Race for Wisconsin schools chief tops spring election ballots Tuesday
A Wisconsin spring election with only one statewide race and various local contests is expected to draw 13% to 18% of eligible voters to the polls Tuesday, state elections officials said.
Depending on where you live, ballots will show races for municipal offices, school boards, circuit and municipal courts, as well as referendums.
The race for state superintendent for public instruction pits two longtime educators against each other. Incumbent Tony Evers is an advocate of public schools while challenger Lowell Holtz is a school choice proponent.
MORE ELECTION COVERAGE:State school superintendent | Milwaukee wheel tax | Milwaukee Municipal Court | Milwaukee County Circuit Court | Milwaukee School Board | West Allis-West Milwaukee School District
ELECTION RESULTS:Statewide and Milwaukee area | Appleton | Fond du Lac | Green Bay | Manitowoc | Marshfield | Oshkosh | Sheboygan | Stevens Point | Wausau | Wisconsin Rapids
Evers, 65, is seeking a third term and vows to push for more state funding for public schools and take steps to address teacher shortages. He said that Wisconsin schools have raised standards, increased graduation rates and expanded career and technical education programs during his tenure.
Holtz, 59, said he would eliminate Common Core standards, establish a new statewide test not linked to the standards and eliminate what he describes as burdensome administrative tasks placed on teachers. He retired last year from the Whitnall School District.
Milwaukee County voters will select a judge for Circuit Court Branch 47 to replace John Siefert, and answer an advisory referendum that asks whether they support a $60 wheel tax to help pay for county bus transit service and major road and bridge repairs.
The Circuit Court race features Scott Wales, a lawyer and Fox Point municipal judge, and Kristy Yang, a lawyer who is attempting to become the nation's first female Hmong-American judge.
Siefert did not seek re-election.
Milwaukee County vehicle owners started paying a $30 vehicle registration fee in March as part of a 2017 budget adopted by the County Board. County Executive Chris Abele had recommended a $60 registration fee beginning this year.
The board cut the wheel tax by half and placed the referendum question on the spring ballot.
The $30 fee is expected to generate nearly $13.5 million this year. The revenue will be divided with $11.5 million going to bus transit operating costs and $2 million for reconstruction of county roads and bridges.
County Comptroller Scott Manske has said that revenue from a $60 registration fee estimated at $27.1 million in its first year would not be sufficient in a few years to balance transit expenses without increases in bus fares or route cuts.
In the City of Milwaukee, there is a race for municipal judge and eight candidates are competing for four seats on the Milwaukee Public Schools Board.
Valarie Hill, the incumbent municipal judge, faces challenger William Crowley, a lawyer with Disability Rights Wisconsin.
In MPS, two-term MPS school board incumbent Annie Woodward is defending her District 4 seat against challenger Aisha Carr.
Woodward is retired from the Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services. Carr is an ethnic studies teacher at MPS' James Madison Academic Campus.
Two former MPS teachers are asking voters to place them in the District 5 seat. Incumbent Larry Miller is facing off against challenger Kahri Phelps-Okoro.
In District 6, two community activists are vying for the seat being vacated by Tatiana Joseph. Voters can choose between bilingual education proponent Tony Baez and Jonatan Zuñiga, outreach manager at Layton Boulevard West Neighbors.
The race to fill the District 7 seat being vacated by Claire Zautke features Paula Phillips and Joey Balistreri. Phillips, a project coordinator for the women's initiative at the Medical College of Wisconsin, moved to Milwaukee in 2010 for a job with AmeriCorps. Balistreri, a classical musician and former teacher, moved to Milwaukee last year with his naval officer husband.
Don Behm can be reached at don.behm@jrn.com and twitter.com/conserve.
How to vote
The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Your assigned polling place is based on where you live. You can find your polling place by entering your address at myvote.wi.gov.
You must be registered to vote. You can register to vote at the polling place if you submit proof of residence.
All voters will need to show an acceptable photo ID to vote Tuesday.
