Hartwick withdraws from city council race

By Kim McDarison

Fort Atkinson City Councilwoman Megan Hartwick Tuesday released a statement to Fort Atkinson Online noting that she is withdrawing her name as a candidate in the upcoming general election. 

Hartwick was one of two incumbents running for three seats on the Fort Atkinson City Council. 

Incumbent Chris Scherer announced late last year that he would not seek another term in office. 

Hartwick’s decision leaves only one incumbent, Mason Becker, and two challengers running unopposed for the at-large seats. They are John Donohue and Kyle Jaeckel. 

Candidates serve for two-year terms. 

The statement released by Hartwick reads as follows: 

After much careful thought and consideration, analysis of my schedule and responsibilities, and many sleepless nights, I have decided to “officially” withdraw myself from consideration for a seat on the Fort Atkinson City Council, and am respectfully asking residents to not vote for me on April 4th. 

I say “officially” because I have learned that WI State Statute 8.35 does not allow a person’s name to be removed from an election ballot once nomination papers have been submitted, unless in the event of their death prior to the election. 

What that means, is that you will still see my name on your ballot on April 4th, along with the names of the three other individuals who are running. Again, I respectfully ask that you do not cast a vote for me. If I should still be elected, I will formally resign from the council position on April 18th and the council will determine how to best fill that vacancy – as the seat would not simply default to the fourth individual who ran in the election. The city will be issuing an official statement explaining how that process will work, if needed, providing full transparency to voters ahead of election day. 

I have been honored to serve this community on the council for the past two years and am very proud of the way in which I served. Some very recent changes within my professional world have put me in a position where I no longer feel I can offer the attention and energy that I believe a council seat warrants. And rather than over-extend myself, I am making the decision to not seek re-election for the city council. I regret that some of these opportunities arose after the nomination paperwork filing date, as I certainly did not intend to cause confusion or create extra work for city staff/council members. But simply put, serving another two years (if I were to have been re-elected) would have resulted in less time with my children and partner, missed professional opportunities, and risk to my overall mental health. I am simply not willing to make those sacrifices. 

Public service has never been an easy role, but it has one that I have chosen for most of my life because I believe in giving back, offering my time/resources, and in supporting a community that has given me so much. I love Fort Atkinson and I believe in the community that it is and the community that it can be. I am saddened that I do not have more hours in a day to commit my energy to all of the things that matter to me. Because although there are many Facebook-related things I will not miss about serving on the council, I will greatly miss the actual work of serving. I will miss debating with fellow council members, learning from and working with department heads, representing residents, and having an impact on future plans for the growth of Fort Atkinson. 

And most of all, I will miss working with City Manager LeMire. She is undoubtedly one of the hardest-working individuals I have ever known. Her attention to detail, her extensive knowledge about every single aspect of running a city, her ability to address so many important issues at the same time, and her desire to make Fort Atkinson a thriving community are unmatched. While I recognize that not everyone will agree with every decision she and her team make, it is simply not debatable that she is a tremendous asset to our city. Fort Atkinson is incredibly lucky to have her. 

I certainly hope for the opportunity to work with her in other capacities in the future. 

Although I will not be serving an additional council term, I look forward to continuing to serve Fort Atkinson in other ways, as I have for years. If anyone has any questions I will continue to be reachable via mhartwick@fortatkinsonwi.gov until April 17th. 

Thank you, Megan Hartwick