Incumbents hang on in Village Board election

Both incumbents and a Plan Commission member earned two-year terms on the Fredonia Village Board in Tuesday’s general election.

Anne Redmond received 364 votes (28.17%) while incumbents Richard Abegglen got 352 (27.24%) and Jessica Franck got 323 (25%), according to unofficial results from the Ozaukee County Clerk’s Office. Turnout was nearly 41% with 600 of 1,471 ballots cast.

Challenger Rudy McCormick, a former trustee, received 234 votes (18.11%).

Four people were running for three seats. Incumbent Natalie Eippert did not seek re-election.

Abegglen, 50, is a certification and regulatory engineer who a has bachelor of administration degree from Lakeland College. He has lived in the village for 12 years and is married with four children, one adult and three at home. He has been on the board for eight years.

Franck, 51, is a construction project manager who has a bachelor’s degree in industrial technology from Bemidji State and a master’s degree in management from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota. She is married with one child and has lived in the village for 24 years.

Redmond, 58, is a construction project manager who has a bachelor’s degree in management and a master’s degree in construction management from the University of Wisconsin-Stout. She is widowed with two adult sons. She is on the Plan Commission.

McCormick, 54, works in sales and marketing for multiple industries and used to own a real estate business.

The three winners support growth in the village and the Fredonia First initiative that gives new construction home buyers $5,000 in waived fees. McCormick does not support waiving those fees.

In a separate special election to finish the one year left on Don Dohrwardt’s term after he resigned last fall for health reasons, Eric Stowe received 290 votes to Bruce Paape’s 214.

Stowe, 44, a senior manager of demand planning for Spectrum Brands, said he is a “process guy” with a background in supply chain and continuous improvement who has lived in the village for 10 years, is married and has a 10-year-old son.

Paape, 61, is a master electrician who has run his own business since 1998. He is married with two adult children.

Stowe said his top priority is cost control and suggests doing an “in-depth review of where our costs lie” to determine what to cut.

Paape, a former trustee who didn’t seek re-election in 2024, wants the village to rein in spending and support its infrastructure.

He won a second two-year term on the County Board in an uncontested race, receiving 704 votes to 15 write-ins.

Trustees will be sworn in later this month.