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Marathon County exec committee opens appointment process to fill District 5 vacancy
Summary
The Marathon County Executive Committee voted to solicit letters of interest and have the chair and vice chair interview candidates to recommend an interim appointment to the full board for the District 5 seat left vacant by Supervisor Gisselman’s passing; a special election was judged likely not allowed under state law.
The Marathon County Executive Committee voted to open a process to solicit letters of interest and recommend an interim appointment to fill the District 5 supervisory seat left vacant by the passing of Supervisor Gisselman.
Committee members said a special election was likely not legally available because of state timing rules, leaving appointment or leaving the seat vacant as the options. Mike, identified in the meeting as corporation counsel, told the committee, “If the vacancy on the county board occurs, after June 1, in the year preceding the election, I I read state law as saying that you can't call a special election.”
Why it matters: District 5 residents will not have a full-term-elected representative in the near term unless the committee appoints an interim supervisor. Committee members debated whether an interim appointment would give an appointee an electoral advantage and whether constituents would prefer the seat remain vacant until the next scheduled election.
Committee discussion and timeline: The chair outlined three options — calling a special election, appointing under the board rules by soliciting letters of interest, or leaving the seat vacant until the next term. Supervisors expressed differing views. Supervisor Mirage relayed a conversation Supervisor Gisselman had had before his death, saying Gisselman “did not feel an appointment would be appropriate, that he would prefer to have an election so that his constituents would have the right to choose.”
Several supervisors favored appointment to ensure representation. Supervisor Robinson said, “I think that the residents of that district deserve representation,” and moved to open the application process. Vice Chair Dickinson said the board’s role was to “ensure that we have 38 supervisors at the table, to the best of our ability.”
Clerk and staff provided a potential rapid timeline: if advertisements were posted immediately, the committee could accept submissions and conduct interviews within about a week and present a recommended nominee to the full board at its next meeting if the interview process could be completed within a three-day window. The clerk also noted nomination papers for the next full term become available in December, and the regular election would be in April 2026.
Formal action and vote: Supervisor Robinson moved “that the board open up the process for people to submit their letters of interest for consideration and appointment or recommendation to the board by the chair and vice chair.” Supervisor Arstead seconded the motion. The committee chair called for a voice vote; the motion carried but was not unanimous. Individual roll-call votes were not recorded in the transcript.
Other items and next steps: The executive committee set its next meeting for Sept. 11 at 3 p.m. Committee members were asked to forward future agenda items to the chair. The chair instructed staff to post the solicitation for letters of interest and to coordinate interviews by the chair and vice chair for a recommendation to the full board.
Ending: The committee adjourned following the motion.
