WAUPUN — The Rohn4Waupun campaign held their annual fundraiser event at the Legion Bar Monday evening.
Mayor of Waupun Rohn Bishop had the event organized as a mid-term campaign rally. The event was introduced by Cory Buchholz, and a prayer was conducted by Pastor Barry Lang who is pastor at First Reformed Church in Waupun.
“I really appreciate being the Mayor,” Rohn said at the event. “Sometimes you can get really beaten down when hearing all the criticism, but the way that people can rally around and support me by coming to this annual event just reminds me that we’re doing a good job.”
“There are two things that are hard about being a politician,” he said. “One is asking for money—which is why I asked Jason Whitford to do it for me. But the second is bragging about yourself, here in Wisconsin we have that Wisconsin nice where it’s hard to talk about how you’re doing this, this, and this. That’s just not how we’re raised. But the thing about running for office is that you’re always reapplying for your job. My office is up every two years, so is Mark Born’s, and Dan Feyen’s is every four. So we always have to come out here and say why we want to get reelected.”
“So I can go back to when I first got elected, what was my number one issue when I ran the first time? It was the rebranding of the City of Waupun back to the City of Sculpture, and we had to fight for that,” he said. “But now look at how it’s taken off with Icefest and the Sculpture Tour downtown, and now that’s leading into the whole new food truck alley. There’s so much going on in Waupun. Every time I give a speech I say ‘Waupun has got it going on!’ Not just because it rhymes, but because it’s true.”
He went on to list several of the recent developments around town, including in the downtown and business parks. He also mentioned the new brewery Hoyahophousebrewing which is currently working on renovations at 520 E Main St.
“The City is just doing really really well, and I’m really proud to be the Mayor,” he said. “I really love Waupun. And I told Jenny this—if when I die all my obituary said was that I loved Waupun, I’d be happy. When you hear me talk, and when I post on social media, how I brag about Waupun, it’s not BS—I love this city.”
Rohn thanked his wife, Jenny Bishop, for supporting him all this time. He also thanked Jason Whitford for organizing the event for him and collecting the sponsorships.
The event was well attended with the bar area completely packed.
“I’m humbled to have such a strong show of support that turned out,” Bishop said in a statement to WPN following the event. “I’m so thankful to such overwhelming support from this community that I love. We have Waupun moving in the right direction. Waupun has it going on!”
The next mayoral election will be held in 2026.
