Alongside the cities and villages of Pierce County are the townships. Ok you say, so what’s a town?

Glad you asked. A legal ‘town’ or township, understood as defined pursuant to Chapter 60.01(1) of the Wisconsin state statutes, is, “a body corporate and politic, with those powers granted by law.” For those who desiring a little more detail than this, there are ten whole subchapters (including “60.09 when a county constitutes a town”) to explain that seemingly simple initial sentence, available for further review either at legis.wisconsin.gov (for the government-based source) or else at law.justia.com, if you don’t trust the government’s self-definition powers and want a second opinion.

That being said, we’ll spare the civic lesson for now and jump straight to the fun stuff: just who exactly is on the ballot for town and school district boards this April 6, in Pierce County!

Starting off with Clifton to the west, wards one and two have the River Falls School Board candidates to choose from, these being (once again) Alan Tuchtenhagen, Cindy Holbrook and Bob Casey on the incumbent side, with Jeff Johnson, Josh Kluge and Joshua R. Cleveland facing off to the incumbents.

Meanwhile for Clifton’s Ward 3, it’s Tanya Holub and Pat Block for the Prescott School District as candidates for education-related offices, while the town board candidates for each position are uncontested, or one a piece.

Specifically, LeRoy Peterson is running for Clifton board chairperson, John Rohl is running for Clifton town board supervisor 1, Joseph Rohl for town board supervisor 2 and Kris Johnson for Clifton town Clerk/treasurer.

From Clifton we move to Diamond Bluff, where Steven Mark and Katie Feuerhelm are reprising their roles as school board candidates for that part of Diamond Bluff in the Ellsworth Community School District, and Pat Block and Tanya Holub are on the ballot for that part of Diamond Bluff in the Prescott School District. Meanwhile the entire Diamond Bluff township board is up for election, if unopposed. Jeff Holst is listed as candidate for Diamond Bluff town chairman, while Pat Atherton and Roger A. Dosdall are running for supervisor posts in same. Todd Mehrkens is running unopposed for town clerk and Mark T. Place is registered as the candidate for Diamond Bluff town treasurer. For those reading this in time, a public test of Diamond Bluff election equipment will take place at 5 p.m. on Thursday April 1, with more township updates available at diamond-bluff-wi.org.

Moving from Diamond Bluff on the Mississippi to El Paso further to the northeast, the town board candidates are as follows: Ronald Kannel is standing for El Paso town board chairperson; Daniel Fischer for Supervisor 1; Ronald F. Foley for Supervisor 2; Sherri L. Heise for El Paso town clerk; and Mary K. Foley for town treasurer in El Paso. But while the town board itself is unified, the Town of El Paso itself is split between four separate school districts.

Starting in that part of El Paso sectioned off for inclusion within the Ellsworth Community School District, Steven Mark and Katie Feuerhelm will be appearing on the ballot for board member choices.

For those in the Plum City Schools area of El Paso township, Erin Clare is the candidate, running unopposed. For Elmwood Schools as they relate to El Paso, meanwhile, there are four candidates: Andrew Anthony Zierl; Jenny Wolf; Gabriel J. Weix; and Patrick Geraets. Finally, for that part of El Paso within the Spring Valley District, the school board candidates are Jenelle Wolf and Sandy Jacobs.

Shifting next to the Town of Ellsworth—surrounding but yet a fully separate unit of government as it relates to the village of said name—in the Town of Ellsworth the school board candidates are Steven Mark and Katie Feuerhelm, while the town board has five candidates, as follows.

For Ellsworth town chairperson, Roger Billeter has put his name forward, while for Supervisor 1 in Ellsworth Brad Ristow is the registered ballot candidate. Gordon L. Borner is running for Ellsworth Supervisor 2, while Phyllis J. Beastrom is registered as candidate for town clerk. Paula K. Chisholm is listed as the Ellsworth town treasurer candidate this April 6. Moving next to Gilman township in Eastern Pierce County, incumbent Becky Manley is facing off against challenger John Shafer to be the next town clerk. For town board chairperson, meanwhile, Philip Verges is running as unopposed, while for Supervisor 1 it’s a faceoff between Alicia Acken Cosgrove and Michael Traynor.

For Supervisor 2 in the Town of Gilman, it’s Bill Emerson against John Shafer, while for town treasurer the listed ballot candidate is Luann Emerson. With school board in a similar situation for Gilman as El Paso—divided between districts, that is—the township of Gilman is split between Ellsworth Community, Elmwood, and Spring Valley School Districts, according to the candidates for each, already mentioned by name above. Rather than repeat their names for redundancy, we direct you to the above, according to school district listed.

Moving into Hartland township, meanwhile, its Steven Mark and Katie Feuerhelm for Ellsworth community School District candidates, with a full slate of town board names as well. For Hartland chairperson, the name on the ballot is Tyrell Hoyer, while for supervisors the names are Kurt Nelson and Don Acker. For town clerk, Polly Remick’s name is listed, while Cyndi Kern is the registered candidate for Hartland town treasurer.

Shifting south into the Town of Isabelle, its Mark and Feuerhelm again for Ellsworth Community school board candidates on the ballot, while the town names are as follows.

For chairperson, the Town of Isabelle ballot lists Dennis Potts, while for Supervisor 1 the name is L. Ronald Bartels (incumbent). For Supervisor 2 in Isabelle, meanwhile, it’s up for grabs between Bruce G. Plante and Lynn S. Brown, with Charles Brown currently listed at the Pierce County website for the relevant seat.

For Isabelle town clerk incumbent Julie Erickson seeks reelection, while for town treasurer Lora Henn (also the incumbent) seeks re-election as well.

Moving from Isabelle to the Town (not village) of Maiden Rock, Erin Clare of Plum City reprises her school board candidate role, along with Steven Mark and Katie Feuerhelm for Ellsworth Community Schools.

At the same time, and showing that county borders need not hem in school districts in this our federal republic, Pepin School District board candidate Shirley Seifert is listed as a candidate.

For the Town of Maiden Rock as a non-school government, the names of the candidates are as follows.

For chairperson, Jerry F. Duden is running, unopposed. For town board supervisor 1, the name is John Danneker, while for Maiden Rock town board supervisor 2, the name is Allen C. White. Darla R. Pittman is running for Maiden Rock township clerk/treasurer, the posts seemingly combined, allowed for with a stipulated audit under 60.305 of the state ordinances.

Shifting from Maiden Rock up to Martell, meanwhile—which can approximate “the hammer” in languages like French—the gavel post is being sought by Bradley A. Taplin as prospective chairperson, no other name on the official ballot.

For Supervisor 2, meanwhile, the candidate name is John Worsing, while for Supervisor 2 the name is Dale R. Olson. Sara Cardwell is running for Martell town clerk, and Heather L. Sitz is listed as the registered town treasurer candidate.

For school board, the Town of Martell is split between River Falls, Ellsworth and Spring Valley, with candidates the same as listed further above in this article.

Should a refresher be needed, however, the names are as follows.

For River Falls school board, the six candidates for three postings are Alan Tuchtenhagen, Cindy Holbrook, Bob Casey, Josh Kluge, Jeff Johnson, and Joshua R. Cleveland.

For Ellsworth Community Schools, the board candidates are Steven Mark and Katie Feuerhelm, while for Spring Valley the candidates are Jenelle Wolf and Sandy Jacobs.

Moving from Martell to the Town of Oak Grove, the school board candidate choices are split between Prescott and Ellsworth Community, with Tanya Holub and Pat Block for Prescott. For town board, in the meantime, the main contested race is between Kim Huppert and Bill Riley for town treasurer, with Jerry Kosin running unopposed for town board chair; Rich Ruemmele for Supervisor 1 and Daniel Johnson for Supervisor 2, and Andria Hayday running for town clerk.

For the Town of River Falls, meanwhile, the school board choices are split between River Falls (six candidates for three positions, the same as previously listed) and Ellsworth Community with Steven Mark and Katie Feuerhelm for school board, also the same as previously listed.

As to town officers, Diana G. Smith is running for town board chairperson, while John D. Galgowskiu and Siri Smith are running for Supervisor positions on the township board. For Clerk the Town of River Falls candidate is Sarah K. Meyer while for Treasurer the candidate in River Falls township is Rita M. Kozak.

Rebounding across the county as the compass points to the town of Rock Elm, school board candidates are split by school district boundaries between Spring Valley, Elmwood and Plum City, while the town board lsate is composed as follows.

For Rock Elm chairperson, the candidate is Timothy B. Bates, while for supervisors the two official ballot names are Matthew C. Holcomb and Chris Thibado. For town clerk Monica Robey is listed on the ballot, while for Rock Elm Treasurer Pam Reitz is the ballot candidate.

Also listed under each name or names for each elected position is “write-in,” should no one particular candidate please the individual voter.

Moving from Rock Elm to Salem, the town board candidates are listed as Brent Halverson for chairperson, with Barry Bunce and Kyler Hinrichs for Supervisor position. Neither the clerk nor treasurer is listed on the ballot for Salem, while some townships hire rather than elect these positions due to their highly technical and more time-consuming nature, allowed for after referendum approval under 60.30(1e)(c) of the state statutes. The town of Salem is split between Ellworth Community and Plum City so far as school board candidacies go.

Shifting north to Spring Lake township near Gilman, the school board candidates are split by geographic district between the Spring Valley and Elmwood public schools, while the town board is running officially unopposed, as follows.

For Spring Lake chairperson, the candidate on the ballot is Richard Johnson, while for Supervisor 1 the candidate is Michael Jacobson. For Supervisor 2 the candidate is Tim Anderson, with the clerk candidate listed as Donna Borgschatz and the Spring Lake Treasurer listed as Sarah Stein. With three townships to go in terms of the alphabet, the list is closing.

Beginning the final three with Trenton, school board choices are split by district between…well actually they aren’t.

Instead, Ellsworth Community schools takes the ballot choices in Trenton, with Steven Mark and Katie Feuerhelm for school board. With town board chair being contested between Randy Trok and Brian Berg, the Supervisor candidates are listed as Rick Bunce and Dennis Rieck, with Steve Thoms for Clerk and Jaimie M. Halvorson running for Treasurer.

Moving from Trenton northward to Trimbelle, the school board choices are split between Ellsworth community and Prescott, with the town board candidates as follows For Trimbelle chairperson, Timothy R. Fischer seeks your vote, while for Supervisor 1 the name is Richard A. Leonard. Supervisor 2 for Trimbelle has Dan Thom as the listed candidate, with Mary J. Kees for Trimbelle clerk and Karen O’Brien for township treasurer. Last but far from least is the Town of Union, near to Plum City. So what of Union?

In the first part, its country schools (like elsewhere) have long since been absorbed into the nearby districts of Elmwood and Plum City in terms of school board candidates and educational district boundaries, while the town board candidates as listed on the ballot are five in total: Bill Bechel for town board chairperson, James Weiss and Arthur Ritchie for Supervisor 1 and 2, Barbara Schneider for township clerk, and Liz Hauser for town treasurer.

More information on area townships is available through the Pierce County website at co.pierce.wi.us, as well as the public notices within this newspaper.