By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
After losing a recently elected council member in August, the Whitewater Common Council is once again up to full capacity with a recent appointment in place.
Patrick Wellnitz, who ran as a write-in candidate for the city’s first aldermanic district this spring, was chosen to fill the seat through April. Wellnitz succeeds Craig Stauffer, who defeated Wellnitz in April during the spring general election.
Stauffer’s stint on the council was short-lived. In August, he indicated he was stepping down because he was moving out of the community to assume a job in Iowa.
Wellnitz, a certified public accountant, is self-employed and operates such local businesses as Wellnitz Tax and Accounting Service and Whitewater Travel Inc. His roots and connections in the community include time at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting.
Wellnitz also has served on the Whitewater Fire and Rescue Company and has held leadership roles with Whitewater Youth Football League and Downtown Whitewater Inc.
“I have no motivation to run, other than a sense of civic duty,” Wellnitz said Sept. 15 when he was interviewed for the open position by the council.
In a case of déjà vu, the council was tasked with determining who will fill Stauffer’s seat through next April, when voters in the district will have a say in who fills the remaining year.
From his vantage point, Wellnitz said he viewed decisions revolving around the property tax levy and the more grandiose municipal budget as some of the important issues in the community.
According to the application materials he submitted to the city, Wellnitz said he intends to throw his hat into the ring next year for the formal election.
He could have challengers for the seat.
Wellnitz was one of three residents within the first district who expressed interest in keeping the seat warm through April. The other applicants were Kenneth Kienbaum and Paula Malone.
Much like Wellnitz, Kienbaum’s name surfaced in this year’s spring general election. At the time, he was vying for the third aldermanic district seat that was up for grabs. Ultimately, incumbent council member Chris Grady defeated Kienbaum.
In the months since, Kienbaum moved within the community and now resides in the first aldermanic district.
The six sitting members of the council were unanimous in stating their difficulty in choosing an appointee, though the process is not uncharted territory.
Within the past year, the council has appointed Brienne Diebolt-Brown to the third district seat for a short period of time and, more recently, named UW-Whitewater student James Langnes III to the second aldermanic district seat.
The vote to appoint Wellnitz to the first aldermanic district seat last week was not unanimous, though the six council members making the decision were largely indifferent to who ultimately filled the position, given the experience and philosophy of the trio.
“Every one here… represents the best in the community,” Langnes said.
