The votes have been tallied. Mark Senmartin and Michelle Coldiron have received the most votes in the election for Marathon City Council. Incumbent and Vice Mayor Mike Senmartin is a small businessman and has been elected to his second term. In 2013, he received 1,401 votes defeating incumbent and former Mayor Pete Worthington. Political newcomer Michelle Coldiron is a small businesswoman with many hours of volunteering mentoring students and serving as a guardian ad litem to give children a voice in courts. Senmartin and Coldiron will serve a three-year term.
Dick Ramsay, Trish Hintze, and Nick Antonelli did not get a seat on the Marathon City Council and have yet to decide whether to submit their name to the list of applicants who seek to serve for the last year of former Mayor Chris Bull’s term.
Voters also considered a city burn ordinance. The ordinance was voted down. This means that residents of Marathon can continue to burn yard waste or have campfires on their property, provided the fire meets state guidelines for setback, smoke nuisance, etc. The ballot initiative was petition-driven by Marathon resident Karen Farley-Wilkinson and she collected more than 700 signatures.
In 2016, Marathon Councilmen Dan Zieg and Bill Kelly will face re-election. The winners of those seats will have three-year terms meaning there will be no election in 2017. Recent changes to the city charter have changed council’s term limits from three, two-year terms to two, three-year terms.
— Weekly Staff report
