Steve J. Hass elected new City of Merrill Mayor
Lori J. Anderson-Malm to fill vacant City Clerk position; three new alderpersons voted in
By Tina L. Scott
MMC Staff
MERRILL – Five new faces will soon join the ranks at Merrill City Hall following the Tuesday, April 5 Spring Election.
Mayor, City Clerk, Street and Weed Commissioner
In the Mayoral race, with all eight precincts counted, Merrill residents elected Steve J. Hass to be their new Mayor, with Hass receiving 69.23% of the votes. Hass garnered 1,357 votes, while his opponent, William R. Bialecki, received 599 votes.
In the race for Merrill City Clerk, Lori L. Anderson-Malm was elected to fill the vacant position in Merrill City Hall. Anderson-Malm received 69.14% of the votes cast, collecting 1,295, while her opponent, John Guenther, received 576 votes.
Incumbent Ronald R. Liberty ran unopposed to continue on as Merrill’s Street and Weed Commissioner and was re-elected with 1,419 votes.
Alderpersons
Incumbent alderperson Paul Russell ran unopposed in District 1 and was re-elected to the position with 243 votes.
In Merrill District 2, Michael J. “Gus” Caylor ran unopposed and was elected with 219 votes.
Incumbent Rick Blake ran unopposed in District 3 and was re-elected with 135 votes.
In Merrill District 4, LaDonna Fermanich ran on the ballot, with Clyde Nelson running against her as a registered write-in candidate. Fermanich won the race, receiving 146 votes – 66.67% of the ballots cast. Write-in candidate(s) received 73 votes.
The District 5 race was hotly-contested. As of 10:05 p.m. on April 5, the final count showed 113 votes for challenger Dick Lupton and 112 votes for incumbent John M. VanLieshout, with Lupton winning the race in an upset by a single vote.
In District 6, incumbent Michael Rick emerged the winner in another tight race, winning by just five votes; Rick received 88 votes, while his challenger, Kyle Gulke, received 83.
Incumbent Mark J. Weix Jr. ran unopposed in District 7 and was re-elected with 287 votes.
In District 8, incumbent Steve Sabatke won re-election, receiving 58.45% of the vote. He collected 121 votes, while challenger Ann Heller received 84.