Jim Ritterbush appointed to Green Bay Common Council District 8 after ranked‑choice vote

The Green Bay Common Council appointed Jim Ritterbush to fill the District 8 vacancy following a ranked‑choice paper ballot among the council's 11 members.

Ritterbush, a longtime Green Bay resident who described himself as a neighborhood activist and community volunteer, received six first‑place votes in the council’s ranked‑choice round and was declared the winner. The council used a ranked‑choice procedure (each member ranked the three applicants) and read ballots aloud; the clerk tabulated the results and announced the outcome.

Ritterbush thanked the council after taking the oath of office administered at the meeting. “Thank you for all your support, and I really look forward to working with this council,” he said after being sworn in.

Three candidates presented to the council earlier in the meeting: Jim Ritterbush, Mark Anderson and Megan Borchardt. Each candidate made a roughly 10‑minute presentation and answered a set of qualifying and subject‑matter questions from council members on topics including infrastructure funding, economic growth, public safety and parks. All three said they would recuse themselves from matters presenting a direct conflict of interest and that they intend to run for the office in 2026 if appointed.

Attorney Kochart advised the council on process options for filling vacancies and noted the appointment is governed by city ordinance; the council chose ranked‑choice voting to select an appointee rather than repeated roll calls. Clerk Jeffreys oversaw distribution and collection of the paper ballots and read the ballots to create a tabulation record in the meeting minutes.

Ending: Jim Ritterbush was sworn in at the meeting and will serve as District 8 alder until the next regularly scheduled election; he said he intends to run for election in 2026.