Judge announces bid for reelection
Taylor County Circuit Court Judge Ann Knox-Bauer is seeking a third full term in office.
Knox-Bauer has announced plans to run for reelection on the April 6 ballot.
In Wisconsin circuit court judges are elected for sixyear terms. Knox-Bauer has served as Taylor County Circuit Court judge since 2008 when she was appointed by then Gov. Jim Doyle to fill the remainder of the term of retired judge Gary Carlson. Knox-Bauer was elected to a full term in April 2009 and was reelected in 2014. Knox-Bauer is just the eighth person to serve as circuit court judge for the county since Wisconsin became a state in 1875.
In addition to Knox-Bauer, the April 6 election will include seats on area school boards, city council and local town boards. People interested in running for office should contact their municipal clerk.
In the Medford Area Public School District voters will be asked to fill four seats. Up for reelection are Dave Fleegel, Barb Knight, Oralee Dittrich and DeDe Strama.
According to Fleegel, typically voters would be asked to fill three seats, however when board member Mark Reuter resigned from the board last spring, the board appointed Barb Knight to fill the position with the appointment being until the next regular school board election. Because voters are asked to select four candidates out of the pool, the top three vote-getters will be for full three-year terms with the fourth person being elected for the remainder of Reuter’s term meaning that individual would be up for reelection next spring.
There will be at least one new face on the school board following the election as board member Oralee Dittrich announced at Monday’s school board meeting that she would not be seeking reelection.
Dittrich said her decision was based on a number of factors including a desire to give back to the community in different ways. Dittrich recently accepted a post on the district level in the Rotary Club and said she is finding herself with an increase in duties and responsibilities. She said that with the end of her three-year term she was looking at doing different things at a state and local level.
“It has been a great journey, thank you,” Dittrich said.
The deadline for those seeking to run for office in the spring election is January 5, 2021. Nomination papers for school board offices may be picked up at each of school district offices with nomination papers for county board available at the county clerk’s office. City nomination forms are available at city hall.
