Two Gillett residents have filed as write-in candidates for two uncontested seats on the City Council. Marie Blaser, Ward 1, and Terry Nelson, Ward 2, filed papers as official write-in candidates for the April 1 spring election.
They are the sole candidates for positions held by Rick Raatz, Ward 1, and Tod Anderson, Ward 2, who submitted noncandidacy forms in December citing their dissatisfaction with the council.
Blaser, 59, will retire at the end of February from the Oconto County Sheriff’s Department after 27 years as a correctional officer. She said running for City Council looked like an interesting way to spend her time during her retirement.
“I thought, ‘Well, that’d be a good part-time job.’ I’ve never done anything like this before,” she said.
Raised in Suring, Blaser is a lifelong resident of Oconto County and a Gillett resident since 2000.
Nelson, 53, has lived in Gillett most of his life and ran a bar business in the city for 19 years. He is employed by Engebretsen Brothers LLC and has served as Oconto County Fair Board president for many years. He is as member of the Finnegan Lake Walleye Club and Breakfast on the Farm Committee.
This will be Nelson’s second run for office; he was unsuccessful in his 2010 bid for mayor.
“I will listen to people, and I’m not afraid to stand up to anyone,” he said.
He’d like see an improvement in the city’s financial status, saying if the Gillett City Council remains on the same course residents will be “taxed to no end.”
“It seems to me there must be some way to get some business in the community,” he added.
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