Council president doesn’t see change in elected official as means for city administrator

Vote on La Crosse city clerk becoming appointed official coming. 

Changing how one position in La Crosse’s city hall is elected doesn’t lead where some skeptics believe.

There have been rumors that city council president Martin Gaul is pushing for the city clerk to be appointed rather than elected as a step toward a city administrator.

Not so, insists Gaul. In fact, it’s just the opposite.

“To me, there won’t ever be a city administrator,” Gaul said. “I personally don’t believe that we need a city administrator.”

Gaul feels like the move the city council will begin to vote on next week with the city clear, supports his belief.

“I think that our form of government here, having the mayor, an elected position by the whole city, is definitely something that I would continue to support in the future,” Gaul said. “Frankly, I think that changing the city clerks position supports that move.”

Current city clerk Teri Lehrke has been in the job since 1993. She has a little less than four years left in her current term.

Under the proposal considered by the council starting next week, the appointed position would begin then.