Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Monday, March 24, 2008
Variety of local races on county ballots
Voters heading to the polls in La Crosse County on April 1 will have a variety of local races on the ballot.
In one of the highest profile races in the area, two-term Onalaska alderman Mike Giese and first-term alderman Bob Muth are seeking the mayor’s office, which is open because Mayor Jim Bialecki decided to step down from public service at the end of his second term.
Giese and Muth were the top votegetters in a three-candidate primary held in February that also included Calvin King.
Giese, a retired business owner and former member of the University of Wisconsin academic staff, said the slowdown in the economy can’t be ignored.
“Onalaska will face demanding new financial challenges over the next four years,” Giese said, “I am eager to be hired by the voters of Onalaska to work full-time to help our city meet these challenges.”
Muth, an investigator with the La Crosse County Sheriff’s Department and a former sergeant with the Onalaska Police Department, said the city is on the right track.
“The city of Onalaska is experiencing fast-paced growth, and I am happy to be involved with this expansion, but I strongly believe that we need to control this growth so that we don’t lose sight of our goals,” Muth said.
To learn more about the Onalaska mayoral race, along with the contest between incumbent council member Jim Olson and challenger Rick Durst, go to the Election section of The Onalaska Community Life at www.onalaskalife.com.
Both the Holmen School Board and the Holmen Village Board have four people running for three seats. On the school board ballot, incumbents Dardy Berge and Cheryl Hancock are joined by challengers Elizabeth Kamprud and Gary Dunlap, who formerly served on the board. Village board incumbents Neal Forde, Ryan Olson and Nancy Proctor are joined on the ballot by challenger Rodney Stanek. Coverage of these races can be found at The Holmen Courier’s Web site, www.holmencourier.com.
The Onalaska Town Board race between incumbent Frank Fogel and challenger Howard Kelly can be found on both the Onalaska and Holmen Web sites. Fogel did not return a response to the newspaper questionnaire, however.
School and village board races for West Salem and Bangor can be found at The Coulee News Web site, www.couleenews.com.
Of five running for West Salem School Board, only Ken Schlimgen is an incumbent. Others on the ballot include Henry Althoff IV, Linda Brown, Kimberly Henderson and Tom Ward. Althoff did not return a response.
The West Salem Village Board Board has three trustee positions up for re-election, all for two-year terms. Incumbents Diana Engel, J. Terry Hanson and Jim Leicht are running for re-election, although only Hanson and Leicht’s names will appear on the ballot. Engel is running as a write-in candidate, as is Dave Hundt.
Bangor Village Board incumbents Dan Hesse, Kristy O’Heron and Eric Vaughn are joined on the ballot by challenger Cory Godbold. O’Heron and Vaughn did not respond to the newspaper questionnaire.
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