-B-S News survey has Republican Ted Cruz and Democrat Bernie Sanders leading in Wisconsin. But national G-O-P front-runner Donald Trump has the edge in two other big primaries this month in Pennsylvania and his home state of New York — and Democrat Hillary Clinton has a ten-point lead over Sanders in New York. For tomorrow’s (Tuesday’s) Wisconsin vote, C-B-S has Cruz leading Trump 43-37 — and Sanders has a 49-47 edge over Clinton. C-B-S says Wisconsin Republicans call themselves “very conservative,” and eight of ten voters who say they’re looking for the most “consistent conservative” favor Cruz. The poll also shows that Wisconsin Democrats want a president with more progressive policies than Barack Obama, they’re more inclined than most to believe that trade policies take away American jobs.

 

Dodge County, Wisconsin Observing Sever Weather Week

 

4/4/16 – Next week is Tornado and Severe Weather Awareness Week in Wisconsin.  The annual spring event gives people a chance to work on their emergency planning.  Dodge County Emergency Management Director Amy Nehls says those plans can be put into action next week as a mock tornado watch will be issued at 1pm Thursday, April 14.  That will be bumped up to a warning at 1:45pm.  Nehls encourages folks to seek shelter as they would if an actual storm was on the horizon.  In addition to the annual afternoon drill, Nehls says the sirens will sound for a second time that evening at 6:55 pm.  She says the purpose of having two tests in one day is to allow people to practice their emergency response in multiple settings.  Many broadcast stations, including AM 1430 WBEV and 95.3 WXRO, will issue the mock warnings.  Alerts will also be sent out on NOAA weather radios, and many communities will sound their tornado sirens.  Nehls says the tornado drills will take place if the sky is cloudy, dark, or rainy, but they will be postponed to the same times on Friday, April 15 if actual severe storms are expected.  If storms are also possible Friday, the drills will be cancelled.  Wisconsin averages 23 tornadoes per year.  There were 17 in 2015, none in Dodge County.

 

Columbia County Motor Vehicle Accidents

 

4/4/16 – One person was killed in a head-on accident Friday morning in Columbia County.  A semi and car collided on Highway 60 near Gannon Road in the Town of West Point around 9:30 am.  The car’s driver was pronounced dead at the UW Hospital in Madison while the semi driver was not injured.  A second Columbia County crash happened 45 minutes earlier on Highway 33 in the Town of Scott.  A semi struck an Amish buggy it was trying to pass.  Nobody was injured, and the semi driver was issued a traffic citation.

 

Madison Man Guilty In Markesan Students Overdose Death

 

4/4/16 – A 23-year-old Madison man was found guilty Friday of supplying the heroin that killed a Markesan student.  Charlie Phillips-Moore pled no contest to a reduced Second Degree Reckless Homicide charge in the death of 21-year-old U-W Stevens Point student Jordan Peterson in November 2013.  Phillips-Moore will be sentenced June 24.