Former mayor sworn in as Dist. 8 council member in Wausau

By Shereen Siewert

Former Wausau Mayor Linda Lawrence will represent Dist. 8 in the Wausau City Council for the remainder of a term vacated when longtime city council member Karen Kellbach stepped down from her role last month.

Lawrence, Wausau’s first and only female mayor to date, received votes from Dennis Smith, Lisa Rasmussen, Tom Neal, David Nutting and Gary Gisselman and Dawn Herbst. She was sworn in Tuesday night after she and three other candidates — Josh Dirks, Jennifer Gabriel and Tony Brown — were interviewed.

Lawrence holds a bachelor’s degree in social science, with a political science minor. Lawrence also served as alderperson in the city from 1986 to 1998, and was a Marathon County Board supervisor from 1986 to 1992 and from 1994 to 1998.

As Wausau’s first female mayor to date, Lawrence won a special election in April 1998 to replace former Mayor John Hess. She was re-elected to a full term in 2000.