DeForest Fluoride - Final Vote to Reinstate 4-2
DeForest’s fluoride saga is over with a 4-2 vote to
reinstate fluoride at tonight's board meeting.
Back in February 2025, the board voted 4-3 to remove fluoride even after significant community pushback with residents wanting to keep it in.
Since fluoride was originally voted out, the community organized a near successful write in campaign in April 2025, successfully recalled an anti-fluoride trustee (Bill Landgraf) in September 2025, saw another MAGA resign under pressure (Rebecca Witherspoon) in September 2025, and most recently saw one of the original "remove" votes lose her seat (Taysheedra Allen) to a brand new candidate in the April 7th 2026 election. DeForest is tired of the bullshit.
Back in January, the Village Board voted 5-2 to direct staff to prepare a resolution to restore fluoride to DeForest’s public water system. In March, that resolution deadlocked 3-3 after the pro-fluoride Village President had resigned and the board was short one member.
Tonight, the new board majority voted to reimplement fluoride 4-2;
Brad Cords, Alicia Williams, Melanie Bartholf, and Colleen Little voted to reinstate.
Jan Steffenhagen-Hahn and Jim Simpson voted against.
Pushback works. Organizing works. Don't fuck with DeForest.