Quigley resigns from De Pere Common Council

DE PERE—The De Pere Common Council is looking for a replacement to take the place of Alder John Quigley, who resigned last week.

He said he and his wife Jill were moving out of the city.

Quigley made the announcement last week following an official resignation letter to the city.

Quigley called his resignation bittersweet and sad.

“I’ve enjoyed it very much and it has been an eye-opening and informative process, but for me, at least for this run, it needs to come to an end,” Quigley said.

Quigley joined the board in 2021 and was reelected in April.
Mayor James Boyd said Quigley helped make decisions whose effects will be felt long into the future.

“You stepped up when a lot of people were stepping down, a very difficult time, so we can’t help but thank you immensely,” Boyd said, adding that he accepted Quigley’s resignation “begrudgingly.”
Boyd said Quigley came aboard at one of the most critical and difficult times in De Pere’s history.

“And you delivered,” Boyd said. “You had no trouble adapting to the nuances of being an alder, and your insight, comments, and votes bear that out.”

He said Quigley played a part in decisions that will transform De Pere’s future.

“We are going to see the results for decades to come; people don’t realize how long this continues and how transformative it is,” Boyd said.

Since 2021, the city of De Pere has seen a number of changes and long-term projects come to fruition, including ushering in a number of new housing and business developments; the growth of the Voyageur Park summer Beer Gardens from a small, three-concert event to a weekly series; ground breaking on the site of the new Shopko redevelopment area; the opening of the Mulva Cultural Center; the construction of the Nelson Family Pavilion; and changing the way the city is led, from a city administrator style of leadership to one with a city manager after longtime administrator Larry Delo retired in March and former development services director, Kimberly Flom, returned to the area to step up as city manager.

About a year ago, Ald. Dean Raasch stepped down after he announced he was moving out of the city. Alder Mike Eserkaln, who had been on the board in the past, replaced him

Quigley also chaired the city’s sustainability commission.

Although he stepped down as chair of the commission at its July 8 meeting, he did not give a reason at that meeting or publicly indicate that he would be moving out of the district and stepping down from Common Council.

The sustainability commission voted to approve one of its members, Emily Henrigillis, to serve as its new chair.

Boyd said Tuesday there wouldn’t be a special election to replace Quigley on the Common Council.

Instead, he said, he would choose someone to serve the remainder of his term.

He said he expected to know more following a Wednesday meeting and that there’d be a media blitz later in the week to get the word out.