After Ending Trustees' Two-Decade Run, Voters Reflect

For the past two decades, both trustees Jeff Steliga and Michael McDonald have been shoo-ins for their seats on the Village Board. However, their winning streak came to a resounding end Tuesday.

And in a spring election, it’s fitting that the Village Board is now in a rebirth of sorts.

Both Bonnie Lemmer and Jeremy Walz defeated Steliga and McDonald by roughly 400 votes, or six percentage points, each to capture seats four and five Tuesday. It was something Falls voters had not done for roughly two decades. Steliga had served since 1994, and McDonald since 1990.

No doubt, the keystone issue of the election was the Village Board’s loan to construct the Radisson Hotel, and the subsequent legal battle that has ensued over the past year. For many residents, the election was some welcome spring cleaning and perhaps a sign of new beginnings.

“Anyone who would approve a loan to an organization already turned away from banks deserves to have their head examined — or in this case, to get thrown out of office,” said Johanna Fritz via the Patch Facebook page. “Thank you residents of Menomonee Falls for waking up, and finally taking this bull by the horns.”

The discussion continued on the initial results story posted by Menomonee Falls Patch Tuesday night. 

However, not everyone agreed that voters had made the right decision.

“Sure the hotel fiasco happened and the same group of negative nay-saying people who claim ‘victory’ and their accompanying sheeple, very well may now use the hotel as a excuse — from keeping the Falls feet moving and growing and keeping business here,” said Timothy Strack on the Patch Facebook page.

McDonald, Steliga Look Back 

It’s unclear what the actual impact was on the results Tuesday, but radio host Mark Belling went on the air on election day to blast both Steliga and McDonald in the opening of his show. Belling bashed Falls voters for electing board members who approved the loan, and said they deserved the blame. He also called the board’s move “reckless” and “stupid.”

Belling has been unabashedly outspoken about the village’s loan on numerous occasions on his show. On Tuesday, McDonald fired back.

“Belling has a vendetta resulting from his being the ultimate ‘under informed voter’ concerning the Radisson Hotel,” McDonald wrote on his Facebook page. “His three separate rants over the last few months have resulted in 45 booked wedding cancellations, plus hundreds of future booked room reservations.”

McDonald on his Facebook page accused Belling’s “poison tongue” of destroying over $650,000 in event bookings and room reservations at the hotel.

“Needless to say, short (and) long range success for the hotel is taking a real hit only because of his poison tongue,” McDonald wrote.

However, McDonald on Wednesday was thankful for the opportunity to serve the village for 23 years in a conversation with Patch.

“Obviously it was not something that I had hoped for, but the circumstances are what they are,” McDonald said. “I wish Jeremy all the best, and hope he’s as successful as he can be. I wish nothing but the best for the board.

“I want to thank the people of Menomonee Falls for giving me the opportunity to represent them for the past 23 years and I’ve put my heart and soul into the job. We were able to see the village quadruple in valuation without losing the atmosphere here.”

He said he’s looking forward to seeing Falls continue to grow on the foundation that the board has built over the past two decades.

Steliga served for 19 years on the Village Board, was concise with his thoughts on the election Tuesday night.  

“I want to thank everyone for 19 years on the board," Steliga said Tuesday. "It was a wonderful opportunity to serve. People clearly wanted to go in a different direction.”

Patch attempted to contact both Village President Randy Newman and Village Manager Mark Fitzgerald for their thoughts on the election results, but neither had returned calls late Wednesday afternoon.