Shuda’s win in D8 marks only challenger victory on city council
By Brandi Makuski
The votes are in.
Challenger Dean Shuda has won the District 8 seat over incumbent Thomas Leek. It was the first decision of the night among the city’s contested races.
The final tally reported to the Portage Co. Clerk’s Office is Dean Shuda, 381, and Thomas Leek, 361.
Leek is a professor at UW-Stevens Point and has served on the Council since April 2020. In a post to his campaign Facebook page early Wednesday morning, Leek thanked his supporters and congratulated Shuda on the victory.
“What a night. My bad news first: I lost. And it was just 20 votes! But one vote is all it takes,” Leek wrote. “But the good news from my perspective is that the other incumbents I know and respect have all won their races. It stings to be the one who lost, but I don’t foresee any major changes in direction for [the] council. Throughout this campaign, I had the sense that it was the most intense and interesting race for a council seat. I wasn’t sure if that was only because it was my race or if there really was more going on. The numbers show it was the latter situation: even having lost, I won more votes than the winner in 2018. This speaks well of the district. Turn out was high here relative to other districts this year.”
Shuda is a funeral director at Shuda Funeral Service. He is active on Stevens Point Country Club board, and previously served on the Kiwanis board.
“I’m thrilled, I’m obviously honored and humbled to be able to represent District 8, and I want to thank Thomas Leek for running such a classy campaign,” Shuda said late Tuesday night by phone. “I’m just amazed at what I’ve been told is a great turnout for our district, so I think it’s great that people are stepping up and taking ownership of their district.”
In the city’s 1st District, Marc Christianson has retained his seat against challenger Stephen Klein. Christianson was appointed last April to fill the remainder of Councilwoman Tori Jenning’s two-year term. He and Klein emerged victorious from the February primary race with candidate Gracia Day, but Christianson ultimately won Tuesday night by a count of 272 to 118.
In District 2, Alderman David Shorr has also kept his seat. Shorr, now a fourth-term alderman, bested challenger Corey Kealiher by a count of 276 to 131.
Councilwoman Mykeerah Zarazua keeps her seat in the 4th District, beating challenger David “Walleye Dave” Crueger by a vote of 253 to 180.
Ron Carlson, a retired Stevens Point police officer, and former Stevens Point Police and Fire Commissioner, ran unopposed in District 6. Alderman Jeremy Slowinski previously announced he and his family were moving out of the city and he would no longer be eligible for the seat.
In District 10, incumbent Keely Fishler won over challenger Robert Larson by a vote of 241 to 231.
The results are not official until they are certified by the canvassing committee early next week.
