The Grafton Village Board on Monday Nov. 10 trimmed the list of candidates to become the village’s next administrator to four during a closed session.
An Ozaukee Press article about the administrator search appeared in the newspaper’s Nov. 13, 2025 edition. According to the article:
Village President Dan Delorit on Tuesday, Nov. 11 said the board would not release the names checks to make sure they remain interested in the job. He said he hoped to announce the names of the finalists by Thursday, Nov. 13 — despite an open records request from the newspaper filed on Nov. 11 seeking the names of all finalists whether they were interested in the job or not.
Finalists for public sector jobs are a matter of public record. “Whenever there are at least five candidates,” the request stated, “[state statute] requires public access to the names of ‘each of the five (or fewer) candidates who are considered the most qualified for the office or position of authority.’ It does not define final candidates as only those who agree to be final candidates, thus the Open Records Law requires disclosure of all the finalists selected by the board, not just those who subsequently agree to be finalists.”
Interim Village Administrator Clint Grimsley said the village will release the information after it consults with the finalists, adding that will be “well within” the time frame for a response required by the Open Records Law.
Grafton received 60 applications from individuals seeking to succeed former Administrator Jesse Thyes, who left Aug. 5 to become administrator of the City of West Bend. Of that initial applicant pool, 32 applicants met the qualifications for the job set by the village.
In late October, the village board pared that list to nine semi-finalists from throughout the U.S.
Delorit said he hopes the village will have an administrator on board by early January.
