By Shereen Siewert
WAUSAU — The next mayoral election in Wausau is 11 months away, but the first challenger in the race has already filed candidacy paperwork.
Katie Rosenberg, who currently represents Dist. 1 on the Marathon County Board of Supervisors, filed candidacy paperwork in April, Wausau Pilot and Review has learned.
Rosenberg said she is running for mayor to help engineer a sustainable and productive city government where leaders value a strong, engaged community and know what the priorities are.
“I know that we can get there by reinvigorating our democratic principles and focusing on efforts that deliver a strong return on our public investments,” said Rosenberg, who has degrees in philosophy and strategic communication.
The top responsibility of mayor is setting the vision and tone, according to Rosenberg. Although the mayor is not a voting member of the council, Rosenberg sees the role as one that can propose the strategic vision for the city, convey possibilities, highlight challenges and recommend collaborative solutions that deliver results.
“Over the eleven months, you can expect to hear my strategy for Wausau in 2020, 2030, and into the future,” Rosenberg said. “I’ll have more details on my campaign in the coming weeks. I’m just getting started.”
In the most recent mayoral election held in April 2016, current Mayor Rob Mielke defeated Jay Kronenwetter for the seat by a 1 percent margin.
Nomination papers or declarations of candidacy for April elections are due by 5 p.m. Jan. 5, 2020.
