“Joe’s army is going to be combing the city,” looking for write-in votes

Onalaska Mayor announces plan for reelection

The spring election for mayor of Onalaska is back to being a two-man race.

Incumbent Mayor Joe Chilsen has officially launched a write-in effort, after a mistake on his nomination papers made them exempt, therefore he was left short of enough signatures to make the April ballot.

Besides trying to argue a case for a second term, Chilsen also will have to show Onalaska voters how to write in his name.

“All our literature is going to explain how to write in my name for mayor and we’re going to get the word out,” Chilsen said at his announcement Wednesday. “Joe’s army is going to be combing the city. We’re going to make it happen.”

The challenge to Chilsen’s papers came from the only candidate now on the ballot, Jack Pogreba.

During his campaign announcement, Chilsen said little about the legal challenge, only commenting that Jack “did what he thought he should do.”

Mid-January, Pogreba said he wasn’t tipped off, but heard rumors current mayor Joe Chilsen’s papers could be missing key information.

“I wasn’t tipped off at nothing. I planned on getting a copy of the nomination papers right away,” Pogreba said. “I had seen that my neighbors were signing nominating papers, so I was just curious on what nom papers they were signing. I wanted to see whose nominating papers they were signing.”