Three people in Appleton's mayor race

APPLETON - Appleton Mayor Tim Hanna will face two challengers in his re-election bid.

Alderman Curt Konetzke and sustainability advocate Don Geenen have filed papers with the city to run for mayor. The deadline for candidates to file nomination papers for the spring elections was Tuesday at 5 p.m.

Hanna has been Appleton's mayor since 1996.

Konetzke and Geenen don't have many bad things to say about the current state of Appleton.

“Overall I think the city is in pretty decent shape,” said Konetzke.

“It's a great city,” said Geenen.

But both say the city could do even better under their leadership instead of under Hanna.

“I'm more of what I like to call an attack person,” said Konetzke. “I like to take on projects, gather all the information and move on to the next one.”

“I wouldn't make radical changes, but I think one of the most important changes I would make is I would try to make the city more sustainable,” said Geenen.

Hanna says under his watch, Appleton is in better financial standing than most similarly sized communities across the state. He sees no reason for a change.

“Financially we're doing well,” said Hanna. “We are able to continue to provide the services that our citizens expect of us, but yet not increase the burden on them to do that.”

In his last election, in 2008, Hanna ran unopposed.

“People know where I stand,” said Hanna. “They know they are going to get an honest answer from me and it's going to be consistent.”

A city council member for nearly nine years, Konetzke says he would make decisions faster than Hanna.

“The longer projects sit, the more diluted they become,” said Konetzke.

Geenen says his campaign won't include yard signs. He wants to prove he is behind a more sustainable Appleton.

“Specifically I would definitely like to see more people out on their bikes,” said Geenen. “I would also like to bring passenger rail back to Appleton and also, if possible, increase the frequency of bus services that we have here in town.”

Appleton voters will head to the polls Feb. 21. The two candidates with the most votes will then face off April 3.