Candidate Forums and Interviews

Candidate Forums and Interviews

 April 7th Election: Two Rivers City Council and County Supervisor Districts 5, 16. 20, and Wisconsin Supreme Court

Two Rivers

On March 19, 2026, LWVMC, The Chamber of Manitowoc County, and the Two Rivers Business Association co-hosted a candidate forum for Two Rivers City Council. Five candidates are running for three at-large seats. They are: Katherine Dahlke, Shawntel Hoffman, Darla LeClair, Bonnie Shimulunas, and Adam Wachowski.

The forum was recorded and is available on the Two Rivers YouTube channel https://youtu.be/RhG-NPrI65Q.

County Supervisor 

 
All county supervisors are elected every two years. This year districts 2 and 8 have no candidates running. Constituents will not have a  representative.  District 5 (Manitowoc Rapids area), Districts 16 (Maple Grove and Franklin), and District 20 (Mishicot Village, Mishicot, and Two Creeks) are contested races.
 

District 5

William Debaets an Jill Pope will face off agaist each other.
 

District 16

LWVMC reached out numerous times to District 16 incumbent Brad Busse and opponent Dillon Meisnest for an interview via email and phone. We receied no response.
 

District 20

Candidates for District 20 responded to our request. The incumbent, Lee L. Engelbrecht responded in writing. Andrew Schwarma, who is opposing him, responded in a recorded interview. 
 
 
Engelbrecht: 

What motivates you to run for county supervisor and what skills/abilities do you bring to the job?

 I am running for county supervisor to help maintain our services and keep our county roads in good shape and tax rate reasonable. I have been involved with the town board for 40 plus years and 16 years as chairman. I have also served on the state towns association board, 12 years as president, and on the Manitowoc County Board six years. I have also served on the board of directors for the Mishicot Ambulance service and have been on the Two Creeks fire department for 50 plus years.

Tax increases are probably the most common reason constituents  contact their county supervisor.  How would you address concerns about tax increases?

 We need to try to keep our tax increases to a minimum, however, we need to also keep our salaries competitive to the private sector and again maintain good county roads.

The budget is complicated and in 2024 there were “errors” in the Human Services budget that resulted in a sales tax being implemented.  What would you do as one representative to ensure there is proper oversight of the budget?

I am not on the Human Service board so it is hard to see the errors.  The financials should be reviewed by the members of the board on a monthly basis to make sure things are on track to stay within the budget.

Developers are approaching Lakeshore communities as locations for AI data centers. LWV Manitowoc County has been active in learning that process that these developers are using and advocating for transparency. What are your thoughts on AI data centers?

The need for AI data centers is continually growing, but the industry or developers need to figure out a way to not use the ag land that is needed for the agriculture industry.

Wisconsin Supreme Court

Unlike the last two Supreme Court Elections, this one has not drawn national attention. That is because it will not change the balance of the court between liberal and conservative judges. There are several sources of information. We have posted some here. We encourage you to research further.

Guides.Vote https://guides.vote/guide/2026-wisconsin-supreme-court-voter-guide-lazar...

WUWM Radio::  https://www.wuwm.com/wisconsin-supreme-court-election-2026-candidates

Wisconsin Watch: https://wisconsinwatch.org/2026/03/two-judges-two-paths-heres-what-sets-...

Issues: 
Educating Voters