WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — For those dreaming of winning a seat on Wausau’s City Council, the time is now to start organizing your campaigns.
The nominating period for the 2022 city elections on Tuesday, April 5th will begin on December 1st when candidates can officially take out nominating papers and begin asking their neighbors for signatures. Mayor Katie Rosenberg says it’s also the best time to start letting people know what you stand for.
“Get as many signatures as you can because that is campaigning,” said Rosenberg. “You get to talk to people [and hear] what they think is important.”
Rosenberg adds she’s not going to meddle in any of the races or endorse one candidate or another. But she does have some advice for those that want to get involved. “If you’re thinking about running for City Council you should stop by a meeting and see what that’s like. Getting an idea of what that’s all about is really important. You can watch online, but when you are in the chambers you can get a feel for how those interactions go- what kind of discussion [is happening], body language, [things] you can’t really tell when someone is under a mask.”
All 11 Wausau City Council seats will be up for election on April 5th. Rosenberg says she does expect that all the races will be contested, which is something that the city can benefit from because those races can breed discussion which brings out the best ideas.
“Coming out and sharing your thoughts on stuff is super important. It’s pivoting the discussion. We’ve had to do a lot of that around here, you know when we talk about the Environmental Justice resolution- you listen, you hear what people think is wrong and right, and then you try to put it together in a way that’s meaningful.”
The Spring municipal election will also be the first run by Wausau’s new City Clerk. Kaitlyn Bernard was recently hired to the position from a field of over 20 applicants. She replaces Leslie Kremer, who resigned from the position in August.
Rosenberg adds if you are signing someone’s petition for City Council to make sure that the candidate is indeed running in your district. Additionally, you can only sign one petition per office- meaning you can’t sign the nominating petitions of more than one candidate for City Council.
Other topics Rosenberg discussed with WSAU’s Mike Leischner include:
Start of video- new hires at city hall and getting ready for winter
2:45- upcoming election and the start of the candidate process
7:00- strategic planning
10:30- getting ready for winter and what the city has to offer
12:00- Mayor Katie’s entry into the River Cities Mayor’s Art Challenge
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