On Tuesday, April 2, 2019, Milwaukeeans from throughout the county went to the polls to vote. This election focused on the Milwaukee Public School’s School Board seats and court justices for Wisconsin courts. While this was not a major race to decide the governor or even president, the results of Tuesday elections will shape the future of education in Milwaukee and the next Wisconsin supreme court justice could decide many of the important cases coming before the court shortly, like the lame duck law that was hastily passed after the last election. The winners for the MPS school board seats are: Bob Peterson for Milwaukee School Board at Large; Marva Herndon for District 1; Erika Siemsen District 2; Sequanna Taylor for District 3; and Megan O’Halloran for District 8.
In the Milwaukee County Court Branch 40 race, Danielle Shelton beat out incumbent Andrew Jones. The high watched Wisconsin Supreme Court race between Lisa Neubauer and Brian Hagedorn is so close, that as of press time, the race had yet to be called. It appears there will be a recount.
In Madison, former Alderwoman Satya Rhodes Conway ousted longtime Mayor Paul Soglin on Tuesday, becoming the first openly gay and second women executive in city history.
Rhodes-Conway topped Soglin, who has held the office for a record 22 years over five decades, by roughly 62 percent to 38 percent, or about 18,700 votes.
Down in Chicago, more election history was made on Tuesday, when former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot easily won the Chicago mayor’s race, earning support from every part of the city to defeat a longtime political insider and become the first black woman and openly gay person to lead the nation’s third-largest city.
Lightfoot, who had never been elected to public office, delivered a commanding victory over Toni Preckwinkle, who served in the City Council for 19 years before becoming Cook County Board president. Preckwinkle also is chairwoman of the Cook County Democratic Party.
