Wausau City Council Fills Vacant Council Seat

Thursday, October 30th, 2025 -- 8:01 AM

(Chris Conley, WSAU) A divided Wausau City Council appointed Aaron Griner to fill out the remainder of Gary Gisselman’s term.

According to Chris Conley with WSAU, Gisselman’s seat in District 5 was vacant after his death in August. There were three applicants for the vacancy. No candidate received a majority after the first round of voting.

The applicant with the least votes, Steven Schmidt, was removed from the next round of voting. In the second round, Griner defeated former alder James Wadinski, 6-4.

Griner was sworn-in and participated in the rest of Tuesday night’s council meeting. Griner can serve as an appointed council member through April, 2026. If he wishes to remain, he’d have to run for his own term during the spring election on April 7.

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