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Tosa Election Tracker

The spring election is April, and there are three contested Common Council elections and eight candidates for four seats on the Wauwatosa School Board.

Tosa Election Tracker
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The spring elections in Wisconsin were April 7, and Wauwatosa voters had several active races to decide for seats on the Common Council and School Board. General information is available on the city's website and school district's website.

RESULTS: Unofficial totals point to wins in School Board, Common Council races
Check back at tosanews.com for the latest results of Wauwatosa’s elections, as well as reporting on the winners once the counting is done.

Common Council

Voters elected 12 members to brand new Common Council districts based on a configuration of the council that takes effect after the election.

Two newcomers, one incumbent win contested races for Common Council
All 12 seats on the council were up for election under a new structure that is reducing the council’s size, but only three of the 12 elections were contested.
Spending on District 11 council race topped $10,000, mostly by DC-based group
Melissa Dolan had received scrutiny before the election for missing a March 30 filing deadline. City records showed she submitted her campaign finance disclosure eight days late, on Election Day.

Tosa Forward News' pre-election coverage is below.

Meet the 6 candidates in contested elections for Tosa Common Council
All 12 council seats are up for election on April 7 as the city moves to a new district configuration, but only three of those districts have contested elections. Tosa Forward News contacted each candidate in those three races to learn more about their backgrounds and their reasons for running.
Tosa council races feature rare bursts of fundraising, campaign spending
The most active of the council races has been in District 4, where newcomers Amanda Saso and Sean Hurley each have raised and spent about $2,000.
National political group spends more than $7,000 on one Tosa council race
State + Local Election Alliance’s spending in District 11 is more than triple what any individual candidate has reported spending in the elections for the Wauwatosa Common Council’s 12 nonpartisan seats.
Tosa council members have varying records of attending meetings
In general, the council had a good year of meeting attendance. At most meetings, all but one or two members were present. Some members missed more meetings than others.

Tosa Forward News compiled snapshots in December of each of the 12 new districts, which can be found here:

These 4 districts have no incumbents running for Tosa council in April
This is the first of three articles providing an overview of the coming council election, the nominating period, the council’s structural changes and the latest status of the 16 incumbents.
Some council incumbents start election season awaiting challengers
The new 12-seat configuration of the Wauwatosa Common Council, which takes effect with the April 2026 election, is forcing all incumbents interested in staying on the council to campaign for the votes of at least some new constituents in newly drawn districts.
As filing deadline nears, some council members may face each other
Voters in at least one of the new districts will have two incumbents on the ballot to choose from, and multiple incumbents could be on the ballots in up to three other districts.

School Board

Incumbents on Tosa School Board hold off challenge from ’2030 Slate’ candidates
The April 7 election marked the transition to a system of results based on the top four vote-getters from the whole pool of candidates, rather than separate head-to-head contests for numbered board seats.

Tosa Forward News' pre-election coverage is below.

These are Tosa’s 8 candidates running for 4 school board seats
Tosa Forward News contacted and interviewed each of the eight candidates to learn more about their backgrounds and to provide an opportunity to share their reasons for running for the school board in the April 7 election.
Tosa School Board candidates present range of perspectives at public forum
Nearly all of the two hours was devoted to hearing the words of the eight candidates themselves, as a crowd of more than 100 people listened inside the Longfellow theater. Tosa Forward News highlights some of their responses.
School Board candidates debate teacher retention rates, cite contrasting data
Two numbers. Two very different conclusions. Tosa Forward News took a closer look at differing teacher retention rates and what story they might tell about district culture, finding that the apparent discrepancy is largely a matter of interpretation and emphasis.
Voter files ethics complaints accusing 2030 Slate of violating campaign finance rules
The complaints against the campaigns of Chris Merker, Heather Birk and Dan Stemper mostly relate to the size of fund transfers between the campaign committees and how they reported their coordinated campaign expenses, such as signs and mailings.
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