Jon Doemel (Winnebago County Executive, Wisconsin, candidate 2025)

Jon Doemel

Nonpartisan

Candidate, Winnebago County Executive

Elections and appointments

Last election

February 18, 2025

Education

High school

Oshkosh North High School

Personal

Birthplace

Oshkosh, Wis.

Religion

Christian: Catholic

Profession

Administrator

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Jon Doemel ran for re-election to the Winnebago County Executive in Wisconsin. He was on the ballot in the general election on April 1, 2025.

Doemel completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Jon Doemel provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on February 14, 2025:

• Birth date: January 14, 1979
• Birth place: Oshkosh, Wisconsin
• High school: Oshkosh North High School
• Gender: Male
• Religion: Christian: Catholic
• Profession: Administrator
• Incumbent officeholder: Yes
• Campaign slogan: Communication - Collaboration - Reform - Growth
• Campaign website
• Campaign Facebook

Elections

General election

General election for Winnebago County Executive

Incumbent Jon Doemel and Gordon Hintz ran in the general election for Winnebago County Executive on April 1, 2025.

		Candidate
		Jon Doemel (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Gordon Hintz (Nonpartisan)

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Winnebago County Executive

Incumbent Jon Doemel, Gordon Hintz, and John Matz ran in the primary for Winnebago County Executive on February 18, 2025.

		Candidate
		Jon Doemel (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Gordon Hintz (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	John Matz (Nonpartisan)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Endorsements

Doemel received the following endorsements.

• Wisconsin Young Republicans

Campaign themes

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Jon Doemel completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Doemel's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Married for 21 years and a father of 5 daughters. I am a community minded former small business owner that always puts people first. Former board chair for the Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce, multiple non-profit boards, and plenty of other community involvement.

I believe in hard conversations, debating ideals, and finding the compromise on a way forward together. Partisan politics has no place in local government.

My strategy in the first term has been getting to the truth in numbers while getting out of the office and meeting people where they are at. I strive for excellent customer service in all departments and efficient and effective government.

Transparency has been a north star for me. All meetings are recorded, and agendas are now filled with agenda item reports and other supplemental material. We need solid data to make well informed decisions.

I believe in the Democratic Republic and respect the separation of duties and powers. I pride myself in never having used my veto power in the first 4 years. I believe on working together at all costs.

Lastly, I believe the people are ultimately the holders of power. I believe people need to be heard, laws need to be easy to understand, and fairly applied. As Abraham Lincoln stated, "Government should be for the people, of the people, and by the people."

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Truth - no matter how brutal it may be.

  Collaborate with all possible partners. We are stronger when we work together.

  Show your work. We are posting our monthly financials, master plans, and all pertinent documents on our website for all citizens to see.
• People are struggling. The housing market is in crisis. We need to balance compassion and empathy along with strong strategy and tax relief.
• It has never been about me. I will always put people first. As a true independent, I only owe my allegiance to you, the people.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Housing. From homelessness to seniors and struggling families and young adults. which leads into economic growth. We need more tax base to lower the individual tax burden.

I am also passionate about collaborations. Non-profits and faith-based organizations do a better job with less money. We should be working as a great partner instead of duplicating services.

Veteran Services. It has been a priority of mine to get out of the office and find our vets to bring the benefits to them. We have been doing satellite office hours out into the community and changing lives. If you haven't been to the veteran services offices lately, please come on in. A lot has changed over the last 4 years.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Jesus, Washington, Lincoln, MLK Jr, and Nelson Mandela.

Jesus because he is my path.

Washington because he believed in the debate of ideals and a nation under God and its people. There was a reason he wanted both Jefferson and Hamilton on his cabinet. He was often the tie breaker.

Lincoln for largely the same reasons. The Team of Rivals is a great book defining his style of bringing in his most fierce adversaries into his inner circle. The Fortitude he had to lead during our civil war and bring the nation back together after it was over.

MLK Jr for his tenacity towards equality and love. He spoke truth to power yet refrained from fighting back. He was an amazing example of taking the high road.

Nelson Mandela on his journey and growth. Starting as a Freedom Fighter, being convicted and imprisoned, then looking inward and realizing the "fight" only caused others to dig into their ideals. He found peace within himself, and when released from prison he was elected to be the President of South Africa. He did not take retribution toward the Apartheid Regime. Instead, he allowed any who were willing to remain in their appointed positions to work alongside him to build a better future for all.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

George Washington's Farewell address

Malcolm Gladwell - Outliers
Just about any MLK Jr. sermon or book

and last but not least, the teachings on my lord and savior Jesus Christ.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Integrity, trust, and honor.

Integrity - It is ok to make a mistake and own up to it. Admitting you were wrong is a sign of strength, not a weakness. Integrity means you do what you say you are going to do. Follow through and actions mean more to me than any promise ever will.

Trust - Trust that people can handle the truth. If the picture is ugly, tell it like it is. Be honest of what it will take to handle an issue and do not be afraid to ask for help from the business, non-profit communities as well as the individual citizens. Trust the process and when the board sets a direction, agree and do everything in your power to carry that direction out.

Honor - Show decorum. Treat people with dignity and respect. Respect the honor of the office. Do not let your emotions get the best of you. As a leader, we need to be the steadfast calm within the storm. Have prudence to see past the target and the wisdom to trace the issues back to birth.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

A desire for gaining understanding.

Objectiveness to be open to what is best for all, even if it is against my personal position.
Patience and Prudence to ensure we are considering all angles, accomplish the desired task, and minimize unintended consequences.
Vision for creating a strategic organization.
Wisdom to be able to foresee the issues and take proactive approaches.
Knowledge of our community partners and how they can collaborate with us.
Optimism. Every issue is merely a challenge to solve. Can do attitude is a must.

Humility. It can't be about me, it always needs to be about the people.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Holding departments accountable to the policy decisions of the board. Ensuring that the county follows all Federal and state laws as well as complying with county ordinances. if something goes wrong, it is ultimately on the County Executive. The buck stops here.

The role is also crucial in collaborating with all levels of government above and below the county level. As an arm of the state, the executive is responsible for carrying out the mandates of the state.

A large responsibility for this position is proposing the annual budget. Setting up the decision points for the county board as well as proposing reallocation of resources to adapt to the ever-changing needs in our county.

Directing operations to administer the policies set by the board withing the fiscal restraints given by the board.

Handling constituent issues within the operations of the county services is another large part of the job.

Lastly, being the advocate of the county. Selling our communities to people looking for a better place to live to businesses looking for a better place to produce, and for visitors looking for exciting things to do.

What legacy would you like to leave?

That I did everything I could to make life better for all the citizens of Winnebago County. That I leave the county with a clear roadmap for the future. That I bring county government into the light and make it transparent, and accountable to the people it serves. Most of all, I hope to restore the power of a democratic republic here in our county by ensuring that duties and powers along with checks and balances are restored.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The Challenger Explosion when I was 6 years old. We were all watching it happen live. That image is still vivid in my memory.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Kentucky Fried Kitchen. Started at 14 as a dishwasher and worked my way up to manager over the span of 5 years.

What is your favorite book? Why?

This is hard. I will give two. One non-fiction and one fiction.

Non-fiction - Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. It showed me how we can base entire segments off of poorly collected data. We can have all the right answers possible, but it is all for not if we fail to ask the right questions.

Fiction - The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien's middle earth is unbelievably expansive. When given the time covered in this book, which was finished after his death, I love to envision all that never made it to paper in Tolkien's head. Given the entire history of the Hobbit and the Lord of the rings fit in a mere 3 chapters of his master plan of middle earth, he could have written hundreds of equally riveting novels all within the timeline dictated by The Silmarillion.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Aragorn from Lord of the Rings

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Never gonna give you up. I hope I just Rick Rolled you.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Recovery. I am a compulsive gambler who has been blessed with 16 years of working my program one day at a time. We can and do recover. Never be too ashamed to ask for help. There is a strong and loving recovery community waiting to lift you up.

Tell us your favorite joke.

The Chicago Bears

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

I do not seek endorsements. There are plenty, but I believe people should choose for the candidate that best fits their ideals, not who others tell them to vote for.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

We can and must do better. Government should operate in the light. It has been 4 long years getting it to the point of truth and transparency. From 2019 - 2023 we passed 5 consecutive budgets that showed a $65M+ deficit. In reality per our audits, we had a $27M+ surplus over those 5 years. We have been way off. We are well on the way to finding and correcting the issues.

My biggest fear is all of that planning and work going away and watching it fall back to the shadows if I am not reelected.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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