January 7, 2020 – West Bend, WI – The deadline is today, Tuesday, January 7, 2020, for all candidates to file paperwork and signatures if they plan on participating in the April 7, 2020 Spring Election.
According to the Wisconsin Election Commission Washington County Circuit Court Judge Branch 2 Justice James K. Muehlbauer has filed the appropriate number of signatures to run again.
In West Bend another candidate filed papers to run for common council. Brett Berquist will be running for District 3 alderman.
Berquist, 59, is a former West Bend Police Officer. A life-long resident of West Bend and Washington County.
“I worked as a prison guard, at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and I was at Moraine Park and then I was sworn into the West Bend Police Department in 1994 and worked 20 years for the city and retired in 2014,” he said.
Berquist also went overseas as a member of National Guard. “I went to Iraq in 2003 -2004,” he said. “I was there for 14 months total.”
After retirement Berquist said he was looking for something to do and wanted to get back to serving the community.
“I’ve always been about service,” he said. “My career was part of it and the military; when I got out of police work I found a new connection with my faith and it’s good timing to give back.”
Berquist said he spent seven hours recently collecting signatures. “I managed to get two blocks in my district,” he said.
Some of the hot topics were roads and the special assessment for neighbors following construction on 18th Avenue.
“As far as roads are concerned if we want to have good stuff we have to pay for it,” he said. “Bottom line is we would like to be fiscally conservative and keep taxes low but there are also requirements.”
Berquist said this is his first time running for a political position.
He called his former co-worker, interim mayor Steve Hoogester, for advice. “This isn’t about me or an ego it’s about doing the right thing,” he said.
Incumbent Dist. 3 alderman Andrew Chevalier turned in his non-candidacy papers on Dec. 11, 2019. Chevalier followed in his father’s footsteps and was elected to the council in April 2018.
There will be a race for the seat in Dist. 3 as Mary Ann Rzeszutek filed a declaration of candidacy in December.
