Former board president drops out of race
By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer
Voters in the Burlington Area School District will have a chance to cast ballots in a primary election next month after seven residents, including two incumbents, filed for candidacy seeking two seats on the Board of Education.
Additionally, according to local officials, the Common Council as well as Racine County Board of Supervisors in the Burlington area will see a shakeup, with many incumbents filing non-candidacy paperwork.
The candidates, according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, could begin circulating paperwork on Dec. 1 with a Jan. 4 deadline for the April 5 Spring Election.
Crowded BASD race
The BASD Board of Education, composed of seven total members, will feature incumbent Vice President Barry Schmaling as well as board member Kevin Bird against five challengers.
The challengers, in no particular order, consist of Ryan Mueller, Tabitha Herbst, James Bousman, Mario Denoto along with Aaron Melby.
Bousman, a former School Board president, informed the Standard Press in an email this week that he is pulling out of the contest and will endorse Schmaling for one of the seats.
That leaves six total candidates to compete in a Feb. 15 primary election with voters narrowing the field to four for the April 5 Spring Election.
Officials call for a primary election when more than two candidates file to seek any single, or more than double the available at-large seats.
The two School Board seats carry three-year terms.
Council shakeup
Diahnn Halbach, city clerk for Burlington, previously reported three incumbents on the Common Council declared non-candidacy.
The three incumbents are Theresa Meyer, of District 1, Ryan Heft, of District 2, along with District 3 alderman Steven Rauch.
While three declared non-candidacy, District 4 incumbent Thomas Preusker and Mayor Jeannie Hefty will each seek and additional term, according to Halbach.
Hefty previously stated this will be her last term as mayor.
Meanwhile, a mix of new and familiar faces are poised to join the Common Council without opposition. Corina Kretschmer has filed to fill Meyer’s District 1 seat, Sara Spencer filed for candidacy in District 2 and Tom Vos seeking his former District 3 seat.
Vos, who served the city for 36 years, was Rauch’s predecessor on the Common Council.
Each seat carries a term of two years.
New County Board supervisors
Mike Dawson, of District 21, and Thomas Pringle from District 20 each declared non-candidacy and will not seek additional two-year terms on the Racine County Board of Supervisors.
In District 21, current Burlington Area School District Board Member Taylor Wishau filed for candidacy and will face Judi Adams in the April 5 election.
Adams narrowly lost to Dawson in 2020.
Edward J. Chart, meanwhile, was the lone resident to seek candidacy for Pringle’s seat and enters the election uncontested.
Town uncontested
In the Town of Burlington, according to Clerk Jeanne Rennie, there will not be a contested race as current Town Board Supervisors filed for candidacy without opposition.
Russell Egan, Town Supervisor No. 3, as well as Town Supervisor No. 4 Brian Fliss will likely retain another two-year term.
Rennie, meanwhile, said incumbent Jess Wiskes was the lone candidate as Browns Lake Sanitary District Commissioner.
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