DEVELOPING: Council president announces bid for Stevens Point mayor

By Brandi Makuski

Council President Meleesa Johnson has announced her intention to run for mayor of Stevens Point.

Johnson announced her campaign during an invite-only event that was closed to the press on Nov. 11. She made the announcement public on her mayoral website a short time later.

Johnson was first elected to the city council in 2016 and won her third full term in April. Simultaneously, she also served three terms on the Portage Co. Board of Supervisors.

A UW-Green Bay graduate, she worked in the solid waste department at Marathon Co. for almost 20 years, serving as its director for 13. She also worked briefly as an associate lecturer on solid waste at UW-Stevens Point.

Mayor Mike Wiza has indicated on his personal social media page that he will seek a third term but has not made any formal announcement.

Candidates on the spring ballot can begin circulating nomination papers in December. The spring non-partisan election will be held on Tuesday, April 4.

Her statement follows, unedited by Metro Wire staff, and in its entirety:

I decided to run for mayor because I’ve had a vision. It’s a vision of our community as it can be. It’s a vision that involves all of you. I’m hoping you’ll indulge me for a few minutes while I tell you about it.

Let me start by saying that I love Stevens Point. I grew up here. I purposefully moved back here to raise my granddaughter. As much as I love Stevens Point, I know that, just as with everything else in our world, it needs to grow, change, and evolve in order to flourish, and at present our city sits at a crossroads between stagnation and growth. In my mind, the path to choose is crystal clear.

Right now, we are being led by some who wish for us to be paralyzed with fear of the future. They feel that our city’s best days have already come and gone, and the only way to ‘improve’ is to regress to those old ways and norms, benefiting only the same people – and I mean that literally – that benefited from those ways and norms decades ago. These so-called leaders demonize anyone who isn’t dedicated to turning our community into their version of the past, thus causing stagnation, and ultimately decay, of our beloved city.

I disagree with that mindset. I know that there is a way to honor the work done by our predecessors and to build upon the foundations they’ve laid to continue our growth into a beautiful, modern, vibrant gem of a community in a peaceful natural setting. To accomplish that goal, we must boldly and deliberately plan for a 21st century Stevens Point. A Stevens Point where people from all walks of life belong and are welcomed to nurture their dreams, build economic success, and develop a sustainable, resilient future.

I have spent the last year doing a lot of soul-searching about taking this step. I’ve had conversations with family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, and business leaders. But the one conversation that solidified my decision was a conversation with a brilliant and beautiful 19-year-old. One day, during our regular friendly conversations I asked this person, “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” They responded without a moment’s hesitation, “Not here. There isn’t a place for me here.” This response crushed me. All I could think of was how lonely this person must feel. I wanted them to feel as though they belonged here. And not only them, but all the other intelligent, creative, hard-working people who represent the next generation of the “Point that could be.” I knew then that I would run.

This story will be updated.