Christensen takes back District 30 position
By Alexa Zoellner azoellner@dailyunion.com | Posted: Wednesday, April 4, 2018 5:30 am
Two of the 30 seats on the Jefferson County Board of Supervisors will be filled with new members in the wake of Tuesday’s election.
Only four county board races were contested, with District 30 Supervisor Gary Kutz and District 6 Supervisor Ron Buchanan losing their bids for a new term.
The following outlines the ballot tallies.
District 30
Voters returned former Supervisor Walt Christensen to the board Tuesday.
He defeated incumbent Supervisor Gary Kutz in District 30, earning 54.87 percent of the votes to Kutz’s 44.97 percent.
Christensen received 327 ballots to Kutz’s 268.
The district includes Wards 4-6 in the Town of Koshkonong and Ward 1 in the Town of Sumner.
Christensen topped Kutz in the Koshkonong wards, earning 237 to Kutz’s 176. In Sumner, it was 92 for Kutz and 90 votes for Christensen.
“I’m very happy to have a chance to be back on the Jefferson County Board of Supervisors,” Christensen said. “The reason is, it is such a professional and thoughtful group of people that manage our county and the really important programs that the county runs. To be a part of that group is something I really enjoy and I like the people I worked with for eight years prior to my two-year vacation.”
He said he is looking forward to continuing to keep Jefferson County “as well-run as it is” during his new tenure on the board.
“Our county is financially stable,” Christensen said. “We have very well-run departments. We have a lot of challenges but, so far, we’ve been able to meet those challenges. So, to continue to be a part of that is important.”
Christensen first was elected in 2008 and served until he lost to Kutz in 2016.
“I appreciate that he served two years and he did a good job,” Christensen said of his opponent. “We ran a fair race and he’s welcome to try again at another time. I’m sure he will continue to do good things, even when he’s not on the county board.”
He thanked the voters, with whom he has had “so many real conversations” over the last few months.
“I learned, again, that Jefferson County has a lot of great folks,” Christensen said.
Meanwhile, it is what it is, Kutz said of his loss.
“Walt’s been there before; he understands the system,” he said. “He’s not a bad guy. He just worked harder for it, I think. I know he was out more campaigning than I was.”
Kutz said that the system works as long as it and the people in it are honest.
“I’ve kept track of things for many years here,” he said. “There’s a few things I dislike. If the people that work for the government — the county, towns and stuff — are actually working for the residents, I have no issue with that. The problem is if they’re doing it for their own benefit; then I have an issue.
“In my past two years, I’ve found a lot of people that work at the county are really there for the residents and to do the best they can for them,” Kutz continued. “I can’t say it’s 100 percent, but a lot of them are there for a good reason and they do good work. I’m happy that I met up and got to work with them for a while.”
He said he wasn’t certain whether he would run again, but noted that it was a possibility.
“The county’s a really good place to work,” Kutz said. “I feel that most of the people that are there are there for the right reasons.”
District 6
Voters in District 6 bid farewell to Supervisor Ron Buchanan, replacing him with challenger Daniel Herbst for the upcoming term.
Herbst picked up 170 votes to Buchanan’s 131.
District 6 includes Wards 15 and 16 in the City of Watertown.
Neither was able to be reached for comment.
District 20
Incumbent Jim Mode was re-elected to his District 20 seat, which represents Wards 1, 2 and 3 in the Town of Jefferson and Ward 4 in the Town of Oakland.
He faced challenger Frankie Fuller, who received 197 votes to Mode’s 301 ballots.
District 10
Supervisor Lloyd Zastrow was returned to his seat on the county board, defeating newcomer Marilyn Buelow in a bid for the District 10 seat.
Zastrow won the seat with 387 votes and Buelow netted 192.
District 10 includes Wards 1 and 3 in the Town of Concord, Wards 3 and 4 in the Town of Ixonia.
Unopposed
District 18
Newcomer Brandon White received 264 votes in his bid to fill the seat being vacated in District 18, which encompasses Wards 3-5 in the City of Jefferson.
Other districts
Unopposed board incumbents seeking re-election included: Richard Jones, District 1, 301 votes, Wards 1-4 in the City of Waterloo; Mike Kelly, District 2, 324 votes, Wards 1-2 in the Town of Milford, Ward 1 in the Town of Waterloo, Ward 5 in the City of Waterloo; Greg David, District 3, 340 votes, Wards 1 and 2 in the Town of Watertown and Ward 8 in the City of Watertown; Augie Tietz, District 4, 179 votes, Wards 9 and 10 in the City of Watertown; James Braughler, District 5, 189 votes, Wards 11 and 12 in the City of Watertown; Dwayne Morris, District 7, 281 votes, Wards 13 and 14 in the City of Watertown; Michael Wineke, District 8, 377 votes, Wards 17 and 18 in the City of Watertown; Amy Rinard, District 9, 476 votes, Wards 1, 2, 5 and 6 in the Town of Ixonia and Ward 2 in the Village of Lac La Belle; Donald Reese, District 11, 458 votes, Ward 2 in the Town of Aztalan, Ward 2 in the Town of Concord and Wards 1 and 2 in the Town of Farmington; Peter Hartz, District 12, 332 votes, Wards 1, 2 and 3 in the Village of Johnson Creek; Ed Morse, District 13, 391 votes, Wards 2, 4, 6 and 7 in the City of Lake Mills; and Kirk Lund, District 14, 466 votes, Wards 1, 3, 5 and 8 in the City of Lake Mills.
Also, Steven Nass, District 15, 474 votes, Ward 1 in the Town of Aztalan and Wards 1-3 in the Town of Lake Mills; Laura Payne, District 16, 400 votes, Wards 1-3 in the Town of Oakland and Ward 1 in the Village of Cambridge; Russell Kutz, District 17, 201 votes, Wards 6-9 in the City of Jefferson; Jim Schroeder, District 19, 323 votes, Wards 1, 2 and 10 in the City of Jefferson; John C. Kannard, District 21, 425 votes, Wards 1-3 in the Town of Sullivan and Ward 1 in the Village of Sullivan; Blane Poulson, District 22, 393 votes, Ward 1 in the Town of Palmyra and Wards 1 and 2 in the Village of Palmyra; George Jaeckel, District 23, 348 votes, Wards 1 and 2 in the Town of Koshkonong and Ward 8 in the City of Fort Atkinson; Alyssa Spaanem, District 24, 77 votes, Wards 11 and 12 in the City of Whitewater; Matthew Foelker, District 25, 391 votes, Ward 1 in the Town of Cold Spring, Wards 1 and 2 in the Town of Hebron, Ward 3 in the Town of Koshkonong, Ward 2 in the Town of Palmyra and Ward 10 in the City of Whitewater; Gregg Patrick, District 26, 360 votes, Wards 1 and 2 in the City of Fort Atkinson; Conor Nelan, District 27, 292 votes, Wards 3 and 4 in the City of Fort Atkinson; Dick Schultz, District 28, 326 votes Wards 7 and 9 in the City of Fort Atkinson; and Mary K. Roberts, District 29, 248 votes, Wards 5 and 6 in the City of Fort Atkinson.