WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — A new Marathon County Clerk has been appointed.
On Friday Marathon County Clerk Nan Kottke retired after 48 years of service to the county. On Tuesday night the Marathon County Board of Supervisors voted to affirm the appointment of Kim Trueblood to the position by a vote of 27-5.
Trueblood was appointed to the position out of a field of 45 candidates. The field of 45 was narrowed down to 5 finalists who were interviewed by board members and Trueblood was chosen as the top candidate.
The appointment of Trueblood to the position did not come without some controversy though. Some county board members were opposed to the decision made in August to not have a special election for the position and taking away the voter’s rights to decide on the position.
Another concern about the appointment of Trueblood to the position regarded a past criminal offense. Trueblood was found guilty of issuing worthless checks in Dodge County in 2000 She also was taken to civil court for money owed in 2001, 2005, 2007, and 2016. The pattern of owing money was concerning to some board members, most notably District 6 Supervisor Jeff Johnson.
The board did go into closed session to discuss the appointment and then reconvened into open session. And after discussing the appointment in open session for over 40 minutes, the board made the vote to approve Trueblood’s appointment 27-5.
Trueblood will serve as the County Clerk through the end of the current term of office on January 4th, 2021. The County Clerk handles a wide range of duties such as overseeing all elections, maintaining birth, marriage, and death records, and serving as secretary for the county commission.
Before her appointment as County Clerk, Trueblood worked as an administrative specialist with the Marathon County Clerk’s office since June of 2018. She also worked as a substitute teacher with the Wausau School District and was a 7-year member of the Board of Canvass for Marathon County.
