Wisconsin village’s voters unseat trustee after anti-fluoride vote, other controversy

Voters in a village north of Madison have agreed to oust a trustee mid-term following a special recall election Tuesday. Those results could eventually lead to fluoride being restored to the village’s water supply.

DeForest voters overwhelmingly chose challenger Alicia Williams to replace Trustee William Landgraf. Landgraf is partway through a two-year term, which would have ended in April 2026 if the recall hadn’t been approved.

More than 1,500 residents signed a petition to bring the recall to the village-wide ballot.

That petition accused Landgraf of failing to follow “DeForest’s core values for civility and conduct” and of creating an “atmosphere of fear, division and mistrust.”

Landgraf came under scrutiny earlier this year when he was among the trustees who agreed to stop adding fluoride to the village’s water as part of a 4-3 board vote. But recall organizers said that wasn’t the only reason Landgraf was being targeted.

They said Landgraf had a history of “unprofessional” conduct both online and off. And they accused him of waging personal attacks against residents who disagree with him. That includes filing a licensing complaint against a dental hygienist who had sparred with an anti-fluoride trustee on Facebook.

Landgraf also was accused of sitting in his parked car outside the homes of certain residents. Landgraf’s opponents said such actions were evidence of his attempts to intimidate his critics.

Landgraf previously told WPR he had done nothing illegal or unethical. He accused recall organizers of staging a political witch hunt, and he said he wasn’t one to back down from a fight.

Challenger Alicia Williams wins in landslide

In a Tuesday night Facebook post following her victory, Williams thanked everyone who helped elect her.

“This win is for you,” Williams wrote. “Thank you for sending a message that civility and kindness matter.”

She got more than 78 percent of the vote in the nonpartisan race, according to an unofficial total shared by the Dane County Clerk’s Office.

Landgraf came in second place with close to 11 percent of the vote, or a total of 260 votes. Stacey Petersen, another challenger, was nearly neck-in-neck with Landgraf with 256 votes, according to the unofficial tally.

Those numbers will not be official until they are certified by canvassers.

On Tuesday, Petersen took to Facebook to congratulate Williams. Petersen also indicated that she would be running again during DeForest’s regularly scheduled board election in April.

“I accept the results, and though this chapter is closing, I’m not going away,” Petersen wrote in a Facebook post. “I’ll be back in the spring, ready to keep working for our community.”

More than 2,400 DeForest voters cast their ballots in the special election, representing 31 percent of the village’s registered voters, according to the county clerk’s office.

Williams has vowed to revisit the issue of fluoridated water. She has said she would support restoring the fluoride “if a majority of my constituency says they want fluoride back.”

Both the American Dental Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics support adding fluoride to water as a way to strengthen teeth and prevent cavities.