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Former Onalaska Mayor James Bialecki was chosen as Tomah’s new city administrator.

Bialecki, who did not seek re-election in April after serving eight years as mayor of Onalaska, was given unanimous approval by the Tomah City Council and Mayor Ed Thompson on Wednesday night.

“He is a tremendous applicant,” Thompson said of Bialecki. “He was the unanimous choice of the council.”

Before becoming Onalaska’s first full-time mayor in 2000, Bialecki was the administrator for Hillview Health Center in La Crosse. Thompson pointed to Bialecki’s experience as an administrator and record in Onalaska as a reason for his selection.

“He is well educated in administration. He knows municipal government, and he knows TIF districts,” Thompson said. “Onalaska grew under his direction over the last eight years, and he accomplished a lot of positive things. He knows city government forward and backward.”

The names of the four finalists for Tomah’s City Administrator position were released by Thompson on June 12. The other finalists, who Thompson called “extremely good candidates”, were former Menasha mayor Joseph Laux, Fort McCoy’s Senior Logistics and Public Works Manager Darrell Neitzel, and Dennis Linn, Administrator and Clerk in the village of Poynette.

Thompson said that he hopes Bialecki is ready to take over for retiring City Administrator John Rusch by the middle of July. Rusch will retire on July 5.