Challengers Emerge for Village, School Board Elections

Menomonee Falls residents will have the option to vote for new village and school leaders come April.

Challengers have emerged for both School Board and Village Board seats. The deadline to submit the necessary filing papers was 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Village Board members Michael McDonald, seat four; Jeff Steliga, seat five; and Steve Raymonds, seat six, will all seek to defend their positions on the board in spring. However, McDonald and Steliga will both face competition for their seats in April.

Falls resident Jeremy Walz will challenge McDonald, and Bonnie Lemmer will challenge Steliga in April. Raymonds will run unopposed. 

Terms for School Board members Lori Blodorn, Faith VanderHorst, and Scott Ternes will also expire in 2013. Blodorn has already stepped down from the board and was recently hired by the Menomonee Falls School District for a human resources position.

The board will decide how it will handle Blodorn’s vacant seat at its meeting Jan. 14.

VanderHorst and Ternes will both seek re-election in April. Michele Divelbiss will once again run for a seat on the board. Divelbiss came up short in last year’s contentious School Board race. Divelbiss finished behind David Noshay and newcomer Paul Tadda in that election. However, Divelbiss garnered 22 percent of the vote.

Village Board members serve three-year terms and are paid $5,500 annually. Falls School Board members are paid $5,000 annually. The election will be held April 2.