By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com
Editor’s note: Additions to this article at 12:25 a.m. on Wednesday include the names of the towns that are covered by the school district and the composition of the upcoming board. An update at 6:50 a.m. added the results of the unopposed Common Council elections.
Voting was fairly brisk in the City of Whitewater on Tuesday, with 2559 votes cast, representing an approximate 40% turnout. Most voters experienced very little delay in obtaining their ballot, although there were times when some experienced a wait of approximately fifteen minutes. 6042 citizens were registered prior to the election, and there were approximately 200 same-day registrations.
Based on the unofficial results, it appears that all three open seats on the Whitewater Unified School Board will be filled with newcomers. Incumbents Casey Judd and Steve Ryan chose not to run for reelection. Thayer Coburn, board president, was the top vote getter in the City of Whitewater, but the picture changed when the towns’ results were added, and he appears to have come in fourth by a very tight margin. The district covers the towns of Whitewater, LaGrange, Richmond and Sugar Creek in Walworth County, the towns of Cold Spring and Koshkonong in Jefferson County, and the towns of Johnstown and Lima in Rock County.
It is expected that five out of the seven board members will now be females. Members with continuing terms are Miguel Aranda, Larry Kachel, Jennifer Kienbaum, and Maryann Zimmerman.
Incumbent Municipal Judge Patrick Taylor coasted to a very comfortable margin over contender Art Coleman.
The three open Common Council seats all had unopposed races, with Lisa Dawsey Smith being reelected to an at-large position, David Stone being elected to represent District 1, and Neil Hicks being elected in District 5.
In the only statewide race, aside from referendums, Janet Protasiewicz was declared the winner of a Supreme Court seat with approximately 55% of the vote over Daniel Kelly. The margin was much more pronounced in Whitewater, particularly with student voters likely leaning towards Protasiewicz, who garnered 69% of the local vote. There were just over 1500 “undervotes” in the school board election, the equivalent of approximately 500 voters not casting votes in that race.
Locally, however, the favorable votes for the referendums were rather similar to the statewide vote, respectively: 62%, 60%, and 72%. Approximately 900 voters failed to cast a ballot on those issues.
Whitewater Unified School District board member
| Candidate | Jefferson County | Rock County | Walworth County | Total |
| Hicks* | 332 | 198 | 1845 | 2375 |
| Linse* | 325 | 192 | 1602 | 2119 |
| Huempfner* | 285 | 119 | 1548 | 1952 |
| Coburn | 257 | 137 | 1532 | 1926 |
| Kromholz | 241 | 98 | 1316 | 1655 |
| Mills | 216 | 127 | 1259 | 1602 |
City of Whitewater Municipal Judge
| Taylor* | 1494 |
| Cole | 789 |
