Oshkosh area voters decided the fate of five ballot items in the April 7 spring election and five newcomers will take positions in state and local government.
UWO student Ali Mataczynski said she wanted to go out and vote to exercise her right and to elect caring officials into office.
“[I was looking for] people that are focused more on allowing people their freedoms rather than restricting and taking away what people can do,” Mataczynski said. “People that have more of an open heart and seem to care more about actual people and not just their close buddies or the people around them.”
Fellow UWO student Emma Siverly said that she went to vote because everyone deserves to have a voice.
“You deserve to be able to have your voice heard in whatever environment you’re in,” Siverly said. “Especially in such a small area, in such a localized location, I think it’s incredibly important to be able to say the things that you need to see in the world.”
Former Mayor Paul Esslinger is back on the Oshkosh Common Council after losing his seat in the last election. Esslinger finished third in the six-person race with 4,754 votes at the time of publication, 85 votes ahead of Logan Jungbacker. Jacob Amos, the first Black man on the council, was reelected to his position with 5,812 votes while Alec Lefeber finished second with 5,261 votes at the time of publication.
In the race for Oshkosh Area School District (OASD) School Board, Barbara Herzog and Jacob Wolf took home the top two spots after accumulating 8,823 and 6,716 votes in the four-person race.
In the statewide election for Wisconsin Supreme Court, Chris Taylor earned the spot vacated by Rebecca Bradley by 59.5% of the vote by press time. Taylor earned 860,663 votes while Maria Lazar totaled 584,626.
UWO student Casen Frassetto was officially elected to represent District 16 in the Winnebago County Board of Supervisors after running unopposed while Anthony LoCoco faced no competition in his race for Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge for District II.
Frassetto said in an interview with the Advance-Titan last week that he was running to make the county safer and more affordable.
“Too often, I hear about expensive housing costs and rent for young people in the area, which is why I am committed to getting more affordable housing built in Oshkosh and the rest of the county,” he said. “I will also be a fierce advocate to get the sheriff’s department to withdraw from the 287(g) agreement they have with ICE so that the people of this country won’t have to worry about ICE terrorizing our community, and to encourage transparency with our law enforcement.”
To find the official results from the spring election, visit www.winnebagocountywi.gov/262/Election-Information.
