After three years, it’s once again time for Riverside to appoint a new village clerk.
Village Clerk Ethan Sowl has resigned from his position after accepting an offer to become assistant village manager for Elm Grove, Wisconsin, a village in Waukesha County with a population of about 6,500.
A new clerk is expected to be appointed by Village President Doug Pollock with the village board’s approval at their meeting on Feb. 20. Village Manager Jessica Frances told the Landmark she will take on the clerk’s duties herself until then so residents don’t experience disruptions to service.
“Our team is extremely proud of Ethan,” she said at the board meeting on Feb. 6, Sowl’s last day of employment, where she announced his departure. “Our leadership team and village board have come to rely on Ethan for many things, and we will miss him terribly. Ethan, congratulations on your new position, and remember that you had a role in Riverside’s achievements, not only today, but you’ve also set us up for the future.”
“I have the utmost respect for Ethan. You’ve done a tremendous job for this village,” Pollock added. “I’ve spent my career in local government, mostly in the Chicago area, and it really feels good to see a young professional such as Ethan who’s going to lead in our profession of public administration for many years to come.”
Frances identified Sowl’s replacement as Emily Stenzel, who, according to her LinkedIn profile, has worked at the village since May 2023. Stenzel started as an intern before being promoted to administrative assistant in December 2023 and again to fiscal assistant in February 2024. Alongside that role, she has also served as a management analyst since January. Frances said Stenzel will serve as both clerk and a special assistant to administration and finance like Sowl did.
Frances did not respond to a follow-up question over email about Stenzel’s salary in her dual role by the time of publication.
According to LinkedIn, Stenzel has a bachelor’s degree in history and legal studies from Illinois State University and earned a master’s degree in public administration from University of Illinois Chicago last year.
“The new person stepping into this role, while they were an internal candidate, and we did a competitive process, she did a fabulous job during the interview process and the assessment process that was required during our recruitment,” Frances said.
Despite Stenzel’s qualifications, Frances said Sowl’s departure is a loss for the village.
“You have someone that has institutional knowledge since 2021, and a person coming in will have to build all of that knowledge. Even though they were an internal hire, [Sowl] had been with the village longer.”
The village clerk’s duties include responding to Freedom of Information Act requests, filing election records and referendum information with the county, keeping records for business and liquor licenses, maintaining records on elected and appointed officials’ Open Meetings Act training and compliance, taking minutes at village board meetings and signing off on resolutions and ordinances passed by the board.
Sowl first started at Riverside as an intern in June 2021 while pursuing a master’s degree in public administration at Northern Illinois University. He was hired full-time Jan 1, 2022, as the village’s management analyst and appointed clerk five days later following the retirement of former Clerk Cathy Haley. Sowl served in both roles until last year, when he was promoted to become a special assistant to administration and finance while continuing to serve as clerk.
Haley was Riverside’s first full-time clerk, also serving as an executive secretary. Before her appointment in 2012, Riverside had a part-time clerk who did not serve in any other roles. Riverside clerks were elected until 2004, when residents passed a referendum to make the position an appointed one due to difficulties finding candidates to run for the office.
Frances said she thought Elm Grove, Wisconsin, was fortunate to have Sowl as a new administrator.
“Residents were very familiar with him because he was at all of our board meetings, and if someone needed assistance with a special event application or just had questions … he would certainly step in and try to assist in any way he could,” she said. “We’re very excited for him and this next phase of his life. We’re happy that we were able to set him up, from a professional development standpoint, for success, and I think he’ll do great things in his new community because he did great things here in Riverside.”
