On Tuesday, April 4, elections were held across the state of Wisconsin. In addition to the hotly contested race for an open seat on the State Supreme Court, voters throughout the state, including in Appleton and Outagamie County, had the opportunity to make their voices heard in local elections.
Supreme Court:
Control of the Wisconsin State Supreme Court has flipped from conservative to liberal. Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz, who had the support of the Democratic Party, defeated conservative former State Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly by about 11 percentage points in the race to succeed conservative Justice Patience Roggensack, who is retiring. The results of the race are expected to influence the fate of abortion legality in the State of Wisconsin after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in June.
Protasiewicz declared victory Tuesday night, and was joined onstage by Justices Rebecca Dallet, Ann Walsh Bradley and Jill Karofsky, who will make up the new liberal majority on the court. Karofsky previously defeated Kelly, an incumbent at the time, in 2020.
“This is a victory for all of us,” said Protasiewicz. “You have entrusted me with great responsibility, and I will treat the role with the highest degree of integrity. I will bring the fairness and impartiality that you have all been waiting for, and I will be part of the solution, to make our Supreme Court…something you will always feel proud of.”
Kelly used his concession speech to attack Protasiewicz.
“I wish that in a circumstance like this, I would be able to concede to a worthy opponent,” Kelly said. “But I do not have a worthy opponent to which I can concede. This was the most deeply deceitful, dishonorable, despicable campaign I have ever seen for the courts. It was truly beneath contempt…My opponent is a serial liar. She’s disregarded judicial ethics, she’s demeaned the judiciary with her behavior, and this is the future we have to look forward to in Wisconsin…The people of Wisconsin have chosen the rule of Janet. I respect that decision because it is theirs to make.”
Assemblymember Lee Snodgrass (D-Wis.), who represents Appleton and serves as Second Vice-Chair of the State Democratic Party, is excited to see Protasiewicz take her seat on the court.
“Tonight, Wisconsinites have new hopes for the restoration of abortion rights, worker protections and fair legislative maps. The majority of the state has definitively spoken,” said Snodgrass.
LU Dems, Lawrence’s chapter of the College Democrats, was involved in the election through canvassing and phonebanking. Outreach Coordinator Sam Brewer, a sophomore, was, in his words, overjoyed at the results. He pointed out that Protasiewicz won by 11 points, which he feels is not just a victory, but a mandate.
“It’s clear that voters in Wisconsin are done with the [former Governor] Scott Walker (R-Wis.) era and are ready to bring Wisconsin into the 21st century again,” Brewer said.
District 15 Appleton Alderperson Chad Doran, who managed Kelly’s campaign, was unavailable for comment.
Outagamie County Executive:
Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson, a progressive who ran for U.S. Senate in the Democratic primary in 2022, defeated former Outagamie County Board member Kevin Sturn by 10 points. Sturn had criticized Nelson for, in his words, politicizing the office and for running for higher office multiple times during his tenure. Sturn conceded the election on Tuesday night.
“I want to thank everyone that helped me,” Sturn said. “We did the best we could, ran a clean race; I’m proud of what we did.”
Nelson declared victory Tuesday night.
“Humbled and honored by the continued support of Outagamie voters,” Nelson tweeted. “Excited for the work ahead and the promise of a bright and prosperous future. Together, we’ll continue to make our county a great place to live, work, and raise a family. Thank you.”
Nelson said that he would like to provide a steady hand to the county’s projects in his next term, including the upcoming expansion of Appleton’s airport.
AASD School Board:
The Appleton Area School District Board, which covers all of Appleton and parts of Grand Chute, will see two new members. School Board Treasurer James Bowman, who was eligible to run for reelection, opted not to. School Board Vice President Kristine Sauter placed first, with 26% of the vote. Nick Ross placed second with 22% of the vote and will make history as the only openly non-binary elected official in Appleton, and Jason Kolpack came in third place with 20.9%. School Board Clerk Deborah Truyman, one of two incumbents running for reelection, came in fourth place with 18.3%, losing her seat on the board, and Sam Blackwell came in fifth with 12.8%. Sauter, Ross and Kolpack were recommended by the Wisconsin Education Association Council, the state’s chapter of the National Education Association, the national union that represents public school teachers and other public school employees. Truyman and Blackwell were supported by the Outagamie County Republican Party.
Each candidate commented on the results of the election.
“Sincere gratitude to all who voted and supported [me] in numerous ways,” Sauter said on Facebook. “I am honored to continue serving on the board and will work diligently to support students, families, staff and the entire AASD community.”
Ross and Kolpack also took to Facebook to celebrate their victories.
“We did it!” said Ross. “I am so grateful for our wonderful community and the amazing turnout. I’m looking forward to getting to work for our district.”
“Well, the results are in, and I can’t wait to get to work for the students, families and educators in the district,” Kolpack said. “Thank you all so much for the support I’ve received the last two years. I’d also like to thank everyone who ran. I truly believe that we were all in this race to make Appleton the best school district that we possibly can. I hope that everyone stays engaged with the school district. I know that if we all work together, we can accomplish great things!”
“Although I am disappointed with the results, I hope the new school board will continue to put students first,” said Truyman.
“I’m happy for the candidates who won and pray for their successes and that of our students,” said Blackwell.
Ross, who works at Diverse and Resilient, a local LGBTQ+ advocacy and safety organization, said that they were inspired to run after seeing national conservative talking points trickle down into AASD politics, and ran to oppose that. They also plan to address students’ mental health needs, particularly in the LGBTQ+ community, and support teachers’ needs. Kolpack, a Navy veteran who works in Information Technology, who described himself as having a lifelong affinity for education, wants to prioritize properly compensating teachers where possible and increasing teacher retention. Both Ross and Kolpack oppose efforts to ban the teaching of racism in American history and talking about queer people in Appleton public schools.
“The same way we talk about heterosexual things, the same way we talk about cisgender things, [we should talk about queer people],” Kolpack said. “If a child of color is old enough to experience racism, other kids are old enough to learn about what that means and how it affects people. [Queer and nonwhite] people exist in the world, and ignoring that fact in education is…not doing a good job setting them up for the real world.”
Sauter said that in her next term, she would like to focus on meeting diverse academic, social, emotional and behavioral needs, improving student literacy, increasing school funding and mental health resources, and retaining and recruiting staff.
Common Council:
All of the odd-numbered seats on the Appleton Common Council were up for election. Alderpersons William Siebers (District 1), Brad Firkus (District 3), Katie Van Zeeland (District 5), Alex Schultz (District 9), Kris Alfheim (District 11), Sheri Hartzheim (District 13) and Doran all won after running unopposed, even though Siebers fended off a stronger-than-expected challenge from Wendy Bolm in 2021 and Hartzheim defeated former Common Council President Kyle Lobner by only two votes the same year. District 7 Alderperson Maiyoua Thao did not run for reelection, and her seat will be filled by Patrick Hayden, a self-described progressive who defeated Karl Koenig, a self-identified libertarian, by 18 points. Hayden unsuccessfully challenged Assemblymember Dave Murphy (R-Wis.) in the 2022 election.
“More than anything, I am looking to get to work,” Hayden said. “I appreciate that the people of District 7 have placed their faith in me, and I’m ready to help any way I can.”
Koenig conceded the election to Hayden.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity to run for the position of Alderman of District 7,” Koenig said. “Thank you to all who voted and supported me during this election cycle. Congratulations to Patrick Hayden. I am supportive of anyone who takes a step forward to serve our wonderful city. We need more people willing to give back to the City of Appleton and serve our residents.”
Alfheim, who represents the Lawrence campus, is hoping to improve public safety, respond to her constituents’ needs and press the state government to address Wisconsin’s revenue sharing deficit to fund Appleton’s public services in her second term in office.
Emily Tseffos, Chair of the Outagamie County Democratic Party, celebrated the results of the election.
“The election of Judge Protasiewicz will bring about a new era for Wisconsin where we can begin to undo the damage that began with Scott Walker,” said Tseffos. “We are heartened to see the results come in this evening. Locally, we are happy to see progressive leaders stepping up to lead in our school board and city council.”
The Outagamie County Republican Party was unavailable for comment.
First-year Megan Eisenstein, the Social Media Chair of LU Dems, also celebrated the results.
“Together, we worked diligently to connect with prospective voters and spread the word across campus with accurate information about voting,” Eisenstein said. “Never underestimate the power of sharing clear and accurate information on social media.”