SALEM LAKES, Wis. — The Salem Lakes Village Board appointed former Fire Commission Chairman Tom Strachan to the vacant Village Trustee seat Monday night, confirming what multiple Village insiders told Kenosha County Eye more than a month ago — that Strachan was poised to receive the appointment. His return to a powerful Village position comes despite residents previously warning that bringing Strachan back could represent a “dark return to the past” and a return to some of Salem Lakes’ darkest and most dysfunctional days.

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The board held a special meeting Monday specifically to interview candidates and select a replacement for Amanda Procknow, who resigned only months after being elected. The appointment runs through April 2028. The published agenda called for each candidate to make an opening presentation, undergo questioning by the board and make a closing statement before trustees selected Procknow’s replacement.

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Five candidates ultimately went through the interview process. Kirill Ostapenko had withdrawn, while Logan Dunn was not present when the interviews began and was not considered.

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The most striking moment came when Trustee Pete Poli first moved to appoint John Walker to the vacant seat. Despite several trustees later praising Walker extensively, not a single trustee seconded Poli’s motion, causing it to die.

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A motion was then made to appoint Strachan by Woodke (D) and seconded by Billy Barhyte (D), signalling the fix was in.

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This time, the support materialized. All six sitting members ultimately voted yes, and Strachan was immediately brought forward and sworn into office. Village President Rita Bucur said Strachan’s experience with the Camp and Center Lakes Rehabilitation District played heavily into her decision, while other trustees also cited his Lake District experience.

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The outcome closely mirrors what KCE reported on September 2.

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After Procknow resigned, multiple Village insiders told KCE that Strachan was already the board’s preferred choice even though the Village had only begun accepting applications. One insider characterized a possible Strachan appointment as a “dark return to the past,” while others told KCE they feared “the vote is already in.”

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Strachan had also been seen at a Village Board meeting appearing to rub elbows with sitting trustees while the public application process was still underway.

At the time, the Village had not even finished taking applications. Monday night, Strachan got the seat.

Strachan’s Fire Commission Baggage
Strachan is no stranger to Salem Lakes government — or controversy.

He previously served as chairman of the Salem Lakes Fire Commission during one of the most tumultuous periods in the Village Fire Department’s history.

During his presentation Monday, Strachan himself acknowledged the turmoil. He told trustees that he had been on the Fire Commission about a year before becoming chairman and described what he inherited as a “firestorm.” Strachan told the board he believed he had weathered the controversy well and with a “calm and rational approach.”

But the history surrounding Strachan’s tenure is far more complicated.

As Fire Commission chairman, Strachan was charged with helping oversee a department led by then-Fire Chief James Lejcar. During that era, complaints and allegations of serious dysfunction inside the department mounted. KCE reported in 2023 that Strachan wanted to keep the embattled Lejcar in the chief’s position even as criticism of the department intensified.

Strachan seemingly allowed serious problems inside the department to fester under his watch — problems that were later documented extensively in an outside personnel investigation.

That investigation, released after Lejcar and Fire Inspector Steve Ptaszynski resigned, found significant deficiencies in the performances of both men. Investigators interviewed nearly two dozen people and reviewed hundreds of pages of communications and records.

Investigators documented accusations that Lejcar and Ptaszynski intimidated employees and discouraged subordinates from cooperating with the investigation.

Ptaszynski resigned in November 2023 on the eve of a Village Board discussion concerning the personnel investigation. In correspondence surrounding his resignation, Ptaszynski disclosed that he had wiped information from his department-issued cellular phone, according to records previously obtained by KCE. Lejcar also resigned

.

Serial Arsonist Served On Commission
The dysfunction extended beyond the Fire Department itself.

One member of the Fire Commission was serial arsonist Allen Dunski Jr., who eventually became vice president of the commission.

Dunski was convicted of three felony arsons committed when he was 22 years old and working as a firefighter. Court and investigative records previously obtained by KCE showed that Dunski admitted setting three separate fires and then returning to the fire station, where he was dispatched to help extinguish fires he had started himself.

Dunski was appointed to the Fire Commission in 2019 following a motion by then-Trustee Bill Hopkins and a second by Trustee Ron Gandt. His appointment was unanimously approved.

The serial arsonist later became a vocal supporter of Lejcar while serving on the commission.

Strachan’s continued leadership of the Fire Commission also became controversial in 2023.

Shortly before a newly elected Village Board was scheduled to take office, the outgoing administration considered reappointing Strachan. KCE reported at the time that Strachan was among a series of appointments being advanced by outgoing Village President Diann Tesar following an election in which several incumbents had been overwhelmingly defeated.

KCE reported then that Strachan vowed to keep the embattled Lejcar on the job.

Around the same time, the outgoing Village Board changed Village rules so the Fire Commission itself could select its chairman instead of having the Village President select the chairman with board approval. Critics at the time believed the change was intended to keep Strachan in control of the commission.

Public Records Lawsuit And More Turmoil
The broader Village administration was also embroiled in public-records battles during that period.

In March 2023, KCE prevailed in a public-records lawsuit against Salem Lakes after the Village refused to provide requested records. Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Bruce Schroeder ordered the Village to turn over the records and pay fees.

Lejcar and then-Village President Tesar appeared in court in support of the Village’s refusal to release the documents.

The following months brought increasing scrutiny of the Fire Department and those responsible for overseeing it, culminating in the outside personnel investigation and the departures of Lejcar and Ptaszynski.

The Fire Commission itself continued to implode into 2024.

After KCE exposed vice president and serial arsonist Allen Dunski Jr.’s three felony arson convictions, Dunski resigned from the commission.

Less than three weeks later, Fire Commission President Allen Thennes also resigned, leaving another vacancy on a commission already battered by controversy over its oversight of the Fire Department.

It was against that backdrop that residents reacted strongly when Strachan’s name surfaced as the likely choice to replace Procknow.

Strachan Addresses Public Scrutiny
Strachan appeared to acknowledge some of the criticism surrounding his past during his closing statement Monday.

“I’ve been scrutinized publicly,” Strachan told trustees, adding that he would not identify those responsible for what he characterized as online attacks. He said criticism had become “a little bit malicious,” but told trustees that public scrutiny was part of public life.

Strachan also emphasized his financial credentials, telling trustees he is a CPA with an MBA and has worked for both the federal government and a state agency. He touted his experience with public records laws, saying he had dealt extensively with FOIA while working in government. He also pointed to his service on the Zoning Board of Appeals and his leadership of the Camp and Center Lakes Rehabilitation District.

When asked about the distinction between trustees and Village employees, Strachan told the board that trustees are responsible for oversight and setting direction while staff handles day-to-day operations. He specifically referenced the importance of staff knowing what is occurring throughout the organization, including within the Fire Department.

Strachan also told trustees he favors repairing equipment where financially practical rather than automatically replacing it and said trustees should personally investigate major purchases when necessary.

Monday’s appointment means Strachan has now moved from his former position overseeing portions of Village government through the Fire Commission into one of the seats directly governing Salem Lakes.

For residents who warned last month that his appointment could signal a return to an era they believed Salem Lakes had finally moved beyond, what was once merely a concern is now reality.