Meleesa Johnson enters 2023 Stevens Point mayoral race
STEVENS POINT − Stevens Point Common Council President Meleesa Johnson is set to challenge Mayor Mike Wiza in the April 2023 mayoral race.
Johnson currently represents the 5th District on the Common Council, where she has served since 2016. She has held the role of council president since 2017.
“I love Stevens Point. I grew up here. As much as I love Stevens Point, I know that, just as with everything else in our world, it needs to grow, change, and evolve to thrive,” Johnson said in a press release announcing her candidacy. “We have a choice between stagnation and prospering. In my mind, the path to choose is crystal clear.”
Johnson has spent the last 20 years working as a waste resource professional. She served three terms as a supervisor on the Portage County Board, where she chaired the Portage County Health Care Center Committee.
In 2012, she became an adjunct faculty member for the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Soil and Waste Resources and co-authored the introductory and advanced waste management curriculum.
Johnson wants to focus on solutions for homelessness and housing insecurity. She also sees ensuring development that protects the environment, minimizes sprawl and does not burden future generations with unsustainable costs as a priority.
Wiza said he will run in April but has not officially announced his candidacy.
“My intention is to run,” he told a Stevens Point Journal reporter Tuesday morning. “I think everyone’s fatigued with elections. I wanted to give them a break before I announce it.”
Wiza was elected in 2015 and reelected in 2019.
The Wisconsin spring election will be held on April 4. If a primary is needed, it will be held on Feb. 21.
Contact USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin reporter Jennifer Poyer at jpoyer@gannett.com.
More:City Council selects David Plaisance to represent 6th District until April 2023
This article originally appeared on Stevens Point Journal: Meleesa Johnson enters the Stevens Point 2023 mayoral race.
