Two paralegals, one open seat: Schue and Nilsestuen run for clerk of court

WHITEHALL — Two career paralegals are running for Trempealeau County clerk of circuit court in the Aug. 11 Republican primary. One has spent 24 years at a private law firm. The other has spent six years inside the county district attorney's office, and nine and a half before that as a paralegal in the Army National Guard.

Jessica Schue of Independence and Leni Nilsestuen of the town of Arcadia are running for an open seat. Mary E. Lee, appointed clerk in 2024, filed notice in December 2025 that she would not seek a full term.

The winner advances to the Nov. 3 general election against Mary Teresa Foss, the only Democrat who filed, for a four-year term beginning in January 2027.

The clerk's office maintains court records, manages the jury system and handles financial management for the judicial system, according to the county.

Why the seat is open

Aug. 11 is the first time the office has appeared on a ballot since 2022.

Kari Tidquist was elected clerk in November 2022. She resigned in October 2024, days after the Trempealeau County Board of Supervisors voted to authorize charges seeking her removal. Tidquist denied the allegations through her attorney, and the charges were never filed in court, the Trempealeau County Times reported.

Lee — the candidate Tidquist had defeated in 2022 — was appointed that November to serve the remainder of the term, which expires Jan. 4, 2027. Neither candidate on the August ballot has held the office.

Jessica Schue

Schue was born and raised in Independence and lives there with her husband, Jason, and their daughter. She graduated from Independence High School in 1998 and earned a paralegal associate degree from Chippewa Valley Technical College.

She was hired at the law firm Kulig, Michalak & Franklin in 2000 while finishing that degree and joined full time in 2001. Apart from two years in the legal department at Ashley Furniture, from 2015 to 2017, she has been there since — 24 years in all, her campaign says, of more than 26 in the legal field. Her campaign advertisement also lists a year at the Social Security Administration.

Schue said she now handles all files at the firm, where she is the only full-time employee. The firm's general practice runs across family law, criminal law, civil and small claims, real estate, estate planning and probate, and one of its attorneys serves as a court commissioner in three counties. That range, she said, has put her in regular contact with court offices in several counties.

I have worked closely with Judges' offices, attorneys, and Clerk of Court staff to schedule hearings, process continuances, review pleadings, and keep cases moving efficiently.

Jessica Schue, in a campaign advertisement

“I am running for Clerk of Court because I love the work that I do, I care about the people we serve, and want to continue serving the public with the experience I have gained,” she wrote in the same advertisement.

Campaigning under the slogan “Service That Puts People First,” Schue wrote: “I know how often people struggle with forms, deadlines, and navigating the court process. Accuracy, efficiency, organization, and respectful service matter!”

Leni Nilsestuen

Nilsestuen has worked in the Trempealeau County district attorney's office since 2019 and says she has been a paralegal for more than 15 years.

She began in 2010, enlisting in the Minnesota Army National Guard as a paralegal and serving nine and a half years before her discharge in 2019. That included a 2014-15 deployment to Kuwait with an aviation unit, where she said she assisted commanders and soldiers with wills, family law matters, the rights of deployed soldiers and the prosecution of military law. She also served as a court reporter for the Guard.

After returning from Kuwait she earned a paralegal associate degree from Chippewa Valley Technical College in Eau Claire, graduating with honors in 2017. She worked as a legal assistant and paralegal for private companies before the county hired her.

Nilsestuen moved to Trempealeau County in 2016 and married Kyle Nilsestuen in 2018. They live on the Nilsestuen family farm in the town of Arcadia with their two young sons.

Her stated priority is stability in an office she says has been hurt by turnover.

There has been a lot of turnover in the clerk's office in recent years. This turnover costs the county knowledge and has put us in a position to always be training in someone new. I would like to obtain the position and hold it for years to come so the county benefits from a department that has experience.

Leni Nilsestuen, on her campaign page

“The court system requires accurate and reliable records,” she wrote. “If elected, I would work on making the office's processing as accurate as possible so that every case moves through the courts smoothly.”

In her current job, she said, she has built working relationships across the courthouse, with local law enforcement, with surrounding counties and with area attorneys.

Where they overlap, and where they don't

Both point to relationships built through their work — Nilsestuen through daily casework inside the county courthouse, Schue through decades of firm work she says has connected her with court offices in several counties.

The difference is where those relationships were built. One candidate would move down a hallway. The other would come in from outside the building.

The campaign so far

Nilsestuen's campaign has distributed postcards at parades and community events. In announcing her run she said she would collect signatures, put up signs and attend events.

Schue said she has been attending village and city council meetings around the county and expected to share her background at a forum in Whitehall. In a Facebook post, Schue said all of the candidates were interviewed for WTCO TV, the county's media center, for a “Meet The Candidate 2026” video ahead of the primary.

The Aug. 11 ballot also carries a three-way Republican primary for sheriff, where incumbent Erica Koxlien faces Wayne Dahl and Kent Johnson, and the Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau school district's facilities referendum.

Whichever Republican advances meets Foss in November. The winner takes office in January.