Sowinski crushes Fugle in Oneida County judge’s race

Oneida County assistant district attorney Mary Sowinski swept to victory Tuesday in the county’s circuit court judge’s race, defeating Oneida County corporation counsel Michael Fugle and winning nearly 67 percent of the vote.

Sowinski tallied 6,833 votes to Fugle’s 3,386 votes. She will replace retiring judge Michael Bloom, who did not seek re-election.

The assistant district attorney’s win was as broad as it was deep as she swept every geographic region of the county, winning 41 of 44 wards with votes in Tuesday’s election. Even in the three wards where he did win, Fugle’s margin was a mere 32 votes.

Meanwhile, everywhere else in the county, Sowinski steamrolled her opponent. 

As expected, in the Three Lakes-Sugar Camp area, where the Sowinski family has deep roots and where Sowinski was born and raised, she trounced Fugle by a margin of 83 percent to 17 percent, winning 1,113 votes to Fugle’s 228.

In the Lakeland area, Sowinski soared as expected, too, her victory margin likely fueled by Fugle’s unpopularity over various zoning issues.

In Minocqua, Sowinski matched her county-wide margin, winning 67 percent of the vote, 1,035 to 511. In Hazelhurst, it was 249-122 for Sowinski, another 2-1 win, and Fugle fared no better in Woodruff, where he disappeared beneath an avalanche of support for Sowinski, who won the town 371-150.

Even in Rhinelander, Sowinski carried all 15 precincts on her way to a historic victory in a contested race.

In Oneida County board races, two county supervisors were unseated. In district 15, comprising Lake Tomahawk and Newbold, supervisor Mike Roach fell to Lenore Lopez by four votes, 253-249, while former and now retired Oneida County chief deputy Dan Hess defeated incumbent Jim Winkler in district 10, 380-216.

In another contested race, incumbent supervisor Debbie Condado prevailed over Kathleen Cooper 270-203. In Minocqua, Michael Tautges ran unopposed to take the seat now held by Tommy Ryden, who did not seek re-election.