Milwaukee County Board races: Who's running in the April 5 general election
Milwaukee's race for mayor is taking center stage in the April 5 election, but the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors also features a slate of races, including those featuring sitting supervisors who were moved into news districts as a result of redistricting.
Five current supervisors now face challengers, including District 1's Liz Sumner and District 3's Sheldon A. Wasserman, both of whom advanced out of primary election challenges in February.
Of the 18 supervisors on the board, six were displaced by redrawing of the county's district lines following the months-long redistricting process that ended in January. That leaves Supervisors Willie Johnson, Jr. and John F. Weishan, Jr. running for new district seats.
This shift in district lines further opened up the races, with former Franklin Ald. Steven Taylor (a former county supervisor) running in District 17 and former state Rep. Josh Zepnick, who lost his seat after being accused of kissing two women without their consent running in District 12.
Some familiar names, however, will not be re-appearing on the ballot. District 11's Joseph J. Czarnezki, District 12's and Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, District 14's Jason Haas and District 15's Eddie Cullen all filed for non-candidacy.
And on Milwaukee's northwest side, District 18 will have a blank ballot.
While the incumbent Russell Antonio Goodwin, Sr., did meet the Milwaukee County Election Jan. 4 deadline to file his nomination signatures, he was six signatures short of the 200 needed to get on the ballot.
Goodwin announced that he would run a write-in campaign to seek re-election shortly after. Byron Marshall, the founder and executive director of the local non-profit Community Huddle, and former MPS teacher and transit driver and worker for the nonprofit Safe & Sound Teneen Rucker confirmed that they would also be running as a write-in candidates.
Who's running in the April 5 election?
The April 5 ballot features six head-to-head races, which will see incumbents and current supervisors moved into new districts running against some new faces.
District 1's Sumner, who is also a small-business owner in Shorewood, said plans to continue to focus on the county's parks and the environment, as well as financial oversight, if re-elected for a second term.
"I would like some more time to be able to hopefully work on things that are important to me and effectively represent the residents that live in my district," she said.
While she did not face any challengers in the 2020 county board race, Sumner received roughly 82% of the vote in the primaries.
Sumner faces Karen Gentile, who did not respond to requests for interview. Gentile finished second in February's primary to advance to the general election.
Physician and former state legislator Wasserman is seeking re-election for District 3, having served on the County Board since 2016. He advanced to the general election with roughly 51% of his district's votes.
He hopes to protect and develop what he considers some of the county's crown jewels: the parks. Beyond that he wants to fix the county's bus and healthcare systems, particularly COVID-19 mitigation efforts and preventing the spread of virus misinformation.
He is running against newcomer Eric Rorholm, a citizen activist and recent theater and and political science graduate of Marquette University, who is pushing to bring a different vision to the board, if elected.
"I'm not a millionaire. I'm not a landlord. I'm a wage worker and I'm a tenant," he said. "I'm someone who really wants to fight to protect those people and working families."
Some top issues he would like to tackle include public safety, such as gun violence and car thefts, and racial justice, as well as affordable housing and the climate crisis.
In District 9, incumbent Patti Logsdon said she hopes to continue to focus on public safety and financial accountability when it comes to county spending.
"I feel I am absolutely more qualified," she said, referring to her opponent, businessman Donald G. Schwartz. "I have been in office now for four years. I have the experience behind me."
Schwartz is a trustee on the Hales Corners Village Board. His campaign focuses on improving Milwaukee's County parks system and developing community partnerships.
Incumbents running in new districts
Johnson is one of the longest-serving supervisors with 22 years working on the board and representing a district that covers a large chunk of Milwaukee's northernmost neighborhoods. While he is currently District 13's supervisor, due to redistricting he will be running for the District 2 seat.
He says he will seek to help the county wrangle its budget, support the growth of minority and women-owned businesses, promote access to human services, disability and aging services, and tackle the county's opioid crisis and uptick in crime.
He said his main question for voters is: "What can I do to help you to do your job and to help you obtain services for your constituents?"
His challenger, Purnima Nath, a conservative who has expressed support for former President Donald Trump, unsuccessfully ran for Milwaukee County executive in 2020, coming fourth in the race. Nath was not available for interview.
Veteran Weishan has also dedicated a lot of time as supervisor, serving on the board since April 2000. While he currently serves District 16, he was displaced by redistricting and now will run for the open District 15 seat.
If elected, he plans to stop the expansion of the I-94 East-West Freeway, provide adequate funding to the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office to deal with on-going public safety concerns. In light of the pandemic, his other big ticket item is creating a countywide health department.
"These are things that only somebody with my background and two decades' worth of service, I think is going to be able to accomplish compared to other people who are running," Weishan said.
His opponent, Peter Burgelis, a self-described "doer" who works in the mortgage industry, wants to help the newly-formed minority-majority District 15, by tackling issues including public safety, parks, transit and creating better-connecting residents.
Burgelis received a diverse coalition of endorsements, which include Ortiz-Velez and District 8 Ald. JoCasta Zamarripa, who both fought for a third Latino majority district during the redistricting process.
"I think that it's important that whoever represents this district acknowledges the diversity and be ready to listen to people who live in all parts and all neighborhoods of the 15th District," he said, explaining he has door-knocked the south side district.
Burgelis has filed a complaint to the elections commission against Weishan, alleging that he is misrepresenting his candidacy by using the term "re-elect" in his campaign material when he is not District 15's incumbent.
Open seat features former state legislator
Another new face is District 12's Juan Miguel Martinez, who is a union organizer and freelance independent journalist.
He aims to restore the Mitchell Park Domes, improve green spaces, create a reliable transit system and provide a collective voice for one of Milwaukee's two Latino-majority districts.
"What sets me apart from my opponent is the fact that I am Latino and the fact that I am a person of color and that I have dealt with a lot of the issues that the communities of color face in the city of Milwaukee that suffers from economic inequality and racial disparity," he said.
He won roughly 30% of the district's votes during the primary election in Feb. and will face-off against Zepnick next month, who had about 41% of the vote.
Zepnick aims to delve into an array of county issues, including the rebuilding of the Mitchell Park Domes, neighborhood revitalization efforts, eco-friendly public transport options, and working with the County Executive to negotiate with the state government for additional funding.
"I'm grateful for people's support and for continuing to believe that I became a better person and turned things around," Zepnick told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in the lead-up to the primary election.
About the sexual misconduct allegations made against him, he said: "That stuff is way in the past."
What is the Milwaukee County Board?
The candidates elected during the biennial election will form a part of Milwaukee's nonpartisan legislative body — the County Board — that has the authority to adopt resolutions and ordinances and, in turn, establish laws, services and programs across the county.
Each of the 18 supervisory districts is in charge of an estimated 53,000 residents and carry out regular meetings through the nine standing committees and special subcommittees that are open for the public attend, including committees that range from finance to health and safety, from parks to the transit system.
The board is also in charge of the annual Milwaukee County budget, which is usually finalized by early November.
In 2022 and beyond, the county faces a number of issues, including the ongoing fiscal challenges that are squeezing non-mandated services, such as the parks and public transit, the county's infrastructure, and how to spend federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
The role of county supervisor is a part-time position, which will pay its supervisors more than $27,400 come April. The board’s chairperson will make roughly $41,000.
Full slate of candidates
Here is who's running for supervisor in Milwaukee County's 18 districts:
District 1: Liz Sumner (Incumbent) and Karen Gentile.
District 2: Sup. Willie Johnson, Jr. and Purnima Nath.
District 3: Sheldon A. Wasserman (Incumbent) and Eric Rorholm.
District 4: Ryan Clancy (Incumbent).
District 5: Sequanna Taylor (Incumbent).
District 6: Shawn Rolland (Incumbent).
District 7: Felesia Martin (Incumbent).
District 8: Steven Shea (Incumbent).
District 9: Patti Logsdon (Incumbent) and Donald G. Schwartz.
District 10: Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson.
District 11: Kathleen Vincent.
District 12: Josh Zepnick and Juan Miguel Martinez.
District 13: Sup. Priscilla E. Coggs-Jones.
District 14: Dyango Josés Zerpa.
District 15: Supervisor John F. Weishan, Jr. and Peter M. Burgelis.
District 16: Tony Staskunas (Incumbent).
District 17: Steve F. Taylor.
District 18: No candidates are on the ballot for this race. Write-ins only.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct Steven Taylor's background. He is a former Franklin alderman, not a current alderman.
Contact Vanessa Swales at 414-308-5881 or vswales@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Vanessa_Swales.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee County Board races: Who's running in the April 5 election
