Diocese of Eau Claire elects new bishop 17 October 1998, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA We have received unofficial reports, not yet substantiated through formal channels, that the Very Rev. Keith Whitmore, Dean of Christ Cathedral in Salina, KS (Diocese of Western Kansas) was elected Bishop of Eau Claire on the 12th ballot. Dean Whitmore was one of 20 candidates to replace the Right Rev. William Wantland as Bishop of Eau Claire. There is a photograph of him on the Diocesan Staff page of the Diocese of Western Kansas' web site. Bishop Wantland has been a newsworthy person in the last few years, as one of the principals of PECUSA, Inc., which is generally considered in the United States to be a breakaway faction. His retirement will certainly have an effect on church politics, but it is premature to predict what that effect might be. One of the other candidates for the See of Eau Claire was reportedly the Rev. William Ilgenfritz, a well-known conservative who would have been a more direct replacement for Bishop Wantland. We await the publication of the official ballot information for more information.