No opponents to run against Mayor Mason and County Executive Delagrave

The filing deadline for candidates to run for local government offices was 5 p.m. Wednesday, and neither candidate had any opponents file to run against them. 

This will be Mason's first run for a full term as mayor. He was elected in a special election in October 2017, after former Mayor John Dickert left office in July 2017 to take a position as president and CEO of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative. Mason's term began that November and runs through what would have been the end of Dickert's term, this April.

“I am honored to have earned the trust of our residents as I seek election to my first full term as mayor,” Mason stated.

During Mason’s term, the city has seen a surge of development as a result of the announced Foxconn advanced-manufacturing campus in Mount Pleasant. Foxconn is also planning an innovation center in Downtown Racine.

Mason's administration has also focused on workforce development to meet Foxconn's demand for employees, and investment in housing and neighborhoods to attract to the city people who will be coming to the area.

“While there is still more work to be done, the city, with the help of our partners, has begun to move the needle in addressing our housing and workforce needs,” Mason stated. “I look forward to building on this momentum and am confident that, working together, we will make Racine the community of choice in southeastern Wisconsin.”

Before serving as mayor, Mason represented Racine in the State Assembly from 2006 until he resigned before taking the oath of office as mayor. His seat was filled through a special election in which Greta Neubauer, who formerly worked for Mason, was elected to represent the 66th Assembly District.

The mayor's term is for four years, with a $75,483.20 annual salary.

Delagrave unopposed

Delagrave is also likely going to remain in office, barring an unlikely successful write-in campaign, as he will run for his seat unopposed in the upcoming spring election.

The county executive's term runs for four years and has an annual salary of $109,232.

Delagrave was first elected county executive in 2015. Since then, he has been involved in several large projects in the county including helping to bring Foxconn Technology Group to Mount Pleasant.

“I’m going to be focused heavily to make sure that the project is successful for Racine County, successful for the taxpayer and ensure that we get what we contractually signed up for,” Delagrave said.

Aside from Foxconn, Delagrave’s administration has helped oversee the relocation of the Western Racine Service Center to Burlington and the absorption of the City of Burlington's dispatch center into the Racine County Communications Center, and helped build the S.C. Johnson Family Aquatic Center which opened this past summer in Pritchard Park.

In the likely chance that he is re-elected, Delagrave said he wants to focus more on child welfare.

“We’ve done some things proactively, but that’s just not sustainable,” Delagrave said. “We really have to come up with some creative solutions to make that sustainable and, more importantly, make sure that our kids who can’t be at home for whatever reason, have the best placement possible, so they feel safe and secure.”

Currently Delagrave is working with the Racine Unified School District to build a roughly $6 million sports complex at Pritchard Park, which was included in the 2019 county budget. The county plans for the park to be open to the entire county and other non-RUSD schools.

Although one might think running for re-election unopposed speaks to the strength of the candidate, Delagrave said he believes it “speaks volumes of the people that work for Racine County and the leadership on the County Board.”