Englebert Elected to Lead County Board

Dave Englebert, new chairperson of the Door County Board of Supervisors. Submitted.

Thayse seated as vice chair

In 2002, Door County voters ousted 15 of the 21 county board supervisors during the Citizens for Open Government-led recall election over the board’s decision to build the $30 million justice center.

Supervisor Dave Englebert was not one of those tossed from his seat, and he’d continue to serve during those controversial years when the county was also building the Door County Highway Shop and the Sister Bay Ambulance Center. Englebert chaired the building committee back then that brought all those projects to completion, and then decided not to run for reelection after 12 years serving since 1992.

In 2016, District 1 voters – wards in Brussels and Union – returned him to the board and over the past two years, Englebert has served as the vice chair.

On Tuesday, his peers on the county board put him in the chairperson’s seat during the county’s reorganization meeting that follows the April election when all county board supervisor seats are up for reelection.

“I had indicated I was interested in serving as chair,” he said the morning after the meeting. “It’s always a question of support.”

The 21 county board supervisors cast a blind ballot to nominate the chairperson. Those nominated were supervisors Roy Englebert, Morgan Rusnak, David Enigl, Todd Thayse and Dave Englebert. Blind voting came next and would continue until one supervisor received a majority of the votes among the supervisors present – 11 votes required for Tuesday’s majority. Englebert was elected with 14 votes during the first round of voting. 

In addition to his institutional knowledge and staying power, Englebert may also be the first Southern-Door chairperson to lead the board since the 1970s when Herman Vandertie from Brussels had the seat. Prior to that – Englebert did a little research when the Pulse asked the question – they’d have to go back to 1955-65 when Lawrence Johnson from Clay Banks was the chair (father of Clay Banks’ current town board chair, Myron). 

Still, that’s decades ago, and as Englebert pointed out, he’s probably the first chair from the Town of Union and Door County’s southernmost district. 

Among the chair’s responsibilities are setting the agenda for the monthly Door County Board of Supervisor meetings, and Englebert said his goals and priorities will be to continue the work that’s been started.

“We have a lot of capital project improvements,” he said. “The biggest will be, and we’ll concentrate most, on the communication project.”

The county is in the Phase-I stage of a $25.6-million, full-system upgrade to its communication infrastructure that’s scheduled for completion by 2028.

Englebert said most county departments have some big projects on the horizon, including the sober living facility out of Health and Human Services, and the implementation, already begun, of the county’s transport ambulance contract with Door County Medical Center. In the Land Conservation area, he said water quality is also on his radar, as are concerns with manure being brought into southern Door from Kewaunee County.

One project that remains in the drawing-board stage, despite the interest from mid-Door towns like Jacksonport and Egg Harbor, is a possible mid-Door ambulance center. That will remain, for now, with the Public Safety Committee.

“It’s important,” Englebert said. “I don’t know it will be our number-one priority, where we can place the most money, given all the capital projects,” he said. “But it’s important to get the facts and numbers in place.”

Todd Thayse Seated as Vice Chair

Todd Thayse, also from southern Door, was elected as vice chair. Thayse represents District 2, which neighbors Englebert’s, and serves the Village of Forestville, and wards in Brussels and the Town of Forestville. Thayse retired in January 2022 as vice president and general manager of Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, and is beginning his third, two-year term on the county board.

The vice chair – who serves when the chair is absent – is elected the same way as the chair, with a blind nomination and blind vote. The field was more crowded for the vice-chair nominations – Bob Bultman, Vinni Chomeau, Roy Englebert, Ken Fisher, Joel Gunnlaugsson, Hugh Zettle and Morgan Rusnak were also up for the seat – but Thayse clinched it with 13 votes during the first round of voting.

Dave Lieanu served as chair since 2016, on the board since 2014, but announced last December he would not seek reelection in 2024.

The vacancy left his District 19 seat open that represents some of Baileys Harbor, Ephraim, Liberty Grove and Sister Bay. No official candidates filed, but Liberty Grove resident Patrick Voight was declared the winner after the April 2 election, and consequently accepted the office. He received the most write-in votes for the seat – four out of 28 write-in votes cast, 16 of those for different candidates. 

The county board will meet for its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, April 23, and Englebert said he’s looking for a smooth transition.

“I want to continue to provide the services that Door County needs,” he said.