So Long To Outgoing County Board Supervisors

Ryan Shaw has a big seat to fill having won the election for District 9 on the Door County Board of Supervisors that had been filled by Dan Austad, who had served for a total 40 years before deciding not to run for re-election. Photo by D.A. Fitzgerald.

Dan Austad is the second longest-serving supervisor to have served on the Door County Board of Supervisors, and a resolution adopted by the board April 23 thanked him for his service. 

Austad served 10 years from 1978-1988, and then again from 1994 through April 2024, when he decided not to run for re-election. During his tenure, he served on numerous committees and also in leadership roles: as chair of the board from 2012- 2016, and vice chair from 1982-1988, and again from 2004-2012. 

Two men ran in the April 2 election to fill Austad’s District 9 seat that serves Wards 4-6 within the City of Sturgeon Bay. Voters elected Ryan Shaw over Jon Kruse.

Who was the longest-serving supervisor when the Peninsula Pulse asked after the meeting? Norman Herlache, who served 44 years, said County Clerk Jill Lau, from 1940-1986.

Other supervisors who elected not to run in April were also recognized and thanked on Tuesday: David Lienau, who served 14 years since 2010, serving District 19 constituents in parts of Liberty Grove, Sister Bay, Baileys Harbor and Ephraim (prior to redistricting, he represented District 20, which served the Village of Sister Bay and a Ward in Liberty Grove). He also served as chair of the board from 2016-2024, and vice chair from 2012-2016.

Alexis Heim Peter, who served for four-and-a-half years to serve District 10 in the city’s Wards 3, 19 and 20, chose not to run for re-election, as did Rodney Beardsley, who served for two-and-a-half years for Wards 7 and 10 in the city. 

Lienau’s seat was filled by write-in candidate Patrick Voight; Peter’s seat was filled by newcomer Phillip Rockwell, who ran uncontested; and Beardsley’s seat was filled by write-in candidate Collin Jeanquart.