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HERE COMES THE SUN
April 2, 2024, is the spring election for local offices and the presidential primary. Candidacy paperwork was turned in on January 2, 2024, and campaigning has begun. This year’s local elections, coupled with the national and state primary elections, should allow for quite a few voters turning out but not (probably) nearly as large a turnout when the local elections are coupled with the national and state overall elections.
Mayor Mayor is running as the incumbent for the mayoral seat once again, while being opposed by businessman Todd Krause who’s also running for that position. The four district seats, out of the eight in the city, will all be contested, for the first time in twenty years.
District One alderperson has incumbent Joan Yunker (locally known as ‘Joanie the Diner’) running against Sheri Ames, who’s a noted city proponent, dogged follower of city events, and a bit of a sleuth.
District Two alderperson incumbent Mary Jo Fesenmaier is running against Kyle Cary. Kyle is best known for carrying a torch for Mayor Mayor while sitting on the planning commission she appointed him to.
District Three alderperson Tim Dunn filed non-candidacy, probably because the many long meetings of the Council caused him constantly to nod off. Two new candidates running for the seat have come almost out of nowhere; Joel Hoiland, another torch-bearer for Mayor Mayor, and Pamela Wilkinson. Pam isn’t well known for political work or interest, but she is known for having a heart as big as the great outdoors and truly caring for the people around her.
District Four alderperson incumbent Cynthia Yeager is being contested for the position by Cathy Stoodley. Yeager has been a solid, intelligent, and fully life-experienced member of the council for her years in office. Nothing is known about Cathy that the GSR staff might uncover, not yet at the time of this writing anyway. More on her later as the elections approach.
City Attorney Dan Draper is the only person running for office unopposed. No other attorney ever opposes him simply because there are almost no other attorneys that reside in the Lake Geneva area, or at least that’s the assumption of the GSR reporting staff. Dan Draper has been the critical target of a lot of GSR reporting simply because, over the years that the GSR has been a local news organization (13 years, Mr. Draper has time and again used the defense of blatantly illegal tricks city leaders have tried, with some great success. Mr. Draper has held a ‘sue us’ attitude toward most of the public when he disagrees with almost anything those who currently, or formerly through the years, have been in power over Lake Geneva.
That the city of Lake Geneva has not gone away from having a full-time attorney and hired a firm to provide part-time advice and legal defenses is an anomaly among Southern Wisconsin communities. Those communities veering away from having a local ‘good old boy’ as an in-house attorney have changed to having firms provide services when needed to appear less of what Lake Geneva has become.
Regardless of what the city decides to do in the future, this election will assure two more years of Mr. Draper’s dubious and often conflicting conduct and advice.
Remember, on election day April 2, 2024, all voting for Lake Geneva takes place at city hall. For more information on voting go to www.cityoflakegeneva.gov.
