Eighth candidate announces for La Crosse mayor, as Kabat reflects on his 2 terms

A former candidate for state Senate has joined the mayor’s race in La Crosse. 

City records show that Paul Michael Weber has declared as the eighth candidate in the April election to succeed retiring Mayor Tim Kabat. 

Weber ran in the Democratic primary for the 32nd District Senate seat in August, and lost to Senator-elect Brad Pfaff.   

The top two candidates in the February primary for mayor will advance to the April ballot.

La Crosse’s outgoing mayor has advice for whoever wins his job in the future. 

Tim Kabat, who announced a month ago that he won’t seek a third term, says you may not know what to expect.    

On WIZM’s La Crosse Talk, the mayor said the job demands “100 per cent of your mind, your body, and your spirit.” 

Although he was prepared for criticism, Kabat is surprised by the negativity and “nastiness” of the comments in social media.

“The social media for us became just very negative on no matter what city issue there is. It just seems like there’s a lot of that,” said Kabat.    

He said it also surprises him, practically every week, to learn what city residents call the mayor to complain about.