Local government and school board seats, a school referendum and a Wisconsin Supreme Court battle are among the races Door County voters will see on their ballots in the April 7 election. Here’s a quick look at contested races and how and where to cast your vote.
County Board (two-year terms)
All 21 Door County Board seats are up for election but only six of the races are contested, four featuring incumbent supervisors seeking reelection, and one district has no candidates for its vacant seat on the board.
The contested races are in District 3, with Jan Guilette and Jason Tlachac vying to take the seat of the late longtime Supervisor Roy Englebert; District 9, between Supervisor Ryan Shaw and Amy Austad Labott; District 10, with Supervisor Phillip R. Rockwell and Alexis Heim Peter; District 16, between Supervisor David M. Enigl and Theresa Cain-Bieri; District 17, between Supervisor Bob Bultman and Dave Smith; and District 21, with Joe Rogers and Nancy Barnowsky Goss seeking to replace Supervisor Joel Gunnlaugson who is not seeking reelection.
No registered candidate is on the ballot for the vacant board seat in District 19, which also had no candidate in the 2024 election. The seat will be offered to the person who wins the highest number of write-in votes in the election, but if that person doesn’t accept the seat, the board will ask people to submit letters of interest for the position and appoint someone to fill it. As of March 31, no one had registered as a write-in candidate.
School district (three-year terms)
The Sturgeon Bay School District is the only one in Door County with a contested race for its school board while another district is short of candidates to fill its seats.
Sturgeon Bay has four candidates for three seats. Current members Allison Haus and Damion Howard seek to retain their seats and are joined on the ballot by Jeff Matson and Cliff Wind, while incumbent Tina Jennerjohn is not running for reelection.
Three seats are up for grabs in Southern Door, but there’s only one candidate, with board president Kim Starr running to retain his seat, current members Marissa Norton and Sam Counard choosing to not seek reelection and no one else filing candidacy papers. Joseph Finger, Kayla Schopf, Luke Spude and Kristin Tassoul are registered as write-in candidates as of March 31, and prospective candidates can register as write-ins by April 3. Registered write-in names will not appear on the ballots.
The other three school board races in the county, in the Sevastopol, Gibraltar and Washington Island school districts, are uncontested with incumbents not facing challengers for their seats.
School referendum
Residents of the Southern Door County School District have a referendum question asking to allow the district to exceed its state-set revenue limits by $3.15 million a year for the 2026-27, 2027-28 and 2028-29 school years. According to the district, this is not expected to raise the current tax rate of $6.99 per $1,000 of property value because of its recent debt management efforts, assuming equalized property values continue to grow.
A news release from the district said the additional revenue would fund operational expenses specifically in the areas of teacher and staff compensation, safety and security measures, maintenance of school facilities and daily operations, and continuing educational programs and services. Funds would not be used for new school construction or remodeling current facilities.
If the referendum does not pass, the district will recommend $1.67 million worth of cuts for the 2026-27 year in employees, compensation (including insurance plan changes), programs, and classroom and student resources. It also says funds from the referendum are not part of a long-term plan but recommendations to cover a possible budget deficit for the coming school year.
Southern Door currently is working under an operational referendum passed in 2022 that allows the district to exceed its revenue limit by $975,000 per year for three years to maintain programs and services. It expires this June at the end of the 2025-26 school year, and the district has implemented numerous cost-saving measures while operating with the extra revenue that include 24 staff reductions; delaying hiring for other roles; combining the elementary and middle school principal positions; delaying purchases; reduced activities, courses and student services; increasing class sizes, and lowering budgets for supplies and maintenance.
City of Sturgeon Bay (two-year terms)
Three of the City Council’s seven seats are up for election in April, and two of those races are contested: District 4, with Ald. Spencer Gustafson and challenger Joshua Julian; and District 6, with Ald. Seth Wiederanders and challenger Susan Hilsabeck. District 2 Ald. Matthew Huston is running unopposed to retain his seat.
Villages and towns (two-year terms)
All races for village boards in Door County are uncontested, but four of eight town boards that have seats up for election have contested races.
The towns of Sevastopol and Liberty Grove each have four candidates for two seats on their boards, with one incumbent supervisor seeking reelection in each. Sevastopol has Supervisor Jeanne Vogel running against candidates Stacie Leist Denil, Kimberly Denil and Keith (Buck) Felhofer; and Liberty Grove has Supervisor Dan Watts facing Rick Kingsbury, Sylvann Welcome and William David Sherman.
The Town of Washington has a three-way race for two town board spots between Supervisors Brian Mann and Rich Ellefson and challenger Lee Baxter, and Town of Gardner Supervisor Glenn Dart is challenged by Bryan Ford for his Supervisor 4 seat while incumbent Ted Anderson is unopposed for Supervisor 3.
The other town board races this spring, in Egg Harbor, Baileys Harbor, Gibraltar and Nasewaupee, have incumbent supervisors running unopposed to retain their seats.
Wisconsin Supreme Court (10-year term)
A statewide race also is on the ballot, with current Wisconsin Court of Appeals judges Chris Taylor and Judge Maria Lazar competing to join the state Supreme Court. The winner will replace Justice Rebecca Bradley, who is not seeking reelection.
While the Supreme Court race technically is nonpartisan, Taylor, serving on the 4th District Court in Madison since 2023, is considered liberal and backed by liberal groups, while Lazar, serving on the 2nd District Court in Waukesha since 2022, is considered conservative and backed by such groups. Taylor served as a Democrat in the state Assembly from 2011 to ’20, and Lazar was an assistant attorney general for Republican JB Van Hollen in then-Gov. Scott Walker’s administration who successfully defended the state in cases involving its Act 10, voter ID and redistricting laws.
The result won’t change the ideological makeup of the seven-member court, with a current 4-3 liberal majority and the retiring Bradley considered on the conservative side. A Lazar win would maintain the 4-3 ideology while a Taylor win would increase the liberal-leaning margin to 5-2.
When and where can I vote?
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 7. Early voting opened in Wisconsin on March 24, and those interested in voting before April 7 should contact their local municipal clerk for specific hours and information. A photo ID is required at the polling place for registered voters to receive a ballot, and proof of residency is required to register. All polling places are accessible for older persons and those with disabilities.
For those residing in townships in Door County, the polls will be in the town halls for Baileys Harbor, Clay Banks, Egg Harbor, Forestville, Gardner, Jacksonville, Liberty Grove, Nasewaupee (which doubles as the fire station), Sevastopol and Union (which also is the community center); the community centers in the towns of Brussels, Gibraltar and Washington; and Arle Memorial Hall (the former Knights of Columbus hall) in the Town of Sturgeon Bay.
For residents of Door County villages, polling places will be in the Bertschinger Community Center in Egg Harbor, the administrative office in Ephraim (10005 Norway St. at County Q), Forestville Village Hall, and the Sister Bay Fire Station.
In the City of Sturgeon Bay, those living in District 1, 2 or 3 can vote at City Hall, 421 Michigan St.; those in District 4 or 5 in the social hall at Bay View Lutheran Church, 340 W. Maple St.; and those in District 6 or 7 at PATH of Door County, 340 Jaycee Court.
For more information about voting in Door County, visit co.door.wi.gov, click on “Election Results” under the Our County tab at the top of the page, then click “Voter & Election Information.” The page includes links to pages about voter registration, ID cards, finding what’s on your ballot and more.
Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@usatodayco.com.
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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Here’s your guide to Door County’s April 2026 elections
Reporting by Christopher Clough, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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