Student fills vacancy in Whitewater Common Council

Nicole Aimone, News Editor

The City of Whitewater swore in its newest Council Member for Aldermanic District 2 on July 18.

James “Jimmy” Schulgit, a junior at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, replaces James Langnes as the alder for Whitewater’s District 2. Langnes resigned from the Common Council in May. Schulgit will finish Langnes’ term, which will end in April 2018.

Two applicants expressed interest in filling the vacant seat: Schulgit and Dustin Hartl, also a UW-Whitewater junior.  

Schulgit is a biology major in the College of Letters and Sciences with a minor in Spanish, and he ultimately plans to practice family medicine in a rural area. He also holds a researcher position at the UW-W Fiscal and Economic Research Center.  

Schulgit will replace Langnes on the Alcohol Licensing Committee and the Fire and Rescue Squad Board. Alder Chris Grady (D-3) will take Langnes’ place on the Finance Committee.

To fill Langnes’ open seat, the council sought applicants to apply with a deadline of July 11, giving the council one week to review the applications prior to the July 18 meeting.

Both applicants were publicly interviewed as the first item on the agenda meeting, and Schulgit was sworn in after the vote.