Two of three incumbents were re-elected to the Gillett City Council on April 7.
Deborah Erickson was re-elected in Ward 1 and Marilyn Mueller in Ward 3. In Ward 2, William Pecha defeated incumbent Jeff Warrichaiet, who will leave office after eight years.
Pecha, a retired Gillett police chief, said everyone knows where he stands because he has been a part of the community for more than 30 years.
Mayor Irene Drake said Pecha’s familiarity with city government will be helpful in his new role as alderperson.
“Bill and I have worked together before, and I think he knows how the council works, which is an advantage,” she said.
Drake said Warrichaiet provided a valuable connection to the ambulance service — Warrichaiet has been a member of Gillett Area Ambulance for 25 years — and did “a fantastic job” as chairperson of the health, protection and licensing committee.
“He’s very dedicated to the city, and we’ll miss that,” Drake said.
Warrichaiet said the city has moved forward during his tenure, and residents are more aware of the challenges, including the financial constraints, facing Gillett.
“People are starting to understand more of what happens at the city level,” he said.
He said he is proud of the work he’s done with the city’s police department, which he helped to oversee as chairperson of HP&L
“I think the PD has really stepped up and is doing a lot for the city,” he said.
As for his successor, Warrichaiet offered this advice: “The best thing to do is listen to the people.”
Drake said she plans to change the committee assignments for council members and will present her recommendation at Tuesday’s reorganizational meeting.
She said Erickson and Mueller bring valuable experience to their committees and the council.
“I’m glad they’re both back,” she said.
City residents used paper ballots exclusively April 7 because the only voting machine programmed for the election did not work. Drake said the problem was traced to human error and has been corrected.
“I’m glad elections are over, and we can get back to working,” she said.
She said garbage collection will be among the issues to discuss for 2016.
Here are the election results from contested races in the cities, villages and towns of Oconto County. The candidates’ names in bold are the winners of the elections.
CITY OF GILLETT
Alderperson
Ward 1
Deborah Erickson (I) 46
Donald B. Ellsworth 30
Ward 2
William Pecha 63
Jeff Warrichaiet (I) 24
Ward 3
Marilyn Mueller (I) 74
Mark Bloemers 32
CITY OF OCONTO
Alderperson
Bob Le Breck (I) 447
Jean Pleshek Feldt (I) 354
Connie Bickel (I) 307
Sheri Groll (I) 271
VILLAGE OF SURING
President
Jay Tousey (I) 108
Jeff Whiting 52
Trustee
James Kohlwey (I) 110
Harvey Miller (I) 129
Angie Whiting 65
George Otradovec 23 (registered write-in candidate)
TOWN OF ABRAMS
Supervisor
Debbie Annie Winans (I) 207
Don Demeny (I) 196
Ben Huempfner 147
Treasurer
Tara Bristol 169
Kris Thompson 142
TOWN OF BAGLEY
Supervisor
Herb Fischer (I) 72
Darryl Houska (I) 55
Tom Bauer 46
TOWN OF BREED
Supervisor
Timothy Mitchell (I) 147
Larry Zimmerman (I) 104
Brian Moran 75
TOWN OF GILLETT
Supervisor
Marilyn Reichwald (I) 157
John Timm (I) 154
Chris Engebretsen 129
TOWN OF HOW
Supervisor
John Moede (I) 127
Curtis Strehlow (I) 124
George Schenk 89
TOWN OF LENA
Clerk
Dawn VanArk 105
Diane Lavarda (I) 86
TOWN OF LITTLE SUAMICO
Chairman
Elmer Ragen (I) 577
Frank Nowak 315
Supervisor
Douglas Allen (I) 574
David Pribyl (I) 507
Stanley Rybak 318
TOWN OF MORGAN
Chairman
Fran Wranosky (I) 132
David A. Behrend 89
TOWN OF OCONTO FALLS
Clerk
Jan Betts 153
Molly Alsteen 86
Treasurer
Sue Konitzer 124 (winner of coin toss)
Mary Lemens (I) 124
TOWN OF PENSAUKEE
Treasurer
Sandra Falk (I) 119
Tracy L. Campshure 95
TOWN OF RIVERVIEW
Supervisor
Dick Booth (I) 144
Michael Rzepka (I) 137
Harlan Trosch 120
TOWN OF SPRUCE
Supervisor
Fred Witt (I) 152
Dennis Race (I) 140
Mary Marks 77
TOWN OF TOWNSEND
Supervisor
Michael Grobe 263
Carla Van Camp (I) 198
Joanne Jones (I) 156
Susan Rapp 143
Clerk
Linda Adamczyk (I) 268
Terry DeMoulin 151
TOWN OF UNDERHILL
Chairperson
Peter Vorpahl (I) 83
Mark Winkler 69
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