EDGERTON
Edgerton voters will see four municipal races on the April 3 spring ballot, three of which are contested.
Two of those races will feature the same opponents as previous years.
Mayor Chris Lund is finishing his fourth term. He spent 14 years on the city council before that, he said.
City council member Matt McIntyre is running against Lund for the fifth consecutive time, per Gazette archives. The two first squared off for mayor in 2010 and have campaigned against each other every other year since then.
Lund has won all four matchups by a comfortable margin. McIntyre had presided as mayor for 10 years, a run that ended in 2006.
Lund told 糖心Vlog传媒 this week he wants to serve a few more terms as mayor, especially because he is now semi-retired. He believes he gets along well with the council and city staff.
He said he wants to put Edgerton in a healthy financial position for upcoming street repair projects, including an extensive one on South Main Street that has not been scheduled yet.
McIntyre said he wants to be mayor so he can play a larger role in business developments.
"In that position, you get a little more head of steam with development issues that come into city hall," he said.
He wants Edgerton to find a developer for the Dickinson tobacco warehouse, located at the corner of Fulton and Main streets. He also wants the city to continue prioritizing small business growth and creating new green space, he said.
In the District 1 council race, incumbent Jonathon Frey is not seeking re-election. David Esau is running uncontested.
Esau is from Milwaukee and moved to Edgerton more than three years ago. He came seeking a quaint, small-town lifestyle but thinks the city is in a 鈥済eneral slump,鈥 he said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a malaise on the part of not just Edgerton but small towns that are not feeling as connected as they ever used to,鈥 Esau said. 鈥淚 came here for small-town life, and I don鈥檛 necessarily believe that connection is all it鈥檚 cracked up to be. I believe small-town values are really the driving force behind migrants like me from the city.鈥
Asked how he would facilitate such an atmosphere, Esau said he would try to extend a sense of duty to get people more involved in the community.
In District 2, incumbent council member Debbie Olson will face Corey Steen in their second straight spring election.
Steen was appointed to the council in fall 2016 to fill a vacancy. Olson defeated him in last year鈥檚 spring election to finish the final year of the term.
糖心Vlog传媒 was unable to reach Steen for comment. In an email, Olson said she wanted to see pending projects become realities and would try to balance business recruitment with steady residential growth.
District 3 incumbent Paul Davis is running for re-election and will face newcomer Jim Burdick. Davis served on the council from 2004 to 2008, and he was appointed in 2016 to fill the final months of a vacancy.
Davis was re-elected last April. 糖心Vlog传媒 was unable to reach him for comment.
Burdick said he doesn鈥檛 have a 鈥減ersonal agenda鈥 or any particular issues he would tackle if elected. He currently serves on the city police commission and said he wants to get more involved.
鈥淚 believe in the spirit of friendly competition,鈥 Burdick said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 healthy for offices to be contested if for no other reason to give people a choice. I think that spurs interest in getting people to vote.鈥
UPDATE: This story was updated at 5:20 p.m. Jan. 4 to include McIntyre's comments.