Early campaign reports for MPS board show Zombor outspent pack, Carr accused of violation

Ahead of the April Milwaukee School Board election, early campaign finance reports show union-backed candidate Missy Zombor has raised far more funds than other board candidates, while sitting member Aisha Carr has reportedly failed to file her finance reports.

Zombor, who has raised over $10,000, is running against former school board member Jeff Spence for the board's only seat that's elected city-wide, rather than by a specific district. The seat is currently held by board president Bob Peterson, who is stepping down and endorsing Zombor.

Four other school board seats are up for election this spring, none of which will have primary elections:

• In District 1, incumbent Marva Herndon faces competition from former state superintendent candidate Shandowlyon Hendricks Reaves

• In District 2, incumbent Erika Siemsen is unopposed, after election officials determined challenger Pamela Holmes, a former Milwaukee Police Sergeant, failed to file enough valid nomination signatures

• In District 3, where board vice president Sequanna Taylor is stepping down, newcomers Gabi Hart and Darryl Jackson are competing for the seat

• In District 8, incumbent Megan O'Halloran is unopposed

School board members Aisha Carr, Jilly Gokalgandhi, Marcela Garcia and Henry Leonard are not up for election, as they won their seats in 2021 and will face election again in 2025. School board terms are four years, with the seats on two staggered election cycles.

Candidates had to file campaign finance reports this week, and will file additional reports closer to the election.

Zombor has raised more than $10,000

Zombor's campaign has raised about $10,600 since October and spent about $7,200.

Zombor serves as marketing director for Rethinking Schools, a magazine co-founded by Peterson. She previously served as communications director for the Milwaukee Teachers Education Association (MTEA), which is the union for MPS staff.

MTEA recently endorsed Zombor. The organization also endorsed Herndon, Siemsen, Hart and O'Halloran.

Most of the donations to Zombor's campaign were individual donations of $100 or less.

Zombor also received donations from the campaign committees of five others: County Supervisors Ryan Clancy ($1,000) and Juan Miguel-Martinez ($500), Shorewood Village Board candidate Sam Harshner ($500), former State Assembly candidate Nathan Jurowski ($250), and state Rep. Tod Ohnstad ($100).

"I'm proud that we're funded by individual donors, labor unions, and progressive organizations," Zombor said in an email. "Many of our donors are current or retired educators, and our top donor is a truck driver who cares deeply about our public schools."

Zombor's campaign has spent funds so far on posters, food and mailing, as well as access to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin's organizing software.

Zombor's opponent, Spence, did not log any fundraising on his report. He claimed an exemption, which candidates can do if they've raised less than $2,500.

Spence, who works at the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, previously served on the school board from 1999 to 2015, when he lost to union-backed Wendell Harris.

Spence is also running for a seat on the common council. He claimed exemptions for both races. He said he does plan to raise more money.

"Since there is no primary for the school board race, I’ve focused my attention on having conversations with a variety of stakeholders that see education as a linchpin for our community’s prosperity," Spence said. "I do have fundraising activities planned."

Other candidates post lower numbers

In the District 1 race, Hendricks-Reaves reported raising about $2,700. It was mostly her own money as loans to the campaign, along with $1,000 from Rogers Onick, a retired MPS principal, and $100 from another former state superintendent candidate Sheila Briggs.

As the incumbent in that race, Herndon reported she started with a committee balance of about $1,900 and had no new fundraising. She reported spending funds for office supplies and access to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin's voter file.

In District 3, Gabi Hart reported spending about $60 of her own funds on printing, and Jackson did not report any funds.

At this time in 2021, school board candidates had collectively raised more funds, though they also faced primary elections because of crowded fields. Two candidates, Jilly Gokalgandhi and Alex Brower, had raised more than $17,000 each. Others ranged from $0 to about $5,000 each.

Aisha Carr fails to file finance reports

Though Carr's seat isn't up for election, she is still expected to file campaign finance reports along with all other board members with open committees, even if only to report that there was no activity.

Claire Woodall-Vogg, executive director of the city's election commission, said Carr had not filed the report due Jan. 17, nor the previous report due in July. Carr had filed her previous three reports late.

On Carr's most recent report, from January 2022 after her election, she reported receiving about $1,400 from Austin Ramirez via the MMAC conduit fund managed by Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. Sheehy also donated $200 to Carr's campaign through the conduit. Ramirez is the CEO of Husco International; his father founded St. Augustine Preparatory Academy and the Ramirez Family Foundation continues to help fund the school.

Woodall-Vogg contacted the Wisconsin Ethics Commission Wednesday about Carr's failure to file the July 2022 report. She said she will give Carr 30 days to file the January 2023 report before reporting that failure to the commission.

In her email to the ethics commission, Woodall-Vogg said Carr told her she had tried to submit a report in July but it bounced back. As of Friday morning, Woodall-Vogg said Carr had still not submitted the report, despite receiving a warning Jan. 4 that she would be referred to the ethics commission.

Carr did not answer a question from the Journal Sentinel Friday about whether she planned to file her reports. She only said, via text, that she had submitted a "detailed response in writing, to everyone via email." Woodall-Vogg said Friday she had not received a response from Carr regarding the ethics commission referral.

Under election commission rules, Carr could be charged $500 for filing a report more than 120 days late.

Contact Rory Linnane at rory.linnane@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @RoryLinnane.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: MPS campaign finance reports show Zombor ahead, violation by Carr