Politics
Shaundel Washington-Spivey wins, becomes La Crosse’s first black, openly-gay mayor
It was going to be a first, no matter who won, but Shaundel Washington-Spivey defeated Chris Kahlow in the La Crosse mayoral race.
Spivey won by 451 votes (9,012-8,561) out of the 17,734 cast in the race.
Washington-Spivey becomes the city’s first black mayor and the first openly-gay mayor.
Washington-Spivey, who is the executive director of the nonprofit B.L.A.C.K. (Black Leaders Acquiring Collective Knowledge), won by 2.55% over Kahlow, the city council president.
Kahlow, who would have been the city’s first female mayor, doesn’t go anywhere, either. Her term on council ends in two years.
Washington-Spivey will take over for Mayor Mitch Reynolds on April 15.
Kevin
April 2, 2025 at 7:11 am
Yeah – Lacrosse has a black gay mayor, the virtue signaling is complete! Now can somebody actually do some work!
Bill
April 2, 2025 at 7:28 am
The city is in worse shape than I thought. Looks like a growth spurt for Onalaska, Holmen and West Salem.
Julie
April 2, 2025 at 10:38 pm
“Growth spurt” for backwater small towns, which have a bar and a gas station? Woo hoo! Who wants to live in those “bumps in the road”-other than those who wandered away from their locked facility or a child?
Bill
April 3, 2025 at 11:04 am
Condescension comes easily to you, lady. You need to get off third street and visit these up and coming communities. La Crosse’s best have already moved to them.
walden
April 3, 2025 at 3:41 pm
Bill, I would note the biggest single mistake La Crosse has ever made was pushing the La Crosse Country Club out of town (the club’s former course is now the City run black hole known as Forest Hills), a move made out of “wealth envy” by then liberal mayor Medinger. It resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars of development in Onalaska, including Emerald Valley (site of new Country Club), Green Coulee and other developments in Onalaska and Holmen, now home to the area’s professional class. Onalaska and Holmen continue to thrive while La Crosse has sunk into pubic/private sponsored distress.
I note yet another downtown La Crosse business announced closure today.
I wish Mr. Spivey all luck and success.
R head
April 2, 2025 at 9:05 am
Looks like another dumb ass liberal in La Crosse thing will be going downhill soon more. When will the people of La Crosses wake up. I glad I don’t live there
Julie Malmberg, MA
April 2, 2025 at 10:23 pm
We feel just awful you can’t afford to live here. Is ignorance bliss?
Unapologetically Honest
April 2, 2025 at 7:42 pm
I can tell by these comments that the city of la Crosse is a lost cause. If it bothers you more that you have an African American openly gay mayor more than the fact that meth heroin and fentanyl have taken over the city as well as the youth population… Your problem is a lot deeper.. it’s time you take a look at yourself and stop judging people for who they love and the complexion of their skin and go get your family members off these streets and help them get off drugs.. go clean up a park or just walk through whatever part of the city you have tried to hide the homeless population yet again and like down by shit park in the dead of winter right off the Mississippi river where its coldest.. makes me think they wanted them to freeze to death.
Bob N.
April 3, 2025 at 11:09 am
Do homosexual men really “love” another man? All I’ve heard is how promiscuous they are. Sex with 1000 different men in one year is not uncommon.
Remember, you brought it up.
jeff
April 3, 2025 at 9:48 am
This headline raises the question of was there a closeted gay mayor?
Dylan
April 3, 2025 at 1:55 pm
The comments are really sad to read. Lots of racist homophobic people in our community.
Kevin
April 4, 2025 at 7:19 am
Not to start an argument Dylan, but I don’t see one racist or homophobic remark in the comments.
I see, including my own comment, a discussion about why placing such a focus on what color the mayor’s skin is, or what sexual proclivities and attractions the mayor has, and the question, what importance is that to the job? I see allusion to the political leanings being those of the liberal progressive left, which in my opinion is authoritarian and Marxist.
If the decision points for voting are skin color, and sexual preferences, our community is indeed a lost cause. Sadly, I think the collegers, did vote based on skin tone and sexual preferences. I don’t know this, it is just an opinion, but I have heard their conversations in passing & superficial participation, and that has been my impression. Phrases such as ‘right side of history’, it’s their time, are used.
All I want out of our mayor is ‘wise’ decisions, broad spectrum interests, hard work and no drama. Do your job, and I will call you a good mayor. Don’t do your job, then yes, you are just another ‘dumbass’ politician.
Good luck Mayor, may you be known for your work and not for your skin color or sexual preferences! I would rather look at you and think, there is a good mayor than wow, look there is a black homosexual man. Right now you are a black homosexual man that got elected mayor, that is the story that got told and continues to be told, read the headlines.
Concerned TaxPayer
April 3, 2025 at 2:58 pm
I’m curious about how skin color and sexual orientation impact a person’s ability to be a good mayor.
Bill
April 4, 2025 at 7:00 am
Thanks for straightening out all us knuckle-draggers. I’ll bet you feel better, if not superior, now.
Bob N.
April 4, 2025 at 12:40 pm
After a few days of watching this election and how it plays out—
All the fuss over this “Black, Openly Gay Mayor-Elect..
I wouldn’t have known he was Openly-Gay and Black except for the headlines and pictures on WIZM’s site and The La Crosse Tribune.
The media are the ones who drew attention to it, not the ‘red-neck bigots’ referred to here.
The legitimate concerns about Mr. Spivey I have are that the views he has publicly expressed and his work history are those of a left-wing Democrat. He sounds a lot like Bernie Sanders. If you like Bernie, Spivey’s your guy.