Residents Vote For a New Direction on Their Village Board

Menomonee Falls voters have made their collective voice heard, and they wanted to see change on their Village Board.

Both Bonnie Lemmer and Jeremy Walz defeated incumbents Michael McDonald and Jeff Steliga Tuesday. The sweep of incumbents may have had a lot to do with voter backlash from the ongoing issues tied to the village's rough road traveled with the Radisson Hotel. 

Walz is a 35-year-old local machine shop employee who served in the Army and has lived in Falls for more than two decades. He graduated with honors from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a focus on secondary education, history and political science. Menomonee Falls Taxpayers Association endorsed his bid for Village Board.

"I’d like to say thanks to the voters who supported me, my family, and the Menomonee Falls Taxpayers Association for their endorsement. Now that it’s over, we should also give thanks to Mr. McDonald for his long service to the community, and hopefully he’ll stay involved. I'm Ready to get work," Walz said. “The whole board made a mistake with the hotel, and there are repercussions.”

Lemmer, 69, is a Shorewest real estate agent with a degree in communication. She ran to take a more immediate role in shaping the future of the village. She has 25 years of experience in management, contract negotiations, budget development, and productivity management working for small and Fortune 500 companies. 

"It was a long hard month. People are just not happy with what’s going on in the Falls and I think we can change things around," Lemmer said. "I’m hoping to uncover what’s going on with that Radisson now that I’m on the inside. I’m so excited to help out the village.

"I am going to get to the bottom of. You have to pay those contractors, I’ve seen too many contractors stiffed in the business that I’m in.”

Steliga served for 19 years on the Village Board, and was already collecting campaign signs Tuesday when he spoke with Patch. 

“I want to thank everyone for 19 years on the board," Steliga said. "It was a wonderful opportunity to serve. People clearly wanted to go in a different direction.” 

Michael McDonald did not immediately return a call from Patch Tuesday night. He was a trustee since 1990.  

Here’s how residents voted Tuesday in the Village Board race (all results are unofficial until canvassed):

Seat Four

• Jeremy Walz 52.9 percent, 3,215 votes
• Michael McDonald (inc.) 47 percent, 2,856 votes

Seat Five

• Bonnie Lemmer 53.1 percent, 3,203 votes
• Jeff Steliga (inc.) 46.8 percent, 2,825 votes

Trustee Steve Raymonds also kept his seat as he ran unopposed Tuesday. Voter turnout for the spring election was 28.5 percent of registered Falls voters. 

Roggensack Rolls in Menomonee Falls 

Residents also voted in a heated state Supreme Court election Tuesday, which was the only other contested election. Here’s how the votes tallied in Menomonee Falls:

State Supreme Court

• Patience Roggensack 78 percent, 5,509 votes 
• Ed Fallone 21.9 percet, 1,546 votes

School Board 

The Menomonee Falls School Board will also welcome a new member after an uncontested race.

Michele Divelbiss, who fell short of earning a School Board seat during the last board race, is on the board now. She joins incumbents Scott Ternes and Faith VanderHorst who also ran in that uncontested race. Divelbiss will fill the board vacancy left behind by Lori Blodorn, who was hired by the Menomonee Falls School District earlier this year.

Patch will update this story with candidate reactions.