Want to Run for Local Office? Now's Your Chance.

V1 Staff |

Election season is almost upon us – and we’re not actually talking about the presidential race. (Despite the endless campaigning, we won’t actually vote for the next leader of the free world for almost a year.) We mean elections for local offices in our counties, cities, villages, and towns, which occur in the spring. Current officeholders have until Dec. 28 to declare they won’t be running for re-election, while candidates have until Jan. 5 to file the necessary nomination forms to throw their proverbial hats into the ring. Primaries are Feb. 16 and the general election is April 5. In Eau Claire, five at-large City Council seats – those currently held by Catherine Emmanuelle, Eric Larsen, Monica Lewis, David Strobel, and Michael Xiong – will be on the ballot. In addition, District 1 Councilman Tim Tewalt, who was appointed to the council to fill the late David Duax’s seat, will have to run to serve the remaining two years of that term. Four seats on the Eau Claire school board also will be up for grabs, as will two Altoona school board seats, three Chippewa Falls school board seats, plus positions on the Chippewa Falls City Council; county boards in Eau Claire, Chippewa, and Dunn counties; and many other posts. If you’ve got a hankering to run, you can find the official forms online at tinyurl.com/cp37zfj.