BARABOO — A majority of supervisors want a re-vote in electing the chairman of the Sauk County Board.

The request comes after chairman Marty Krueger, of Reedsburg, was arrested in January because of his failure to appear at court dates involving a lawsuit against his business.

The Sauk County clerk’s office received signed statements from 17 of 31 supervisors Tuesday asking that the re-vote take place at the board’s meeting Tuesday.

Sauk County Board rules say the chairman is elected biennially in even-numbered years.

But board members who signed the statement say state law and Robert’s Rules of Order — a manual for governing bodies — allow them to hold a re-vote.

"I believe we should have an election to replace Marty as board chairman," wrote supervisor Lowell Haugen, of Baraboo, in a note attached to his signed statement. "Marty can choose to be a nominee if he wishes, but an election to make it a better governing body is needed."

Full board meeting agendas are generally prepared by the board’s chairman, Krueger, with the assistance of Administrative Coordinator Kathryn Schauf and County Clerk Beverly Mielke.

Schauf said Tuesday it is still unclear whether a re-vote will be placed on the agenda.

Supervisor Rob Sinklair, of Prairie du Sac, said he initiated the petition and recently filed ethics charges against Krueger because of his January arrest. But an ethics panel that reviewed Sinklair’s complaint threw it out late last month, saying it didn’t specify what Krueger might have done to violate the county’s code of ethics.

Sinklair has said he plans to re-file.

Krueger neglected the civil case against his business for almost a year, failing to respond to the lawsuit in writing or show up for court dates, documents show. He has so far refused opportunities to comment about the lawsuit or his arrest.