Voters in Wisconsin Rapids District 7 will decide on Tuesday, Oct. 27, whether Alderperson Michael Timm keeps his Common Council seat. Timm faces challenger Rusty Brown in the recall election, and the winner will serve the rest of the current term, which runs through April 2027.
District 7 voting for this election moves to the Council Chambers inside City Hall at 444 W. Grand Ave., rather than the district's usual polling place at the East Junior High School Field House. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Oct. 27.
Timm is in his first term, which began in 2025, and alderpersons serve two-year terms. District voters will return to the polls in April 2027 to elect someone for the next full term.
The recall grew out of a petition first turned in on Aug. 10. After an initial review found problems with some signatures, petitioners filed affidavits on Sept. 18 that corrected enough entries to reach exactly the 252 signatures required, and the city clerk then found the petition sufficient. The date is not on the Nov. 3 ballot because state law ties the recall election date to when the clerk filed that finding.
Petitioners accused Timm of misusing his alderperson position to intimidate a local business owner and infringe on residents' free speech rights. Timm has said the issue involved an email he sent from his personal address to the manager of the Hotel Mead Resorts and Conference Center about possible negative effects of the business selling "No Data Center" signs, and he said the email contained no threat, demand or ultimatum. He declined to resign during the 10-day window after the petition was accepted, which kept him on the recall ballot.
Both candidates answered a newspaper questionnaire about district issues, including data centers, ATV and UTV routes and downtown redevelopment. More voting information is available through the city clerk's election information pages.
