City Council to fill open aldermanic seat in March

The Rhinelander Common Council will choose a new representative for Aldermanic District 4 on March 11. The seat is vacant following the resignation of longtime alderman Tom Kelly on Jan. 24.

The council met in special session Monday evening to discuss the process for filling the vacancy.

The meeting began with city attorney Steve Sorenson explaining the council’s options which included holding a special election or appointing an individual to serve the remaining two years of Kelly’s unexpired term.

This map, which is available on the City of Rhinelander website, shows the boundaries of Aldermanic District 4.
(Photo courtesy of the City of Rhinelander)The earliest a special election could be held would be late May, according to the timelines set forth in state law. 

“We couldn’t meet the timelines for the spring election (on April 2), mainly because you don’t have enough days before the primary and the primary gets to be the date which everything builds off of,” Sorenson explained.

The spring primary is set for Feb. 20 and all nominations have to be in 32 days before that date, the attorney explained.

A special election could be held as soon as late May but there would be costs associated with that idea. City clerk Austyn Zarda offered a rough estimate of $2,000-$4,000 if that option were selected.

Sorenson went on to note that it’s “not good policy” to have a non-partisan election, as city aldermanic elections are, at the same time as a partisan election like the general election on Nov. 5. 

The council could also choose to hold a special election after the November general election or leave the seat open until April 2026 when Kelly’s term is scheduled to end, he noted.

The alderpersons appeared to be in agreement that two years is too long to leave the residents of District 4 without representation, but there was some initial disagreement as to which of the other options to choose.

City Council president Eileen Daniel and alderman David Holt suggested putting the matter before Dist. 4 voters as quickly as possible in the form of a special election in May. However, after hearing more detailed information on the costs associated with a special election, the tide seemed to turn in favor of appointment.

After noting that he is serving on the council due to a 12-vote mandate, alderman Steven Jopek suggested further exploration of the appointment concept.

“I think being transparent and as long as we craft out the scaffolds for how we select somebody, I think timewise, if we’re really worried about representation the quickest way to get that would likely be through majority vote of the council,” he said. 

District 3 alderperson Carrie Mikalauski also spoke in favor of the special appointment option. She noted that she applied for an aldermanic position when a vacancy occurred halfway through the incumbent’s term but was not selected. 

She later ran against the individual who was selected for appointment and prevailed.

“I’m all in favor of the appointing just because I feel it needs to be filled sooner than later and I don’t want to wait all the way to November and I don’t want to have to spend the money for a special election,” she explained.

 Holt also weighed in on the handling of the previous vacancy. He said he remembers that process as being  “very mayor-driven.”

“He asked for feedback and then didn’t really accept that feedback,” he said, referring to the former mayor Chris Frederickson.

While Holt was initially in favor of getting a slate of candidates before the voters of District 4 as soon as possible, he was swayed by the remarks of his colleagues as well as Zarda’s comments about the challenge of ensuring the public understands which district will be choosing Kelly’s successor.

Ultimately, he said he agreed with those in favor of the special appointment option but stressed that he would like the process to be more “deliberative amongst the council” than it was the last time.

“The former mayor asked for suggestions and then made a decision that didn’t seem to reflect a majority view and then voters made a decision that reinforced that view,” he noted.

At that point, Mayor Kris Hanus clarified that he does not have a vote on this issue.

“Steve, our attorney, correct me if I’m wrong, but I really have no part in this, this is up to council...” he said, adding that three individuals had inquired about the open seat since Kelly’s resignation was announced.

This was noteworthy, he said, as other seats up for election this spring received little to no interest.

Ultimately, the council voted to make the special appointment during its first meeting in March, giving interested parties the month of February to apply. 

City administrator Patrick Reagan was tasked with drafting a questionnaire to be distributed to the applicants ahead of the March 11 vote. Reagan was directed to have a draft of the questionnaire ready for review during the council’s Feb. 12 meeting. 

In other business Monday, Hanus appointed alderman Gerald Anderson to take Kelly’s place on the Rhinelander District Library Board. That decision came after both Holt and Anderson expressed interest in the position, however Holt was quick to defer after Anderson spoke up.

“You can have it,” he told Anderson.

Kelly also served on the Rhinelander Board of Review. The council chose to leave that vacancy open for the time being as the group is not scheduled to meet until after the April election when several new alderpersons will be selected by voters.

After the meeting, Hanus noted Kelly was the elder statesman of the current council.

“He has seen a lot,” the mayor said, noting that Kelly has been a councilman since 2008. “He is the longest serving member on this board currently by a cycle or two. There’s a lot of history there from back when Dick Johns was mayor, Chris Frederickson, myself and more aldermen than I can name. He’s been here quite awhile so it’s going to be different not having him here.”

Heather Schaefer may be reached at [email protected].