Early indications show one County Board supervisor will face opposition in the April 5 election and another will leave office.
Terry Brazeau, who represents the town of Brazeau and part of Spruce, will face challenger Ryan Wendt for the District 27 seat. The district covers the town of Brazeau, where Wendt is town chairman, and part of Spruce, where Brazeau is chairman. Wendt also serves as president of the Coleman School Board.
Brazeau is completing his fourth two-year term as a supervisor. In 2014, he successfully defended his seat against David Rakowski.
Leaving the County Board is Guy Gooding, who has represented part of Little Suamico in District 3 for five two-year terms. He is chairman of the Extension education committee and health and human services committee and also serves on the personnel and wages committee.
“I just thought it was time to term limit myself off the board,” Gooding said.
Gooding retired about five years ago and plans to spend more time traveling. He said the best parts of his tenure are the people he has met over the years, the great county employees he’s worked with and the friends he’s made.
“I’ve had 10 wonderful years,” he said.
As for regrets, he noted a lack of public input regarding the construction of the law enforcement center.
“A disappointment is that the jail did not go to a public referendum,” he said.
He said the facility is needed, but the County Board’s process leading to its construction lacked public support.
Taxing residents for the project also drew criticism from Gooding, who said the county needs to find ways to reduce its budget and take the LEC construction costs off the tax roll. The county borrowed $10 million in June, with property tax bills reflecting the impact of 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. A $15 million note is scheduled to be approved in January.
Gooding said he supports his neighbor, Don Girardi, of Sobieski, who is running for the District 3 seat.
Girardi retired from the paper industry a couple of years ago. He moved to Sobieski 20 years ago from Richmond, Virginia, when he accepted a position as controller for James River Corporation in Green Bay. At the time of his retirement, he was controller of Georgia-Pacific’s Green Bay facilities.
He has served on the Little Suamico Planning Commission for about five years.
“I think it’s good to be involved in the community in which you live,” he said. “That’s the reason I’m running.”
The two-year terms for all 31 Oconto County supervisors expire on April 18. Of the 31 supervisors now serving, 12 had not returned their campaign forms as of Dec. 22, but Gooding was the only incumbent to file a noncandidacy form.
The filing deadline for county candidates and for select school board and municipal offices is 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 5.
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