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Kewaunee council appoints Roberta Gencourt to fill District 1 vacancy after candidate interviews
Summary
After interviewing four candidates for the District 1 vacancy, the Kewaunee Common Council appointed Roberta Gencourt (who asks to be called “Bobby”) and administered the oath so she could take her seat immediately. The council also discussed process rules for the appointment.
The Kewaunee Common Council on Nov. 11 appointed Roberta Gencourt to fill the District 1 alderman vacancy left by Kathy Brown’s resignation, after interviewing four candidates earlier in the meeting. The mayor administered the oath immediately after the council announced the successful nominee.
The council opened the evening’s business by describing the selection process: each candidate would give a brief presentation, council members could ask questions, nominations would be taken from the floor, and a roll-call vote would determine the winner (a majority of those voting is required). Heath, the city administrator, reviewed that process before the interviews began.
Four candidates addressed the council in turn. Kathleen House said she has a background in social work, owns a local shop and would represent District 1 by listening to residents and communicating regularly. Tom Schneider described previous council service including roles on finance and public works and emphasized constituent responsiveness. Roberta — who noted that her name on the application is Roberta but asked to be called "Bobby" — described a career in federal and nonprofit work focused on rural development, grant leveraging and financial management. Art Schauer detailed prior council experience and said budgeting and reviewing city-owned property holdings should be priorities.
After the presentations the council opened nominations. Brewster nominated Roberta Gencourt and Nelson seconded; the mayor and other members then discussed and closed nominations. The council conducted a roll-call vote and announced the successful candidate; the mayor and the clerk then administered the oath so the new District 1 alderperson could assume the seat immediately.
Roberta (who asked to be called "Bobby") told council members she looks forward to serving and emphasized volunteerism and engagement with residents. The council’s action concluded with brief procedural confirmations that the appointment and swearing-in were conducted in open session per the process described at the meeting.
The council’s formal appointment allowed the new alderperson to take her seat immediately; the meeting proceeded to other agenda items.
