Incumbent county board members split in spring election
There was guaranteed to be significant turnover regardless of the results of last Tuesday’s election, but there wasn’t as much as there could have been.
Four county supervisors who have served the last two years opted not to seek reelection and four more were challenged on the spring ballot, meaning there could have been eight new members on the 17-person governing body. However, two of the incumbents won their contests, meaning the final tally will be six new members.
Incumbents Bridgette Turner, District 1, and Ron Johnson, District 17, won their contests on Tuesday. Turner won handily, receiving 58% of the vote as she beat challenger Sara Olson, 264 to 187, to represent the village of Trempealeau. Johnson’s win wasn’t that far off as he tallied 55% of the vote in defeating Carla Short, 204 to 165, and will again represent Osseo on the board.
Two other incumbents, Kevin Adams Dunn, District 7, and Dick Miller, District 8, lost their seats on the board. Scott Leonard tallied more than 84% of the vote as he defeated Adams Dunn, 199 to 36, for a spot representing portions of the city and town of Arcadia. The race between Miller and Paul Syverson was much closer, but Syverson managed 52% of the vote, winning 211 to 191. Syverson served as the county clerk for nearly four decades and will now represent the city of Blair and town of Preston on the county board.
There were also two races involving board newcomers. Kristen Husby defeated Anthony Monson, 304 to 234, for the board seat representing the towns of Albion, Sumner, and Unity as well as the village of Strum. Ryker Todd topped Cyda Solberg, 247 to 160, for the city of Galesville position on the board. Todd is the son of fellow supervisor Andy Todd.
Other new faces on the board will be Andy Parrish in District 2 and John Skoug in District 14. Both ran unopposed as Parrish replaces Stacey Klein and Skoug claims the seat vacated by Kellen Nelson.
The rest of the board will be made up of incumbents who were not challenged in the election, including Lori Syverson, District 5; Richard Anderson, District 6; Kevin Whalen, District 9; John Aasen, District 10; Dawn Truog, District 11; Robert Baecker, District 12; Renee Lyon, District 13; and David Larson, District 15.
Kimmel cruises over Mayzek in Arcadia mayor’s race
The third straight election featuring John Kimmel and Kevin Mayzek turned out to be the most lopsided.
Mayzek won the first matchup between the two, defeating Kimmel 202 to 107 in 2022. After one term, Kimmel won the rematch, 270 to 200, in 2024. Last week, Kimmel claimed more than 68% of the vote to win another term with a 370 to 167 victory.
While that was expected to be the only race on the city of Arcadia ballot, two registered write-in candidates received votes in Ward 1. Jon Nelson defeated Katie Klein, 39 to 12, to replace Paul Anderson on the city council. Anderson did not seek reelection.
The other new face on the Arcadia city council will be Randy Rugotzke, who won an uncontested race in Ward Three, replacing Don Kreibich, who opted not to run for office.
Incumbents win Arcadia, Independence school elections
Two incumbents were reelected to the Arcadia school board and one earned another term on the Independence board.
Incumbents Dana Conrad and Brein Steinlicht had considerably more votes than challenger Robert Ortez. With two open positions, Conrad had 911 votes and Steinlicht had 686, compared to Ortez’s 457.
Incumbent Robert Guza was the leading vote-getter among the candidates for the Independence school board with 286 votes. With two openings on the board, Ryan Gilbertson won the second position with 189 votes, barely edging Rosli Bautch, who had 183. Alan Nuttleman also ran for one of the two open spots and finished with 65 votes.
B-T, E-S referendums pass
Two area schools districts saw operating referendums pass by wide margins last week.
Blair-Taylor asked voters for permission to exceed revenue limits by $1.1M for the next three school years and nearly 58% of voters approved the referendum as it passed 524 to 302.
Eleva-Strum officials sought approval to exceed revenue limits by $600,000 per year for the next three years. There, 64% of voters approved of the measure as it passed 686 to 390.
