SHEBOYGAN – Mike Vandersteen, a former mayor of Sheboygan and passionate community leader, passed away Dec. 18. He was 73 years old.
Vandersteen served as mayor for the City of Sheboygan from 2013 to 2021. Before that, he was a community member on the City Plan Commission and a member and chair of the Board of Parks and Forestry Commissioners. He also served as a long-time Sheboygan County supervisor and county board chair from 2008 to 2012.
“Mike Vandersteen was a man who cared about his community. He cared about Sheboygan and always wanted to make it a better place,” Mayor Ryan Sorenson said. “He’ll definitely be missed. He was definitely a good man.”
As Common Council President, Sorenson said he worked with Vandersteen on various issues, like advocating to close the “dark store” loophole, advance more funding for road repairs, and transitioning to mobile cart pickup for trash and recycling services.
Sorenson added Vandersteen was an effective leader with a lot of institutional knowledge about the Sheboygan community and local government.
Sorenson won the mayoral race against Vandersteen in April 2021.
“I offer condolences to his family, and I hope everyone in Sheboygan takes time to reflect on Mike Vandersteen’s legacy in our community,” Sorenson said.
Originally from Green Bay, Vandersteen moved to Sheboygan in the 1970s to start a branch of DuBois Formalwear. He managed that store for 40 years before becoming mayor. It closed in fall 2024 after 51 years of business.
While managing the formalwear store, Vandersteen led the Downtown Merchants Association, now the Harbor Centre Business Improvement District, and witnessed the transformation of Eighth Street from a pedestrian mall back to a street for vehicles after businesses suffered.
Vandersteen led the BID for three years, during which he served on the Sheboygan Development Corporation, which developed the marina in the 1990s.
He was also involved in various community organizations, like the Sheboygan Jaycees, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the YMCA, Downtown Rotary and Rotary Foundation, and the United Way of Sheboygan County.
Most recently, Vandersteen served as president on the Board of Directors for Making Spirits Bright and Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership.
Contact Alex Garner at 224-374-2332 or agarner@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Mike Vandersteen, former Sheboygan mayor, has died. He was 73.
Reporting by Alex Garner, Sheboygan Press / Sheboygan Press
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