Shawano County Supervisor Tom Kautza was reelected April 16 to another two-year term as chairman of the Shawano County Board.
Kautza has been on the board for 12 years and has served as chairman the last four years.
He defeated Supervisor Theresa Serrano 17-9. Supervisors Randy Young and Kathy Luebke were nominated but declined to be on the ballot.
All elections at the board’s organizational meeting needed a majority of 14 votes for the winner. Supervisor Annelies Hartwig was absent from the meeting, which contributed to several tie votes that required supervisors to vote more than once to determine the winner.
In the contest for vice chairman, candidates were Kevin Conradt, Joe Miller, Serrano and Young. Rick Giese was nominated but declined.
Serrano was eliminated in the first round of voting, and Conradt was out after the second round. Miller and Young each received 13 votes in the third round. In the fourth round, Young won with 14 votes, compared to 11 for Miller and one supervisor not voting.
The Highway/Parks Committee requires one member each elected from the eastern, central and western parts of the county, as well as two others appointed later the board chairman.
For the eastern seat, Conradt defeated Supervisors Jim Przybylski, Ken Capelle and Jeremy Gretzinger.
The elected central seat was won by newcomer Supervisor Randy Mallmann on a coin flip after five ballots in which no majority was reached.
Supervisor Mike Wizner was eliminated in the first round, leaving Mallmann and Supervisor Allan Kuhn.
The next two votes ended in 13-13 ties. Then, Mallmann collected 13 votes compared to Kuhn’s 12 with one not voting. The same thing happened on the fifth ballot, requiring a coin flip, which was done by County Clerk Kara Skarlupka.
Finally, the western seat was won by Giese. Supervisor Dennis Knaak was eliminated on the first ballot, leaving Giese and Miller to face off. Before the vote could be taken, Miller withdrew, and the second ballot was in Giese’s favor, 24-2.
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
Kautza reelected Shawano County Board chairman
