The League of Women Voters Whitewater Area has announced that it will be holding two events this Saturday: the first is a forum for Whitewater Common Council candidates whose names will appear on the April 2 ballot and the second is a training opportunity for those who would like to learn how to assist and register voters while manning voter registration tables. 

Candidates forum

According to the release, the candidates forum will be held this Saturday in the council chambers in the Whitewater Municipal Building, 312 W. Whitewater St., Whitewater, beginning at 1 p.m. The event is set to run until 2:30 p.m.

Among three seats due for reelection, voters will find one race for one open at-large seat. Following the death of Councilman Jim Allen late last year, two challengers will vie for the late incumbent’s seat. They are Greg Majkrzak and Keith Staebler.

Additionally, in April, the names of Brian Schanen, who is running for an open seat in the city’s Aldermanic District 4, and Orin Smith, who is running for an open seat in Aldermanic District 2, will appear on the ballot.

Both challengers are running unopposed.

In Aldermanic District 4, incumbent Jill Gerber, through her decision to not file paperwork with the city clerk’s office by the specified deadline, opted not to run again, leaving her seat open.

In Aldermanic District 2, incumbent Lukas Schreiber made his intentions known late last year that he would not seek reelection, leaving his seat open.

All four candidates whose name will appear on the spring general election ballot will participate in Saturday’s forum, according to the league’s release, where they will answer questions posed by members of the audience.

Those attending the forum will be presented with cards upon which they may write questions they would like posed to the candidates.

As stated in the release, “question checkers” will sort the cards by question topic, to reduce redundancies before questions are handed to the forum moderator.

The league, within its release, noted that it does not accept questions targeted to a specific candidate. Questions that have been prepared by members of the league’s board will be used only if there are not enough questions from the audience to fill the full forum time allotment.

Majkrzak and Staebler also were among applicants vying for a vacant seat which was recently filled through appointment by members of the city council. During the appointment process, each candidate answered a series of questions. An earlier story, including the questions asked by council members and answers given be each of the two then-applicants, Majkrzak and Staebler, is here: https://whitewaterwise.com/staebler-majkrzak-both-candidates-running-for-an-at-large-council-seat-in-april-respond-to-tuesdays-vacancy-applicant-questions/.

Voter registration education, training

Additionally, according to a recent release, the league will be holding a training session focusing on voter registration education and assistance.

The training session will be held this Saturday, at the Starin Park Senior Center, 504 West Starin Rd., Whitewater, between 1 and 2 p.m.

As stated in the release, the training is open to league members and members of the broader public who are interested in helping staff league voter registration assistance and information tables during the 2024 election cycle.

Those interested in serving in this capacity do not need to be members of the league, the release noted.

Training will be provided by Julia Ross, who is a former voter services chairperson with the league, the release read. Ross, within the release, is described as having “years of voter registration experience.”

Training will include “a brief introduction to Badger Books, which are electronic poll books to be used for the first time in Whitewater in the spring election on April 2,” the release stated.  

“If you have never assisted others with voter registration information or would just like to brush up on your skills, please attend. League voter service activities are fun and rewarding experiences. This year, the league will also have a presence in local high schools,” the release concluded.

For more information about the league, and the education and advocacy it provides, visit its website: https://my.lwv.org/wisconsin/whitewater-area.