Familiar faces compete for Galesville mayor, Ward One council seats

All four residents competing for a pair of seats in Galesville city government in next Tuesday’s spring election carry experience representing the municipality.

In one race, current council members David Carlson and Tom Thatcher seek election to become Galesville’s next mayor. The winner will replace current Mayor Vince Howe, who did not seek reelection.

Elsewhere, former council member Randy Larson is running against incumbent Tory-Kale Schulz to represent the city’s first ward in a repeat of the 2022 electoral race that saw Schulz win 52-45.

Votes can be cast from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on April 2 in the Galesville Public Library community room.

Mayoral candidates carry experience, believe updates could benefit city

Both candidates for mayor believe they have the experience to be a good leader for Galesville.

Carlson has lived in Galesville for three years and was elected to the council in 2023. He was on the Eau Claire city council from 1993 to 1996 as well as the Eau Claire county board from 1996-1998. He spent five months on the Sun Prairie city council.

Carlson said his experience in government, including his current job as county economic development and tourism manager, could help the city.

“I would like to be mayor of Galesville because I feel like I’ve got the skillset to be a good mayor. I get along with just about anybody whether we agree on issues or not,” Carlson said. “I feel like at the end of the day I can get along with people, move toward getting things accomplished. I do feel like my work and life experiences give me the skillset to be a good leader.”

Thatcher has lived in Galesville for 29 years and been on the council since 2015. 

He volunteers at Old Main Cultural Center, G-E-T High School, Zion Lutheran Church and Apple Affair.

Thatcher seeks the mayor chair because he wants to keep serving the community, he said.

“My family has always given back to the community, and I think this is a good way to give back to the community. When I walk around the community I see a lot of good people. I see a lot of neighbors helping neighbors and I want to be part of Galesville growing and continuing to be a place families want to move to.”

Both candidates said the next mayor should be capable of working with others in a constructive and respectable manner.

“The ability to compromise and the ability to work with people to accomplish a single goal even though you may have different ways to accomplish that goal,” Thatcher said of traits a good mayor should possess.

Carlson also said the mayor should be a successful leader.

“A good part of the job is running meetings but more than that I think the job of the mayor in my estimation is to provide some leadership and provide some vision.”

Improvements in Galesville are within reach, both candidates believe.

Carlson said economic development and growing Galesville can keep property taxes low for current residents. He specifically mentioned the ‘lower table’, the area downhill from downtown near the fire department.

“Anybody that’s been here for any length of time knows that the best days of the lower table are long in the past but I think there’s so much potential there for redevelopment. … or for new development, housing, mixed use housing/retail, that kind of thing. But the lower table has such a history in this community of being a focal point.”

Thatcher believes the city’s procedures and policies need to be updated, mentioning specifically the police manual, comprehensive plan and ordinances as areas that need attention.

Despite voting against a motion at the March 14 meeting to update the comprehensive plan, Thatcher said he still believes the plan needs to be refined. He voted against the recent motion because he wants more information on the finer details of the procedure—the city began reworking its ordinances years ago, but there was no electronic option provided by the vendor, and Thatcher said some were copied straight from another municipality.

“The top priority would be to get the stakeholders involved in updating these policies, procedures and ordinances to make sure everyone understands them and they’re updated to current standards,” he said.

Larson, Schulz compete for Ward One seat

A rematch of the 2022 election is on the ballot in the first ward as Larson faces Schulz.

Larson has lived in Galesville for nearly 30 years, he said, serving on the council for six.

Larson pointed to successfully overriding a veto by former mayor John Graf to give a local dentist the option to bring their practice to downtown Galesville as an example of his action.

If elected, Larson said residents can expect him to work on their behalf.

“I hope they’re going to expect and receive what I’ve done in the past. My objective always has been to serve my constituents and neighbors and be the conduit between City Hall and the layperson that’s out there with questions or has problems, whether it’s a pothole in the road or whatever.”

Schulz is a member of the Downtown Galesville Business Alliance, the Galesville Lions Club and volunteers for the Miss Galesville scholarship program.

Schulz seeks reelection because he feels he can provide more than he did in his first term. Schulz acknowledged ongoing disruptions throughout the last two years.

“The first term has been challenging and not as I expected. I still feel that there is so much to do and I didn’t get that opportunity since I was removed from committees. Even though I was still showing up to other committees, I still feel like I didn’t really get a full opportunity. .. There are lessons that I learned and I want to do it better these next two years.”

Schulz referenced adding the Pledge of Allegiance and allowing public comment as two actions he is proud to have led as councilor.

Larson said the city council can improve by remembering to serve others.

“I hope we get back to a perspective that we are there to serve the people of Galesville. If you lose that perspective and get too much of your own ego or goals, it can corrupt and I think we’ve seen some of that. My hope is that we’ll have a more civil council and learn from our past.”

Communication is “huge”, Larson said

“At the council itself whether it’s closed sessions or public meetings, it’s serious conversation and it needs to stay on track and within the rule of law. I hope I can convey the concerns I hear around town. It’s (Ward One) a majority of the business owners, so it’s a huge responsibility.”

Schulz mentioned having an active comprehensive plan as a necessary improvement for the council.

“We need to make sure we have a council that comes together and knows that we need to have a plan. And that plan is a plan of growth, a plan of safety to our community and a plan that really focuses on the importance of families.”

“We can definitely come to the table with a fresh start. … we have such a great opportunity to really look at the mistakes and lessons of the past and use that to benefit Galesville for the future.”