What's on my April 2 ballot in Wisconsin? Your guide to Milwaukee-area races, referendums in 2024 election
Wisconsin's presidential primary is April 2, but Milwaukee-area voters will weigh in on plenty of other local races, school and public safety referendums and statewide ballot questions.
Some communities held a February primary to narrow down candidates for local offices like mayor, city council and school board. The candidates who advanced, or those who didn't face multiple competitors, are on this ballot.
If you're curious why state lawmakers or members of Congress aren't on this ballot, that primary isn't until August. Those candidates will move onto the general election in November, when voters will elect the president.
More: What are Wisconsin's 2024 elections, and when are they? Four dates to put on your calendar.
The polls will be open April 2 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
There are lots of resources for voters at myvote.wi.gov. You can:
Here's a guide to what you'll see on your April 2 ballot if you're a Milwaukee-area voter, and links to our coverage of local races. An (i) denotes an incumbent — an official who currently holds the position.
Presidential preference primary
While Biden and Trump have secured enough delegates in earlier state primaries to become their parties' presumptive nominees, presidential candidates who have dropped out will still appear on Wisconsin's ballot.
Some voters plan to choose the "uninstructed delegation" option as a signal of protest against Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas war. Writing in another name is also an option for any office.
Democratic Party
Joe Biden (i)
Dean Phillips
Republican Party
Chris Christie
Vivek Ramaswamy
Ron DeSantis
Nikki Haley
Donald Trump
Presidential primary: Wisconsin's 2024 presidential primary election: date, who's on the ballot, voting deadlines
Statewide referendum questions
Question 1: "Use of private funds in election administration. Shall section 7 (1) of article III of the constitution be created to provide that private donations and grants may not be applied for, accepted, expended, or used in connection with the conduct of any primary, election, or referendum?"
Question 2: "Election officials. Shall section 7 (2) of article III of the constitution be created to provide that only election officials designated by law may perform tasks in the conduct of primaries, elections, and referendums?"
A "yes" vote is supported by Republicans and conservative groups, while Democrats and liberal groups support voting "no." The referendums stem from Republican scrutiny of private grants funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg that helped clerks run elections during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Statewide referendum: Wisconsin's April 2 referendum questions and the 'Zuckerbucks' debate, explained
City of Milwaukee races
Milwaukee Mayor
Cavalier Johnson (i)
David King
Milwaukee City Attorney
Tearman Spencer (i)
Evan Goyke
Milwaukee Comptroller
Bill Christianson
Gregory Gracz
Milwaukee Common Council
District 3
Jonathan Brostoff (i)
Ieshuh Griffin
District 4
Robert Bauman (i)
Rayhainio “Ray Nitti” Boynes
District 5
Lamont Westmoreland (i)
Bruce Winter
District 6
Milele Coggs (i)
Brandon Payton
District 7
DiAndre Jackson
Jessica Currie
District 8
JoCasta Zamarripa (i)
Ryan Antczak
District 10
Sharlen Moore
Richard Geldon
District 11
Peter Burgelis
Josh Zepnick
Milwaukee races: What to know about Milwaukee city offices on the April 2 election ballot
Milwaukee County races
Milwaukee County Executive
David Crowley (i)
Ieshuh Griffin
Milwaukee County Comptroller
Michael Harper
Liz Sumner
Milwaukee County Board
Supervisor 3
Sheldon Wasserman (i)
Alexander Kostal
Supervisor 4
John Eckblad
Ron Jansen
Supervisor 9
Patti Logsdon (i)
Danelle Kenney
Supervisor 14
Caroline Gomez-Tom (i)
Angel Sanchez
Supervisor 18
Deanna Alexander (i)
Brandon Williford
Milwaukee County races: Here's what to know about Milwaukee, Milwaukee County seats on the ballot this spring
School referendums
Milwaukee Public Schools' referendum is one of the biggest items on the ballot, with the mayor, county executive and state Democratic lawmakers backing it because school funding hasn't kept pace with inflation. The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce is among the groups opposing it because of the increase in property taxes.
Breakdown of MPS referendum: Should voters support April 2 referendum for MPS? Policy Forum breaks it down.
Milwaukee Public Schools: $252 million operational referendum
Grafton: $11.4 million facilities referendum
Greendale: $12.5 million operational referendum
Hamilton: $7.6 million operational referendum, $25 million facilities referendum
Lake Country: $16.7 million operational referendum, $9.5 million facilities referendum
Mukwonago: $102.3 million facilities referendum
North Lake: $3.4 million operational referendum
Pewaukee: $28.5 million facilities referendum
South Milwaukee: $10 million operational referendum
Milwaukee-area referendum roundup: Voters will decide on millions of dollars in school referendums this spring, including in Milwaukee, Mukwonago, more
School boards
Cudahy School Board (two seats)
Lissa Skogland
Michael Johnson (i)
Randy Hollenbeck
Ellen Price
Elmbrook School Board (two seats)
Area IV
Jean Lambert (i)
Peter Machi
At-large
Mary Wacker
Nicole Hunker
Franklin School Board (three seats)
Maqsood Khan (i)
Angela Bier (i)
Ann Sepersky (i)
Angela Kallay
Jaclyn Gaffney
Jon Peccarelli
Franklin school board race: Franklin School Board candidates talk teacher retention, classroom behavior, ahead of election
Germantown School Board (one seat)
Seat No. 1
Tracy Pawlak (i)
Jeff Voyer
Seat No. 7
Tom Barney (i)
Fred Fleitz
Germantown school board race: School safety, critical race theory among issues for Germantown School Board candidates
Greendale School Board (two seats)
Brian Bock
Elise Ciske
Mary Grogan (i)
Kristin Settle
Greendale school board race: Amid ACLU lawsuit, Greendale school board candidates share plans for DEI, school funding
Hartford J1 School Board (two seats)
Ed Behnke (i)
Ian Bronbeck
Barbara Lindert
Terrence Perfect
Hartland-Lakeside School Board (three seats)
Chris Adsit (i)
Ledia Duvnjak
Chris Haglund
Niels Peterson
Matt Schwab
Menomonee Falls School Board (two seats)
Jennifer Grant (i)
Travis Langer
John Witt
Jessica Birkholz
Menomonee Falls school board race: Menomonee Falls school board could be fully backed by Republican Party this spring
Shorewood School Board (one seat)
Ellen Eckman
Andrew Frey
Shorewood school board race: Meet the two Shorewood School Board candidates running April 2
Waukesha School Board (three seats)
Kelly Piacsek (i)
Anthony Zenobia (i)
Stephanie Fidlin
Angelique Byrne
Eric Brooks
Municipal races
Big Bend Village Board (three seats)
Traci Lewandowski (i)
Gregory Peterson
Bryan Bindel
Thomas Zembruski
Derek Verburght
Brookfield Common Council
District 5
Amanda Davis
Dean Marquardt
District 7
Eric Fugleberg
David Poglitsch
Brown Deer Village Board (two seats)
Gary Springman
Renee Booker
Jeff Woods
Cedarburg Public Safety Referendum
Under state law, the increase in the levy of the City of Cedarburg for the tax to be imposed for the next fiscal year, 2025, is limited to 2.390%, which results in a levy of $11,970,886. Shall the City of Cedarburg be allowed to exceed this limit and increase the levy for the next fiscal year, 2025, for the purposes to increase funding to hire and retain additional fire and emergency medical services personnel for the Cedarburg Fire Department, by a total of 10.795%, which results in a levy of $13,263,188, and on an ongoing basis, include the increase of $1,292,302 for each fiscal year going forward?
Public safety referendums: Several North Shore suburbs will have public safety referendums on the April 2 ballot
Chenequa Village Board (three seats)
Carol O. Manegold (i)
Ted Rolfs
JoJo Gehl Neumann
Richard Grunke (i)
Cudahy Common Council
District 1
Miranda Levy (i)
Shawn Bumgardner
District 3
Randy Hollenbeck (i)
Rob Haines
Cudahy Common Council race: Incumbent Randy Hollenbeck faces newcomer Rob Haines for Cudahy District 3 seat
Eagle Town Board (two seats)
Judy Rozinski (i)
Barb Day Pinekenstein
Richard Kugel (i)
Fox Point Village Board (two seats)
Mark Freedman
Paul Krechel
David R. Miller
Max Barry
Franklin Judge
Ted Kafkas
Georgia L. Konstantakis
John J. Brennan
Genessee Town Board (two seats)
Tony Reece
Art Schneider
Terry Tesch
Charles Ross (i)
Glendale Mayor
Bryan Kennedy (i)
Steve Bruckner
Glendale mayor race: Here's what to know about the candidates running for mayor of Glendale on April 2
More: A Glendale mayoral candidate who wants to crack down on crime addresses his own criminal history
Town of Grafton Public Safety Referendum
Under state law, the increase in the levy of the Town of Grafton for the tax to be imposed for the next fiscal year, 2025, is limited to 1.364%, which results in a levy of $1,559,881. Shall the Town of Grafton be allowed to exceed this limit and increase the levy for the next fiscal year, 2025, for the purpose of enhancing Emergency Medical and Fire Protection Services, including, but not limited to, the hiring and retaining of additional fire and rescue personnel, by a total of 23.876%, which results in a levy of $1,932,316, and, on an ongoing basis, include the increase of $372,435 for each fiscal year going forward?
Village of Grafton Public Safety Referendum
Under state law, the increase in the levy of the Village of Grafton for the tax to be imposed for the next fiscal year, 2025, is limited to 3.558%, which results in a levy of $9,233,828. Shall the Village of Grafton be allowed to exceed this limit and increase the levy for the next fiscal year, 2025, for the purpose of enhancing Emergency Medical and Fire Protection Services including, but not limited to, the hiring and retaining of additional fire and rescue personnel, by a total of 16.007%, which results in a levy of $10,711,900, and, on an ongoing basis, include the increase of $1,478,072 for each fiscal year going forward?
Greendale Village Board (two seats)
Elaine Unger (i)
Colleen Fechtmeyer (i)
Richard Brockmann
Greenfield Common Council
District 5
Shirley A. Saryan (i)
Safia Jama
Lac La Belle Village Board (two seats)
Craig Niebler
Jeffrey Ritter
Joseph Renner (i)
Richard Allen
Lannon Village Board (three seats)
Don Sommers
Ronald J. Nellis (i)
Tina Moore
Terri Grennier (i)
Menomonee Falls Village President
Jeremy Walz (i)
Brittany Wohlfeil
Menomonee Falls village president race: Meet the two candidates running for village president in Menomonee Falls
Mukwonago Village Board (two seats)
Darlene M. Johnson (i)
David Boebel
Eric Brill (i)
Muskego Common Council
District 3
John Terrence (i)
Dennis Decker
District 5
Philip G. Conrardy
Deb Schroeder (i)
Oak Creek Common Council
District 4
Lisa Marshall (i)
Rosemarie Annonson
Pewaukee Common Council
District 2
Spencer Tabbert
Ian Clark (i)
Port Washington Public Safety Referendum
Under state law, the increase in the levy of the City of Port Washington for the tax to be imposed for the next fiscal year, 2025, is limited to 1.215%, which results in a levy of $8,203,430. Shall the City of Port Washington be allowed to exceed this limit and increase the levy for the next fiscal year, 2025, for the purpose of hiring and retaining additional fire and emergency medical services personnel for the City of Port Washington Fire Department, by a total of 14.323%, which results in a levy of $9,378,430, and on an ongoing basis, include the increase of $1,175,000 for each fiscal year going forward?
Town of Saukville Public Safety Referendum
Under state law, the increase in the levy of the Town of Saukville for the tax to be imposed for the next fiscal year, 2025, is limited to 0.757%, which results in a levy of $459,013. Shall the Town of Saukville be allowed to exceed this limit and increase the levy for the next fiscal year, 2025, for the purpose of enhancing Emergency Medical and Fire Protection Services, including but not limited to, the hiring and retaining of additional fire and rescue personnel, by a total of 44.681%, which results in a levy of $664,103, and, on an ongoing basis, include the increase of $205,090 for each fiscal year going forward?
South Milwaukee Common Council
District 2 (two seats)
Tim Backes (i)
Erin Seel
Scott C. Baitinger
Michal Olechowski
District 4 (two seats)
Peggy Clark (i)
David Bartoshevich (i)
Ryan Breaker
Summit Village Board (two seats)
Tina Kummrow
Jim Petronovich (i)
Jeff Lee (i)
Thiensville Village President
John Rosing
David Lange
Waukesha County Board
District 1
Burdus H. Galbraith II
Steve Styza
District 2
Wayne Euclide
Matthew E. Weil (i)
District 18
Thomas Harland
Larry Nelson (i)
Waukesha Village Board
Trustee #3
Cheryl Kane
Roger Adams
Wauwatosa Mayor
Andrew Meindl
Dennis McBride (i)
Wauwatosa mayor race: Andrew Meindl faces incumbent Dennis McBride for Wauwatosa mayor. Here's what to know.
Wauwatosa Common Council
District 3
Michael Indy Stluka
Robin Brannin (i)
District 8
Erik C. Fanning
Jason Wilke (i)
Wauwatosa Common Council race: Here's what to know about the two candidates running for Wauwatosa District 8 alderperson
West Allis Mayor
AmyRose Murphy
Dan Devine (i)
West Allis Common Council
District 2 (two seats)
Chad Halvorsen
Tracy Stefanski (i)
Marissa Nowling
West Bend Common Council
District 1
John Butschlick (i)
Neil Fulton
District 5
Mary Beth Seiser
Viney Pheng
District 7
Bill Schmidt
Justice Madl (i)
Whitefish Bay Village Board (two seats)
Bruce Kruger
Sam Dettmann
Jacob Haller (i)
Whitefish Bay Village Board race: Get to know the three candidates running for two Whitefish Bay trustee seats this election
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: A guide to Milwaukee-area races in Wisconsin's April 2, 2024 election