Oshkosh has its first all-white, all-male council in more than 50 years. Here's how community leaders are responding.

OSHKOSH ― Common council’s current lack of diversity isn’t going unnoticed.

Prominent community figures are concerned about the interests of certain groups after Oshkosh recently elected an all-white male council for the first time in more than 50 years.

“I’ve always said representation matters because you get different people speaking from different cultures and experiences, but we will not have that same level of input with only white men on council,” explained former council member LaKeisha Haase, a woman of color.

“For me, it’s especially concerning because we also have committees recommending to a council with the same makeup and no diversity there, either,” Haase added.

It’s the first time since 1969, when Valeria Sitter became Oshkosh’s first female council member, that common council won’t feature a single woman.

Council currently has no female members after Lynnsey Erickson and LaKeisha Haase opted not to seek reelection.

The seven-member council had two female voices less than a month ago, but both Haase and onetime deputy mayor Lynnsey Erickson opted not to seek reelection.

And the five candidates who contested the three open seats were all male, which ultimately eliminated what little diversity the council had experienced for the last 55 years.

“That’s an important thing we’re now lacking; the female perspective or point of view, so it’s now on all of us to make sure we represent this entire community,” acknowledged Mayor Matt Mugerauer.

“Black, white, male, female, young and old … we’re here to represent this entire community and do it well, and I expect if we don’t do something well, we should hear about it,” he added.

According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, 48.8% of Oshkosh’s population is female, which equates to more than 32,000 people.

But the truly concerning figure for former mayor Lori Palmeri is the number zero — or the number of female candidates who ran for council in these elections.

“I’m very disappointed and frustrated that we made gains to go from where we were to having none now,” said Palmeri, who was Oshkosh’s third female mayor and currently sits on the League of Women Voters.

“Certainly, the league membership is aware of this, and I imagine there will be recruiting efforts throughout the community to encourage women to run for office,” Palmeri added.

The Oshkosh situation is even more stark when compared with neighboring Neenah, which has three women occupying aldermanic seats — and that doesn’t include Mayor Jane Lang.

At one stage, Neenah had six female council members in 2018.

Yet, Oshkosh appeared to be heading toward a similar trajectory when Bernice Teichmiller joined Sitter on council in 1972.

Since then, Oshkosh has typically had multiple female council members in office, with 10 exceptions between 1994 and 2004.

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Oshkosh had as many as four women on council in 1991 after Kathy Propp became the first female mayor in 1983.

As many as four women were on council in 1991 and three were on council on multiple occasions in the 1980s, including Oshkosh’s first female mayor, Kathy Propp.

Palmeri also had two other women on her council as recently as 2022, making the absence of female candidates in this election even more puzzling.

“I’m hoping this was just an aberration and the next election we’ll have two or three women running,” said Propp, who is also a member of the LWV after becoming the city’s first female mayor/council president in 1983.

“But I think this council can still serve the interests of everyone once they think about all demographics represented in Oshkosh … female, male, racial, religious and the entire spectrum,” Propp added.

Yet, the lack of diversity on council goes well past the absence of female members.

Palmeri and Haase are the only known council members who identify as another race other than white.

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LaKeisha Haase is the only Black person to have held a seat on council.

To date, Haase is the first — and only — Black person to ever hold a seat on council, and she wasn’t appointed until last year.

And while Oshkosh is still predominantly white (85.7% identify as white alone), the population has started to see significant increases in other minority groups, particularly the Black community.

According to the census done in 2020, Black residents increased by 73% in Winnebago County over the last decade, resulting in 4.4% of Oshkosh’s population identifying as Black or African-American alone.

The Asian community accounts for 4.2% and Hispanic/Latino represent 4.1% while another 4.3% identify as two or more races.

And zero percent of them are represented on council.

“I am fearful that this council won’t represent our interests and that’s why I have been one of the people who’ve advocated so strongly for the last 10 years for the city to have a DEI director,” said Mashebe Mushe Subulwa, director of nonprofit organization SEPO.

“Seven white men on a city council leads to a lack of perspective, and when you don’t have a different perspective, that is a means for the easy dismissal of outside points of view,” he said.

“Our community needs a DEI director now more than ever, and that position doesn’t need to be held by a Black person, but that position will be able to see the blind spots where council was not able to see before,” he added.

Age isn't a concern for the current council, though, as Paul Esslinger is the only sitting member older than 50 while newly elected council member DJ Nichols is a member of the LGBTQ community.

But Nichols also acknowledges it's council's responsibility not to overlook any one group's interests.

"I think representation always matters and I think that in a perfect world you would have physical representation of the different groups," Nichols said.

"Do I think everyone can be represented? Yes, but it is incumbent on the seven of us to make sure we’re going out in the community to talk to people that we might not talk to every day and that might not look like us."

Have a story tip or public interest concern? Contact Justin Marville at jmarville@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Oshkosh has first all-white, all-male council in more than 50 years