Rhinelander mayor Hanus to seek re-election

Rhinelander mayor Kris Hanus is running for re-election. 

“Today, I turned in my papers for re-election for Mayor for the City of Rhinelander,” he wrote in a Dec. 9 post on his personal Facebook page. “Over the last 4 years, I have seen a ton of progress. From improving our communication, to our investment in infrastructure, the increase in economic development, the increase in housing, the private public partnerships to improve our parks, downtown, and green spaces.”

He said he’s watched the city staff “grow and achieve things I would never guess could be possible.” 

“I have learned a lot which I know is a never ending battle,” Hanus said in his post. “I have made a ton of mistakes a lot more than I wish to acknowledge. Unfortunately there is no cheat code or "how to be a mayor for dummies" out there. It takes a lot of time to get up to speed. One of the most common things I hear is Rhinelander has huge potential. We're always right at the cusp of achieving it, but we can never get over the finish line.”

Among the reasons he cited for that is what said is “constant turnover from city administrators to elected officials to professional staff” which he said “allows opportunities to pass us by.”

“I do not want to see us go backwards with the progress we have made over the last 4 years,” Hanus wrote. “I want to see us improve on our achievements and works towards a better community. We are not perfect by any means shit I am not perfect by any means but improvement is more beneficial than starting over yet again.”

As of Dec. 10, Hanus, also one of five Rhinelander representatives on the Oneida County board, is one of two mayoral candidates in Rhinelander; alderman Tom Barnett announced his candidacy for mayor on Dec. 4.