Spring Election in La Crosse: Mayor, school board, other local races, referendums on ballot

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WLCX) – No matter where you live in the La Crosse area, chances are pretty good that you’ll be voting on something besides the three statewide races on the Tuesday, April 1st Spring Election ballot.

In the City of La Crosse, voters will elect a new mayor after Mitch Reynolds declined to run for re-election.

The candidates are Shaundel Washington-Spivey, who received the Democratic Party endorsement in the officially non-partisan race after winning the February primary. Washington-Spivey is a community organizer and volunteer. He will face La Crosse Common Council president Chris Kahlow, who finished second in the primary.

The mayor’s race includes candidates who both support the Pathways Home program and consider housing and homelessness as top priorities on their platforms. The candidates have different opinions on how to approach those issues, however.

There will also be a race to fill a judicial seat in La Crosse County. Circuit Court Branch 1 Judge Ramona Gonzalez is retiring. La Crosse County Family Court Commissioner , who previously served as the assistant DA in La Crosse County, and attorney Joe Veenstra, who is a supplemental court commissioner in La Crosse County, are vying for the seat.

Two uncontested races for two other judicial seats, Branch 2 (Elliott Levine) and Branch 4 (Scott Horne), are also on the ballot.

The La Crosse Common Council has multiple contested seats. Incumbent Mac Kiel is facing a challenge from Gary Padesky in District 7, incumbent Chris Woodard is taking on Aron Newberry in District 9, Crystal Bedford faces Martin Gaul in District 11 for an open seat, incumbent Douglas Happel takes on Lisa Weston in District 12, and Rosanne Northwood squares off with Paul Brown for an open seat in District 13.

Olivia Stine is running unchallenged for the special election in District 5. Districts 8 and 10 are uncontested, with incumbent Mackenzie Mindel on the ballot for District 8 and current District 11 council member Jennifer Trost running unopposed in District 10.

The City of Onalaska will also have one contested election for city council as Jim Binash takes on Tom Smith for District 1 representation. In the Town of Onalaska, Paula Przywojski faces Stanley Hauser for town chairperson.

Other contested municipal elections in La Crosse County include Town of Bangor chairperson (Steve Glandt versus Don Numsen), Town of Bangor supervisor in District 1 (Scott Seaman faces Mark Spears) and District 2 (Tyler Bucnher against Justin Peterson), Town of Barre chairperson (Donald Fruit takes on Ron Reed), Town of Greenfield supervisor District 1 (Tom Ludwigson against Chad Morris), and Town of Hamilton Supervisor District 1 (Chase Aleckson versus David Adams).

There is also a registered write-in campaign in the City of Westby, where incumbent Danny Helgerson is seeing a challenge from registered write-in Garrick Olerud.

La Crosse County voters will also be considering school board members in the Spring Election. The La Crosse School Board race has seen its field drop from seven to five as two candidates have dropped out of the race: Sam Morris before the primary and Kevin Hundt before the Spring Election. Remaining candidates seeking office include incumbent Merideth Garcia, as well as Joy Buchman, Molly Fuchs, Adam Hoffer, and Jeff Jackson. The five candidates are vying for three seats.

In Onalaska, school district voters will pick two of the three board candidates between incumbents Ann Garrity, the board president; Shawn McAlister, the board treasurer; and challenger Bridget Thomas.

Over in West Salem, voters will choose from five candidates to fill three school board seats. Incumbents Tom Grosskopf (vice president), Sean Gavaghan (treasurer), and Bob Minard are being challenged by Ben Garbers and Trish Harman.

Three seats are up on the ballot in the Melrose-Mindoro School District, with one contested race. In District 7, an open seat will feature Miranda Chandler taking on Don Stern. District 1 will have incumbent Terry Blaken running unopposed. District 4 is write-in only.

For Westby School District voters, three seats on the board are available, but only one of them is being contested. Toby Wood faces Josh Humm for an open seat in District 2. Board officers Dan Kotek and Eric Thunstedt are running unopposed.

In the Cashton School District, voters will pick two of the three between incumbent and treasurer Nicholas Brueggen, incumbent Kathy Flock, and Jacob Mlsna.

School district referendums are also on the ballot this spring, with 89 of them across the state, including 62 operational referendums.

Locally, in La Crosse County, voters will consider referendums in Bangor, Holmen, and Melrose-Mindoro. In west-central Wisconsin, Arcadia, Cochrane-Fountain City, De Soto, Independence, New Lisbon, Prairie du Chien, Viroqua, and Whitehall all have referendums on the ballot, with all but Cochrane-Fountain City seeking operational funds.

The statewide races are for state Supreme Court, state superintendent, and a referendum on voter I.D.

To see how elections work, find election results across the state, or paperwork for candidates in statewide or circuit court races, you can visit the Wisconsin Elections Commission website.

To see your voting ward and municipality, as well as voter registration status, polling location, and more election information, you can visit MyVote Wisconsin.