New Antigo mayor begins first full week on the job following sudden resignation of previous mayor

ANTIGO, Wis. (WSAW) – Inside Antigo city hall sits a man in a bare office, filled only with basic city maps, books, and items, aside from a couple of new personal items. One being a photo of who is considered to be baseball’s greatest right-handed hitter, St. Louis Cardinals’ Rogers Hornsby. The office belongs to the city’s mayor, Tom Bauknecht. His community involvement is well known, but maybe not his adoration for the Cardinals. He became a fan after living in Florida for a few years. He hopes no one holds that against him in Brewers country.

He told NewsChannel 7 that he does not think he is all that interesting, but it is little tidbits like these that the people of Antigo may learn as Bauknecht takes on a role he did not expect to take, especially since he just won reelection in April as alderman for the fourth ward.

“It was an unexpected resignation,” Bauknecht said.

Now-former Mayor Terry Brand sent a resignation letter to the city and council on June 24, saying he was leaving the role due to unexpected family situations and was moving out of the city. His last day was June 28. Bauknecht became mayor pro tempore the next day, which allowed him to take on some mayoral duties like signing checks and paying bills for the city ahead of a council meeting on July 10 to vote him in.

“Unanimous. I mean, it was like, they put their trust in me for quite a few years,” Bauknecht noted.

He has served on the city council for 15 years, 13 of them as council president. He enjoyed serving in that capacity but felt prepared to take on this other leadership role for the city when called to it. The legal role is different than what he is used to as president, though.

“In a way, it diminishes your power a little bit because you can’t get too involved in voting on things. I mean you have to take the council’s judgment.”

He explained that mayors only get to vote when the council has a tie, which is not common.

“I’ll probably miss that part, not being able to vote,” he smirked.

While IT is working to get his computer accounts up and running, he feels prepared to take on the issues of the community. His passion is in economic development. His vision is to keep talent local and make Antigo a place where everyone wants to stick around.

“We want to make Antigo kind of a destination location. We’ve always been accused, in the past, for being the last place on the way up north, like, up north was Rhinelander, Eagle River, whatever, but we want to give people a reason to come here and visit and stay.”

Taking on the position of mayor left his role as president vacant. The council voted Alderman Bill Brandt in as president the same day Bauknecht was voted in as mayor. Bauknecht’s ward remains without an alderperson, but they have already received interest letters. The council will review those letters and resumes and Bauknecht expects them to vote on who will represent the fourth ward by the next full meeting. Since Bauknecht was elected to that alderperson position this past April, the person accepted into the vacancy would serve through April, 2026.

Bauknecht will serve the remainder of Brand’s term ending in April, 2025. While early, when asked whether Bauknecht would be interested to continue serving a full term as mayor, he said he was. He appreciates the community’s encouragement and acceptance of his transition to his new role.

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