Justin Nickels, 22, wins mayoral race

Justin Nickels, 22 year old Liberal Arts student, upset 39-year-old civil engineer and MIT graduate Dave Soeldner in the recent mayoral election in Manitowoc, Wisconsin – a city of 34,000 – by a margin of just 15 votes.

Nickels, who has served on the City Council since 2005, garnered 4,711 votes to Soeldner’s 4,696 in city election yesterday. Nickels Campaign Manager Matt Kadow said the win was the result of both strategy and commitment.

Nickels’ campaign for City Council in 2005 likely mirrored my own campaign for Rutherford County Commission. I, too, ran against a 16-year incumbent at the age of 19. I applaud Nickels’ victory.

Though Nickels won’t move into City Hall for another two weeks, he’s planning to hit the ground running — starting today. He has a 7 a.m. breakfast for Manitowoc Public Utilities and a 10 a.m. meeting with Crawford and all the city department heads.

“There’s no time to sleep,” Nickels said. “It’s time to work.”

Nickels is to receive $68,830 in his first year in office, $70,207 in his second, $71,611 in his third and $73,043 in his fourth, according to city ordinance. The mayor’s seat will be up for grabs again in April 2013.