by Steve Prestegard
plattevillejournaleditor@gmail.com
The spring election ballots will see three candidates in one race, six candidates going after three seats, one candidate in two races, and no candidates in five races.
The word “ballots” applies because there will be a primary election Feb. 16 for the Platteville Common Council at-large seat and for the state Supreme Court.
Municipal races: As happened last year, the at-large Common Council seat has three candidates — Darrel Browning, Katherine Burk and Jeremy Johnson. Browning ran in the 2014 and 2015 at-large races. The three are running to replace Ald. Mike Denn, who is not running for re-election.
As happened last year, the Common Council district seat has only one candidate. Don Francis is running for the District 1 seat being vacated by Ald. Barb Stockhausen, who chose not to run for re-election.
The winner of each seat will serve a three-year term.
The city ballot will also include the Platteville Move to Amend referendum on a proposed constitutional amendment to overturn U.S. Supreme Court decisions removing restrictions on political campaign spending.
Potosi Village Board incumbents Mick Whitaker, Larry Percival and Sherri Yutzy are unopposed.
School boards: All three Platteville School Board incumbents — Brian Miesen, Nancy Bongers and Abulkhair Masoom — filed for reelection. They will be opposed by three candidates from last year, Johnson, Brian Brown and Curt Timlin. The top three vote-getters will serve three-year terms.
Two incumbents, Craig Bierman and Peggy Udelhoven, and two challengers, Harry Pitzen and Scott C. Warren, will contest three Potosi School board seats. Incumbent Tricia Reuter is not running for reelection.
County boards: All but one of the 17 Grant County supervisors — Sup. Vern Lewison of Fennimore, who represents District 7 — filed for reelection. Patricia Reynolds of Fennimore is the only candidate for Lewison’s seat.
District 10 Sup. Mark Stead of Platteville will be opposed by Joyce Bos, District 8 Sup. Pat Schroeder of Lancaster will be opposed by Ronald Coppernoll, and District 3 Sup. Robert Scallon of Boscobel is opposed by Boscobel Mayor Steve Wetter.
Thirteen of 16 Lafayette County supervisors are running for reelection, with two districts without candidates after their supervisors didn’t file for reelection. Sup. Paul Garthwaite of Blanchardville is not running in District 8, with Kristine Marion on the ballot. The two districts without candidates are District 6, where Sup. Connie Hull of Darlington is not running, and District 16, where Sup. David Halloran of Benton is not running.
The Iowa County Board has one contested district and three districts with no candidates on the ballot after incum
See ELECTIONS page 2A υ
bents chose not to run for reelection. Sup. John Denby of Arena is opposed by Jim Wenzler in District 2. The three of the 21 supervisors not running for reelection are Sups. Tom DeLain of Dodgeville in District 8, James Griffiths of Dodgeville in District 11, and Greg Clerkin of Barneveld in District 12.
The spring general election will also include the Wisconsin presidential primary election. As of this week there are three Democratic candidates — former U.S. Sen. and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. The ballot for now includes 12 Republicans, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Dr. Ben Carson, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, former Hewlett–Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Ohio Gov. Jon Kasich, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, and developer Donald Trump.
To be removed from the ballot, a candidate must file a disclaimer with the Government Accountability Board by Jan. 26. That is also the deadline for a candidate not on the ballot to get on by collecting at least 1,000 signatures from each of Wisconsin’s eight Congressional districts.
Judicial races: The spring election also will include a race for the state Supreme Court seat held by Justice Patrick Crooks before his death Sept. 21. Gov. Scott Walker appointed Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Rebecca Bradley, who had already announced she was running after Crooks announced he was not running for reelection, to fill Crooks’ term on the Supreme Court. Also running are state Appeals Court Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg, who lost to Supreme Court Justice David Prosser last April, and Milwaukee County Circuit Judge M. Joseph Donald, who also is making his first run for the Supreme Court.
State District IV Court of Appeals Judge Brian Blanchard is unopposed.
Four candidates are running to replace retiring Iowa County Circuit Judge William Dyke — Tim Angel of Dodgeville, Margaret Koehler of Dodgeville, Timothy McKinley of Dodgeville, and Iowa County District Attorney Larry Nelson of Mineral Point.
This year’s elections will be the first under the state’s new law requiring voters provide a form of photo identification at the polls — a state Department of Transportation-issued driver license or photo ID card, a military ID, a U.S. passport, an American Indian tribal ID, a photo ID by a Wisconsin university or technical college, or a certificate of naturalization. Information is available at www.bringit.wisconsin.gov.
