Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify that no deadline extension for Marathon County’s Dist. 9 and Dist. 30 will be required.

Damakant Jayshi

Since Wausau Pilot & Review’s last spring election 2024 update about a week ago, more candidates have come forward to vie for City Council seats.

At least six seats on the 11-member Wausau City Council will be contested in the election, set for April 2. If a third candidate emerges prior to the deadline for any of those seats, a primary will be required to narrow the choices to two. The primary, which will be required for the city’s mayoral race, is set for Feb. 20.

Three new council candidates are listed on the City Clerk’s most recent list, last updated Dec. 29: Orlando Alfonso, challenging Gary Gisselman in Dist. 5; Bronson Lobato, challenging Becky McElhaney in Dist. 6; and Joshua Dirks, challenging incumbent Sarah Watson in Dist. 8.

The final filing deadline is Tuesday, Jan. 2. In the mayoral race, incumbent Katie Rosenberg and challenger Christopher Wood have filed complete paperwork, with Doug Diny expected to file prior to the deadline to prompt the primary.

Here’s a list of candidates who are running for a Wausau seat, as of this writing on Monday afternoon.

Wausau City Council (11 seats, two-year term)

  • Dist. 1: Carol Lukens, incumbent; Catherine Kronenwetter, challenger
  • Dist. 2: Michael Martens, incumbent
  • Dist. 3: Terry Kilian (Will Harris will no longer seek the seat)
  • Dist. 4: Tom Neal and Debra Weiss
  • Dist. 5: Gary Gisselman, incumbent; Orlando Alfonso, challenger
  • Dist. 6: Becky McElhaney, incumbent; Bronson Lobato, challenger
  • Dist. 7: Lisa Rasmussen, incumbent
  • Dist. 8: Sarah Watson, incumbent; Joshua Dirks, challenger
  • Dist. 9: Dawn Herbst, incumbent; Victoria Tierney, challenger
  • Dist. 10: Lou Larson, incumbent
  • Dist. 11: Chad Henke, incumbent

Wausau Mayor (4-year term, primary will be required)

  • Katie Rosenberg, incumbent
  • Doug Diny (paperwork incomplete as of Dec. 29)
  • Christopher Wood

Municipal Judge (four-year term)

  • Mark Sauer, incumbent

All but one county seat has at least one candidate in race*

With Tuesday being the last day for filing candidacy papers, only Dist. 30 of the Marathon County Board of Supervisors is without any candidate in the election so far. Incumbent Andrew Venzke has filed his non candidacy notice. There is at least one candidate for the remaining 37 seats on the board.

Earlier, this story incorrectly reported that the deadline for Dist. 9 and Dist. 30 would be extended since the incumbents are not seeking reelection and no one filed candidacy papers. Since then, one candidate, Chantelle Foote, has filed paperwork for Dist. 9.

County Clerk Kim Trueblood pointed out that no deadline extension for the two districts is required since both the incumbent have filed their non candidacy papers. The filing deadline is only extended if an incumbent either does not file a declaration of non candidacy or does not turn in nomination papers, she said.

Speaking about Dist. 30, Trueblood said the deadline will not be extended even if no one comes in to file for the district. “The seat would be filled by a write-in candidate, or if no one is written in, an appointment would be made after the election.”

Wausau Pilot & Review will file an updated story when more information becomes available. City Hall and the Marathon County Courthouse are closed on Tuesday, but updated candidate lists are expected on Wednesday.

[*The headline has been changed to reflect the updated story.]