Election results are in for the election Tuesday, April 7 for city, village, county, school board, and judge posts. With most races uncontested, turnout was lower.
“It wasn’t as much as last year,” Withee Clerk/Treasurer Ellen Niemi said of the 95 voters turning out Tuesday.
“It was less than usual I believe,” Owen Clerk/Treasurer Tracy Rau said of the 175 voters in Owen. Other clerks gave similar reports, with Thorp turnout estimated at 40 percent of registered city voters, or 385. Thorp saw one of the few contested races in the area with Richard “Bubba” Wnek winning reelection over Jonathan Dircks by a vote of 211-165.
As for statewide contested races, Chris Taylor defeated Maria Lazar for the state Supreme Court, with Taylor polling 537,240 votes statewide to 350,771 for Lazar. The race between Taylor and Lazar was closer locally, with Lazar receiving 6,869 votes from Chippewa County voters compared to 7,658 votes for Taylor, with 14 write-ins.
In Clark County, meanwhile, Lazar polled 3,465 votes to 2,688 for Taylor, while Eau Claire County returns saw 8,886 votes for Lazar to 18,891 for Taylor. Ballot returns from Taylor County saw 2,819 votes for Lazar to 1,710 for Taylor.
Also in judgeships, District 4 Appeals Court Judge Rachel Graham received 4,769 votes from Clark County, there being no challenger.
City and village results
As for the city of Owen, unofficial results show Jason Thornton with 77 votes in Ward 1, Robert “Bob” Wilczek with 33 votes in Ward 2, and write-in Ray Kilty with 23 votes in Ward 3.
In trustee races at Withee, unofficial ballot tallies show Randy Shelton received 86 votes, William Kroeplin received 82 votes, and Susan Kalepp received 80 votes. There were four write-in votes for trustee.
As for Thorp, incumbent Richard “Bubba” Wnek polled 211 votes to 165 for challenger Jonathan Dircks. The race saw Dircks take Ward 1 with 55 votes to 45 for Wnek, win Ward 2 with 45 votes to 44 for Wnek. Wnek won Wards 3 and 4, with Ward 3 results showing 69 votes for Wnek to 46 for Dircks and Ward 4 returns showing 53 votes for Wnek to 19 for Dircks.
As for council races at Thorp, Michael Einhorn received 82 votes to four write-ins, while Stanley Lawcewicz polled 81 votes to one write-in. Both races were uncontested.
Dircks shared a statement on the mayor’s race after results.
“It was a great experience and I’m thankful I made the decision to run,” he said. “Thorp is an amazing community with amazing people. We have so much potential.
“The desire for progress and change is great, my hope is that Bubba and the city council will take the time to consider things that were brought up during this campaign. As a community, we don’t need to waste money, we need to make smart decisions and smart investments in our people, and in local businesses.
“We must not forget anyone in the city. Including giving our senior citizens a sense of belonging, and we must also open up avenues for our youth to thrive!
“Lastly, it should be noted that our current Mayor, the council, citizens, and anyone I spoke to NEVER flung mud or spoke in a disrespectful way. So although national politics might be a bit nasty these days, Thorp should be proud of the way they handle themselves.
“I will be, and I encourage our citizens, to pray for our community and our leaders. May God bless Thorp.”
Wnek also shared a statement after returns were in.
“I would like to thank everyone who voted for me!” he said. “It was a challenging campaign! Please contact me with your questions or concerns, I am here to serve you! Thorp ‘A Place to Belong!’”
Returning to results, vote returns at Gilman for the three open trustee seats saw Dee Bornheimer with 98 votes, Cheryl Rosemeyer with 107 votes, and write-in Derrick Romig with 33 votes, there being zero write-ins.
Returns at Greenwood show David Hanson with 166 votes to five write-ins for mayor, Tracey Nelson polled 84 votes to zero write-ins in Ward 1, and Ryan Ashbeck polled 81 votes to one write-in for Ward 2.
At Curtiss, returns show trustee Carl Swarr with 17 votes.
School board results
Starting with returns from the Owen-Withee School Board race, they show Ellen Petersen with 501 votes and Dean Schmelzer with 495 votes across the district.
Results for Thorp school board show Jeannette Kodl with 582 votes and Amy Penterman with 578 votes across the district, there being zero write-ins.
Gilman school board meanwhile saw Valorie Kulesa, Lauren Zach, and Derrick Romig elected to school board, Kulesa polling 744 votes, Zach polling 725 votes, and Romig polling 662 votes across the district.
Also at Gilman, the district saw narrow passage of a school operational referendum, with 456 voting in favor and 450 against. The referendum allows the district to exceed the state revenue limit by $700,000 to meet educational and co-curricular program costs as well as those of services across the district.
Closing with Greenwood school board, returns show Eliza Ruzic in Area 2 with 520 votes, with Bradley Rowe polling 368 votes for an at large school board seat. Dean Volvosek polled 468 votes for an at large seat, all three getting on school board.
County Board results
As for County Board results in the area, they are as follows.
In Clark County, election returns for District 3 saw Frederick Schindler receive 121 votes with two write-ins, while District 4 results show Tom Wilcox with 62 votes and Carl Kallberg with 93 votes. District 5 saw Larry Klabon with 157 votes, with five write-ins. District 6 saw Joe Waichulis Jr. poll 94 votes with two write-ins.
District 7 returns saw Jill Hoff receive 225 votes with 3 write-ins, while in District 8 Arlene Kodl polled 191 votes, with one write in. Scott Jalling polled 185 votes with two write-ins for District 11, while Roy Tyznik received 97 votes in District 12. Returns for District 13 saw Al Bower receive 150 votes, with no write-ins, while District 15 saw Ryan Ashbeck poll 186 votes, with one write-in.
Finally in Taylor County board races, Lynnette Rosemeyer polled 300 votes in District 15 to zero write-ins while District 16 representative Darrell Thompson polled 269 votes, also with zero write-ins.
District 15 represents Aurora and Ford, while District 16 represents Taft, Roosevelt, and Maplehurst.