Eagle River voters approve consecutive term limits for city council, mayor

Eagle River voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot referendum during the Nov. 3 election to establish term limits for the city’s mayor and alderpeople, capping consecutive elected service at eight years.

The referendum passed with 74% of the vote in a 508–177 decision. Under the newly enacted charter ordinance, elected officials are restricted to serving a maximum of four consecutive two-year terms — eight years total — before being required to take a minimum six-year break. The ordinance also prohibits officials from switching between mayoral and council seats to extend their time in municipal office past the eight-year threshold.

While most sitting council members were recently elected and will not be immediately affected, the change directly impacts veteran Alderperson Kim Schaffer. Schaffer, who has served on the city council for 23 years, will complete her current term ending in April 2027. Under the new rules, she cannot run for re-election until a six-year break has elapsed.

The citizen-led initiative was spearheaded by local resident Kathryn Craffey and a group of committee members who gathered petition signatures over the summer to place the measure on the ballot.

Craffey said the strong turnout and 74% approval rate reflected broad community support across political lines, surpassing a similar term-limit referendum in neighboring Antigo last year that garnered 65% approval.

“Residents felt local people should be able to run for office without facing long-term, even multi-decades long, incumbents,” Craffey said. “People of all parts of town and all political leanings supported this with one person even saying, ‘It’s great to see Republicans and Democrats working together on an issue’.”

Opponents of the referendum raised concerns regarding a potential loss of institutional knowledge and difficulty attracting candidates to fill vacant seats. Craffey pushed back against those concerns, emphasizing that municipal continuity relies on professional staff rather than long-serving elected officials.

Eagle River taxpayers fund a city administrator, department heads, veteran staff, and the city clerk specifically to maintain institutional knowledge and guide unpaid elected officials, Craffey noted. She added that residents across multiple city wards expressed interest in running during door-to-door petitioning.

“It is hoped people will take advantage of this new law and run for public office,” she said. Encouraged by some residents to seek office herself, Craffey added that any decision to run would be made with her family.

While city officials did not comment specifically on the operational impact of the term limits, the city released an official statement acknowledging the election outcome: “The city appreciates the participation of its residents in the election process and their engagement in shaping the future governance of the community.”

City Clerk Becky Bolte clarified that while Schaffer cannot run for council upon concluding her term in April 2027, she remains eligible for future citizen appointments to municipal bodies, such as the planning commission on which she currently serves. Schaffer did not return the News-Review’s requests for comments on the referendum prior to our Friday morning deadline.