Paul Esslinger to run for Oshkosh Common Council again

OSHKOSH, WI—(WISS)— He’s been a member of the Oshkosh Common Council twice before. He’s served as Oshkosh’s Mayor. And now Paul Esslinger is running again for Common Council, something he never thought he would do again after leaving the council in April of 2025. But when budget reductions cut funding to the Oshkosh Area Humane Society by nearly half, he was motivated to run again. 

“ I was upset about that,” he said.

Esslinger said he understands why the cuts were made. He was a part of the council that tasked City Manager Rebecca Grill with finding ways to reduce the tax levy and costs of government. But what clinched the deal was talks of a potential pedestrian/bicycling bridge over I-41.

“Literally mere minutes later, they started talking about the footbridge over Highway 41,” Esslinger lamented. 

The Oshkosh Common Council voted on November 25 to appropriate $11.5 million to the proposed pedestrian bridge project. Part of the funds, $2 million worth, will come from a federal Safe Streets For All (SS4A) grant.

 I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me!’ I mean, we’re stumbling over dollars to try to reach the pennies. We’re out of money. We have a tremendous amount of debt in Oshkosh that we have been cutting..Kudos there. Good job,” said Esslinger. “But when we’re okay with cutting funding to people that help defenseless animals, and then literally minutes later, we’re OK with spending millions of dollars on a footbridge over Highway 41. Literally, you can go a few hundred feet and you have Witzel Avenue. Or a few hundred feet the other way, you have Highway 21 that crosses the highway. So this certainly is not a need. I mean, it’s not anywhere close to a need. I would even argue it’s really not even a want.”

Paul Esslinger’s Campaign

Oshkosh Issues

Esslinger said he feels the most significant issue facing the Oshkosh City government is representation.

“ I would argue, getting council members who represent the residents. Now that may be a controversial statement, and I’ve said controversial stuff before. And again, it’s nothing personal. But I think if you were to walk up and down Main Street Oshkosh and talk to anyone who kind of watches council meetings or stays in touch, I think they’d probably tell you the council members, by and large, do not listen to the residents.”

Housing 

Housing affordability and availability are significant issues for Oshkosh residents, who over the past two years have seen their property values nearly double. While some may see that as a good thing, Esslinger said it is difficult for young people to buy their first homes or even find affordable rental housing.

“To buy a home now – my God – you’re looking at $250,000, which literally five years ago was $125,000. So, I mean, they’ve doubled. When that happens, then of course, now the people that have rental properties know that they can raise the rent. So, I feel sorry for these kids, 25 and under, who’d have to rent. I don’t know if you can get anything for $1,200 a month now! And if you do, it’s a hole in the wall somewhere,” Esslinger said.

However, Esslinger said, while the government can help by encouraging housing development, it is not strictly the city government’s job.

“ I think some people believe that the government can solve all the problems. My argument is that the government creates more problems than it solves,” he added.

Esslinger said as a realtor, he sees that the inventory of available housing is very low, while demand is high. He said developers and landlords have stated that permits, restrictions, and red tape in the City of Oshkosh make it challenging to develop and increase the housing inventory.

Property Taxes

Hand-in-hand with the uptick in property assessments and valuations, property taxes are also going up. 

“The assessment process that we have is a complete joke. Uh, I’ve said it before, it’s the worst possible way to garner tax dollars there is. Because you have a department that goes around and makes a determination of what your home is worth. And in a lot of instances, they’ve never even been in a home,” said Esslinger.

As a realtor, Esslinger said he knows that real estate and commercial property valuations can fluctuate dramatically over just a few years. That leads to fluctuating property taxes. Esslinger said it may be time to think about other ways to fund the city.

“ We’ve talked about sales taxes before. If we completely get rid of assessing homes, the assessment process, then I’d be in favor of that. But adding a sales tax and keeping what we have? No,” said Esslinger. “Because that just gives politicians more money to go out and waste. And if you give a politician enough money, they will waste it.”

The most recent city budget included a decrease in the city’s tax levy.

Lagniappe: a little something extra

What is Paul Esslinger’s passion? What does he do when not selling real estate or sitting on the Common Council?

“I am probably one of the most boring people you’ve ever met in your life,” Esslinger said. He listed collecting brewery memorabilia as a hobby. But his passion, where his attention is drawn, is in politics.

“I’m at home. I’m watching – God, I hope I don’t make any enemies on this – I’m watching political shows!” said Esslinger. “My wife, she thinks I’m absolutely crazy. She watches ‘reality,’ and I’m using the air quotes here. The reality shows, which are so far away from reality, it’s not even funny. So she’ll come in, you know, when I’m watching TV, and she’ll start laughing at me. ‘You keep saying that my shows are about drama! All this is drama!’ Yeah. But this is what’s really going on in the world.”

Engaging with the campaign

Esslinger said he is always willing to talk with and listen to Oshkosh residents. To find out more about his campaign, you can text or phone him at (920) 410-1104 or email him at [email protected].

“I love talking to people. It’s always interesting. Everyone has an opinion, and they think their opinion is right. Of course, the perception becomes the reality. But sometimes when you talk to people, they can kind of sway you,” Esslinger said.

Oshkosh Common Council Race

Seven people are running for the three Common Council seats being decided this spring. In addition to Esslinger, Jacob Amos, Alec Lefeber, Meredith Scheuermann, Tim Neubauer, Eric Gumz, Logan Jungbacker, and Dan Lenz are all on the ballot. Amos was appointed to fill the remainder of Kris Larson’s term in November. He is running for his first full term.

Incumbents D.J. Nichols and Jacob Floam have decided not to seek reelection.

The primary will be held on February 17th, during which the field of candidates will be reduced to six. The spring election is April 7, 2026.