| Big Radio News |
Janesville City Council incumbents Heather Miller and Richard Neeno held onto their seats in Tuesday’s election, but the council now has two new faces.
In a tight, six-person race, newcomers Michael Cass, a northeast-side resident, and Josh Erdman, a south sider, won two of the four open seats. Cass, Erdman and Neeno all garnered near identical vote totals, with Cass leading by just a few hundred votes.
The three secured all but one of the four open seats, while Heather Miller coasted to victory, winning the fourth seat with a notch over 11,000 votes — the most of any candidate. That defeated the other two candidates — city council incumbent Michael Jackson, and newcomer Jack Herndon.
Janesville City Council President Dave Marshick did not seek another term on the council.
Cass says while he was knocking on doors this spring, many residents told him their biggest concern is housing affordability. He says even in neighborhoods dominated by single-family homes, most people he’s spoken with seem to understand the need to bring more affordable housing to Janesville.
Both Cass and Erdman say they’re excited to see the city working through a full zoning code reboot. Erdman says he’d like to see a reboot to the city’s code book that would bring more flexible zoning for economically struggling commercial areas and residential neighborhoods.
Erdman says he also wants to push for more ways to directly involve residents in discussions on city projects and plans.
Erdman says he’ll seek first to find ways for the city council to do more outreach with residents, but he hopes to cultivate more outreach from members of the city of Janesville’s administration.
Neeno says he thinks having a few new members on the council could help bring about some positive changes.
Neeno says he’s gotten to know Cass while serving alongside him on the city’s Community Development Authority. Neeno says he just started to get to know Erdman during the campaign. He says he thinks Erdman will bring “energy” to the council.
Big Radio could not immediately reach Heather Miller late Tuesday.
