The Wauwatosa Common Council will look very different next month after the April 7 election, starting with its number of members: The city is reducing its governing body from 16 to 12 while assigning those dozen members to geographically distinct districts for the first time. (Previously, the city’s eight districts were each represented by two council members.)
The roster of candidates on the ballot this year also ensures several new faces will join the council. Most voters, however, will not have much choice in that matter. Only three of the 12 races are contested. In the rest, incumbents and newcomers are running unopposed.
Tosa Forward News is following these and other city elections on its Tosa Election Tracker page. Readers also are encouraged to visit the City of Wauwatosa’s “Candidates for Office” page, which includes information provided by the candidates in the 12 districts, including those running unopposed.
For the report below, Tosa Forward News focused just on the three contested elections and contacted all six candidates to provide readers with the candidates’ biographical information, what motivated them to run for office and their perspectives on some of the top issues on the minds of the voters they have talked to so far.
A note about District 3: Incumbent Ernst Franzen initially was to face challenger Mark Peters, but Peters is no longer actively running for that seat. Although he was unable to officially remove his name from the ballot, he confirmed to Tosa Forward News that he has dropped out of the race (with a further explanation provided on his website).
The other candidates running unopposed are Brad Foley in District 1, Derek Collins in District 2, Rob Gustafson in District 5, Sean Lowe in District 6, Joe Phillips in District 7, Robin Brannin in District 9, Amanda Fuerst in District 10 and Scott Small in District 12. A detailed map of all 12 districts can be reviewed here.