5 incumbents lose seats on Portage County Board in Tuesday election
STEVENS POINT − Portage County voters cast ballots in Tuesday's election for 14 contested seats on the Portage County Board.
The board is facing decisions regarding the future of the Portage County Health Care Center, a possible renovation or relocation of the county jail, a possible renovation of the courthouse and ongoing water quality issues.
Portage County Board members serve two-year terms.
Here are the results of those races.
Portage County Board, District 1
Incumbent Vinnie Miresse defeated challenger Stephen Klein for the District 1 seat on the Portage County Board. Miresse, 46, has served on the board since 2017 and is a small business owner focused on residential remodeling, specifically energy efficiency, building science and local materials.
Vinnie Miresse (i): 444 (74.4%)
Stephen Klein: 153 (25.6%)
Portage County Board, District 3
Janell Wehr defeated incumbent Mark C. Hemmerich for the District 3 seat on the Portage County Board. Wehr, 47, has served as the outreach specialist/horticulture educator for Marathon and Wood counties through the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension since 2019 and served as an assistant BSA Scout leader for Troop 9293, the first BSA Scout Troop serving girls in the community.
Janell Wehr: 387 (76.8%)
Mark C. Hemmerich (i): 117 (23.2%)
Portage County Board, District 4
Incumbent David Medin defeated challenger Keith Kedrowski for the District 4 seat on the Portage County Board. Medin, 76, is "a longtime County Board member" and owns a small soil testing business. He is a former zoning administrator for Portage County and former community development director for Stevens Point.
David Medin (i): 406 (70.9%)
Keith Kedrowski: 167 (29.1%)
Portage County Board, District 6
Incumbent Shaun V. Przybylski defeated challenger Timothy Johnson for the District 6 seat on the Portage County Board. Przybylski, 45, has served on the County Board since 2022, is employed as a library assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and is fifth-generation Portage County resident.
Shaun V. Przybylski (i): 380 (75.5%)
Timothy Johnson: 123 (24.5%)
Portage County Board, District 8
Incumbent Joan M. Honl defeated challenger Johnnie Ciulla for the District 8 seat on the Portage County Board. Honl, 79, has served on the County Board since 2020 and is a retired vocational rehabilitation counselor. Honl told the Stevens Point Journal she is "deeply committed to the welfare of this community."
Joan M. Honl (i):604 (74%)
Johnnie Ciulla: 212 (46%)
Portage County Board, District 9
Incumbent Andrew Rockman defeated challenger David Eiden for the District 9 seat on the Portage County Board. Rockman, 45, has served on the county board since 2022 and is general manager of Rockman's Catering, where he has worked for nearly 34 years. "I ran last term because I felt I had insight and perspective to offer the conversation. There is still much of that conversation that needs having," Rockman told the Stevens Point Journal.
Andrew Rockman (i):389 (68.7%)
David Eiden: 177 (31.3%)
Portage County Board, District 10
Incumbent Bob Gifford defeated challenger Mary Rosicky for the District 10 seat on the Portage County Board. Gifford, 72, has served on the County Board since 2016 and is a retired machinist and CAD designer. He served in an elected role in his former union and also worked as a staff organizer and business agent.
Bob Gifford (i): 493 (58%)
Mary Rosicky: 357 (42%)
Portage County Board, District 12
Incumbent Michael J. Splinter narrowly defeated challenger Karin Seig for the District 12 seat on the Portage County Board. Splinter, 72, has served on the County Board for eight years and is retired after 30 years of service with Sentry Insurance. "I always listen to all sides of any issue and fully engage in all discussions prior to any vote. People did not vote me into office to just sit on my hands," Splinter told the Stevens Point Journal.
Michael J. Splinter (i): 422 (50.8%)
Karin Seig: 409 (49.2%)
Portage County Board, District 14
Chris Randazzo defeated incumbent Pat Keller for the District 14 seat on the Portage County Board. Randazzo, 54, owns Galaxy Comics in Stevens Point and formerly was employed for five years as a local government reporter for the Portage County Gazette.
Chris Randazzo: 427 (56.3%)
Pat Keller (i): 331 (43.7%)
Portage County Board, District 15
Nancy Eggleston defeated incumbent Al Haga for the District 15 seat on the Portage County Board. Eggleston, 68, has 40 years of county government work experience with time working in Portage and Wood counties, most recently as Wood County's environmental health and communicable disease supervisor. She also was president of the Wisconsin Public Health Association and member of the Northeast Wisconsin Incident Management team.
Nancy Eggleston: 425 (59.2%)
Al Haga (i): 293 (40.8%)
Portage County Board, District 16
Incumbent Steve Fritz defeated challenger John Bertelson by a margin of only three votes for the District 16 seat on the Portage County Board. Fritz, 66, has served 21 years as the 3rd Ward trustee for the village of Plover and was appointed to the District 16 County Board seat seven months ago following former supervisor Mike Olson's resignation. He is retired from being employed as a maintainer at Silgan Containers. "If elected, your voice is my vote on the County Board," Fritz told the Stevens Point Journal.
Steve Fritz (i): 206 (50.4%)
John Bertelson: 203 (49.6%)
Portage County Board, District 17
Incumbent Suzanne Oehlke defeated challenger Jackie Szehner for the District 17 seat on the Portage County Board. Oehlke, 69, has 35 years of experience serving in the following agencies and roles: Portage County Health Care Center, Portage County Health Department, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, CAP Services Inc., private consulting and volunteer service. She is a registered dietician.
Suzanne Oehlke (i): 441 (56.4%)
Jackie Szehner: 341 (43.6%)
Portage County Board, District 19
Amberle Schwartz defeated incumbent Scott Soik by a margin of only seven votes for the District 19 seat on the Portage County Board. Schwartz, 38, is employed as a naturalist, or environmental educator, for Boston School Forest in the Stevens Point Area School District. She has been a team lead at Farmshed Growing Collective since 2018, recently founded Portage County for Clean Water and is president of Wild Ones Central Wisconsin, a group which promotes biodiversity and native plants.
Amberle Schwartz: 407 (50.4%)
Scott Soik (i): 400 (49.6%)
Portage County Board, District 25
Ray Reser defeated incumbent David L. Peterson for the District 25 seat on the Portage County Board. Reser previously held this seat from 2020 to 2022. He grew up locally on a small farm in the town of New Hope, attended high school and completed his undergraduate education locally. He was a former union member and has professional training as a geoscientist.
Ray Reser: 525 (52%)
David L. Peterson (i): 485 (48%)
More local election results: Voters oust 2 Stevens Point School Board incumbents and approve $14M operational referendum
More local election results: Three new representatives will join the Stevens Point City Council after Tuesday's election
Erik Pfantz covers local government and education in central Wisconsin for USA-TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin and values his background as a rural Wisconsinite. Reach him at epfantz@gannett.com or connect with him on X (formerly Twitter) @ErikPfantz.
This article originally appeared on Stevens Point Journal: April 2024 election: Portage County Board supervisor results
