A three-way race for mayor is shaping up in Gillett. As of Dec. 31, incumbent Irene Drake, Tim Christensen and William Pecha had declared their candidacy.
The deadline for filing was 5 p.m. Tuesday. A primary election on Feb. 16 will narrow the field to two candidates for the spring election, to be held April 5.
Drake, the city’s first woman mayor, is seeking her third two-year term. She was elected mayor in 2012 after accumulating 24 years of experience as an alderperson, serving from 1986-2010. In 2010, she lost her run for City Council but returned to city government as mayor in 2012.
“I enjoy it. It’s challenging,” she said, describing her motivation to run again. “There’s so many different things going on with finance, personnel, public works, so many different areas that we work in.”
She said community service is important to her, and serving as mayor is one way to give back to the community. She is also involved with the Gillett Business Association, Lions Club, Woman’s Club and is Gillett’s representative on the Oconto County Economic Development Corporation board.
As mayor, she said it’s her job to keep everyone motivated and moving in the right direction. Over her 30 years involved in city government, she’s gained valuable experience, she said.
“I spent a lot of years in the public sector, and I’ve had a lot of time to network,” she said.
Christensen said he is running for office because it’s time for a change.
“We definitely aren’t, in my opinion, going in the right direction, and we need a change,” he said.
Christensen worked for the city as director of public works for seven years, until he was dismissed by the city in late February as a cost-savings strategy.
“I don’t hold any hard feelings; none whatsoever,” he said.
Now he works at a what he called a “fantastic job” as a block maker and electrician at Gillett Cement Products. He also performs maintenance on the operating equipment at the plant. Before working for the city, Christensen was employed at Georgia-Pacific as a master technician.
He said his mechanical background would be an asset as mayor because the city needs to update its aging infrastructure. His knowledge of the city’s finances and public works department also are beneficial, he said.
During his tenure as public works director, the department reduced spending by over a half-million dollars through wise decision making, an emphasis on efficiency and grant awards, Christensen said.
Before being hired as public works director, Christensen served on the City Council for five years. Mayor Tom Lietz appointed him to fill a vacancy due to the death of an alderman, and he was chairperson of the health, protection and licensing committee. Christensen is a member of the fire department and a former Cub Scouts leader in the city.
Pecha is the city’s retired police chief and a City Council member. Pecha defeated incumbent Jeff Warrichaiet last April and is completing his first term as alderperson. He served as police chief for 28 years.
“Most people know me and know where I stand,” he said. “They’ll know I’ll treat them fairly and do what’s in the best interest of the city.”
He said he hopes to take the city on a new path.
“I decided to run to try to get our city to go in a positive direction,” Pecha said. “We’ve been hung up here with some negativity.”
Drake acknowledged the city has experienced challenges.
“It’s just been really hard trying to stay ahead of the next problem,” she said, mentioning how a skid-steer fire hampered snow removal last week. The skid steer runs the snow blower.
“It’s been a challenging couple of years, and I think we’ve done a good job in trying to save the city money,” she said. “I think we have a great group on the council and can accomplish some things.”
All city offices are two-year terms.
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