New faces on La Crosse school board and county board chosen in Tuesday voting

The La Crosse school board will have three new members, following Tuesday’s election, but it may take time to sort out the official winners.

The three incumbents whose terms are expiring all chose not to run again, and only two candidates filed papers to get on the ballot. With two-thirds of the precincts reporting, shortly after the polls closed, 44 percent of the votes were write-ins, including votes for seven declared candidates not listed on ballots. As for the two candidates listed, Tim Alberts had 32 percent, and high school student Adam Manka received 24 percent. The winners of the three seats will be sworn in later this month.

In a La Crosse County court race, incumbent Judge Mark Huesmann received over 50 percent of the votes against former judge Candice Tlustosch. Huesmann was appointed by the governor last year upon the retirement of Judge Todd Bjerke.

The La Crosse County Board will welcome a few new members as a result of the April election, mostly from districts where incumbents decided not to run again. The majority of the 30-member board was re-elected to new two year terms, with many running unopposed. In one close race, current board chair Monica Kruse won 52 percent of the vote in District 15, against challenger Heidi Worminghaus.

There was not much suspense in the Wisconsin presidential primary this year. Joe Biden and Donald Trump already had won enough delegates to be nominated by their parties, before Tuesday’s voting in the Badger State. In La Crosse County, President Biden won nearly 90 per cent of the Democratic votes, with Dean Phillips getting 4 percent. On the Republican ticket, former President Trump had just over 70 percent of the county vote, with 16 percent going to Nikki Haley.