COUNCIL SQUAD ASSEMBLE. The three new at-large members of the Eau Claire City Council are, from left to right, Charlie Johnson, Larry Mboga, and Joshua Miller. (Submitted photos)

Three newcomers joined two incumbents in winning at-large seats on the Eau Claire City Council earlier this month. Incumbent Kate Beaton received 6,852 votes, the most among the eight candidates on the April 5 ballot. Beaton and fellow City Councilmember Roderick Jones will be joined by newcomers Joshua Miller, Larry Mboga, and Charlie Johnson when council members are officially sworn on April 19. While City Council elections are officially nonpartisan, the five winners received in-kind contributions from the Eau Claire County Democratic Party and were also listed on party promotional materials. Candidates who fell short included Bob Carr, Brian Trowbridge, Mark Richter, and write-in candidate Mary Partlow.

Several members were also elected to the Eau Claire School Board. The winners were incumbents Tim Nordin (the board’s president) and Marquell Johnson as well as newcomer Stephanie Farrar. The trio ran on a slate together, and also received in-kind help from the Democratic Party. They defeated three conservative challengers – Nicole Everson, Melissa Winter, and Corey Cronrath — who were backed by Republican groups.

Numerous other races were also on the spring ballot, including all seats on local county boards as well as a number of town, village, and judicial positions. In Eau Claire County, Judge John Manydeeds was re-elected without opposition, and Eau Claire attorney Beverly Wickstrom was elected to a newly created judicial seat, also without opposition. 

Also in Eau Claire County, a nonbinding referendum was approved which calls on the state to establish a right to clean water. The measure passed by a margin of 13,703 to 3,706.