Dec. 23 marks two weeks until Wauwatosa’s deadline for candidates to file nomination papers for seats on the Common Council. Some current members of the council have known for quite a while that they could face formidable opponents in the April election: Each other.
That is because a new configuration of the council takes effect in April, with the number of seats reduced from 16 to 12. The reduction was recommended by Wauwatosa voters in November 2022, and it means each newly elected council member will represent one of 12 distinct geographic districts.
That is a significant change from the old configuration, in which two members had been elected from each of eight distinct districts. The new setup also means that in some cases, incumbents could face incumbents because of the newly drawn district boundaries.
Some of those races are still shaping up before the city’s Jan. 6 filing deadline. Tosa Forward News, by surveying current council members, determined that voters in at least one of the new districts, 11, will have two incumbents on the ballot to choose from, and multiple incumbents could be on the ballots in up to three others, Districts 3, 7 and 9.
Additional challengers also could come forward and declare candidacies, but they will have to act now. Essentially anyone who lives in the City of Wauwatosa can run, as long as they are legal voters. Candidates must obtain 20 to 40 signatures to get their names on the ballot. Those nomination papers are due at 5 p.m. Jan. 6, 2026. Full documentation is available on the city’s website here.
On April 7, odd-numbered districts will elect members to shortened two-year terms, and even-numbered districts’ members will serve four-year terms, establishing staggered four-year terms going forward.
Council members are expected to attend and participate in meetings of the full council, which take place about once a month on Tuesday evenings, and are assigned to committees of the council that also meet once or twice a month on Tuesday evenings. Members also receive and respond to inquiries from the public. With the reduction of the council from 16 to 12 members, the pay for each of the new members will increase from $5,400 to $7,200 a year.
Tosa Forward News takes no position on any of the races or candidates but supports an engaged electorate and civic participation. To that end, this series is providing an overview of the coming council election, the nominating period, the council’s structural changes and the latest status of the 16 incumbents.
The first installment on Dec. 19 looked at the new Districts 2, 4, 8 and 12.
A Dec. 22 article focused on Districts 1, 5, 6 and 10.
Snapshots of the remaining four districts are below.
Preview: In 4 districts, some incumbents undecided
District 3 — This is the southeast corner of Wauwatosa and includes all or most of the Jacobus Park, Wellauer Park and Jennings Park neighborhoods. Starting at Glenview Avenue on the west end, it takes in a mix of higher-end and more modest houses to the Milwaukee city line, mostly south of Honey Creek and the Menomonee River.
Jacobus Park’s namesake county park is one of the district’s most significant natural features. It also includes business strips on Bluemound Road and 68th Street, as well as the River Parkway Senior Apartments near State Street.
Ernst Franzen and David Lewis are the two incumbents who live in this new district.
Franzen was first appointed to the council in February 2018 to fill a vacancy and was first elected in 2020. He told Tosa Forward News he planned to run for the new District 3 seat.
Lewis was first elected to the council in 2022. Tosa Forward News inquired several times by email about his plans for the new term but had not received a response by the time this story was published. It will be updated upon confirming whether Lewis will or won’t be running against Franzen.
District 7 — Several neighborhoods along the Menomonee River and Underwood Creek just northwest of Tosa Village are part of this district, including all of Swan Park and Parkway Estates. It also straddles the segment of North Avenue that includes the business district known as Midtown.
Much of District 7 is dense residential blocks, though it also includes the Serafino Square apartment complex on 12 acres along North Avenue. The county’s Hansen Golf Course is to the south on the other side of the railroad tracks.
Joe Phillips and Aletha Champine are the two incumbents who live in this new district.
Phillips was first elected to the council in 2022 and told Tosa Forward News that he would be running for the new District 7 seat. Champine, first elected in 2024, said last week that she had gathered signatures to get on the ballot but was still making up her mind on whether to file to become a candidate.
District 9 — Wauwatosa’s southwest corner, this district includes parts of the Fisher Woods and Underwood Parkway neighborhoods. It is bisected by the parkway and Underwood Creek, with greater density and more compact lots on the far south side, south of Bluemound Road.
The north half is mostly between Walnut and Watertown Plank roads and includes the Stein’s Garden & Home store. The city’s new Firefly Grove Park and Wauwatosa Police Department border District 9 on its north end.
Robin Brannin and Joseph Makhlouf II are the two incumbents who live in this new district.
Branning was appointed to fill a vacancy on the council in August 2022 and she successfully ran for election in 2024. On Dec. 7, she announced her candidacy for the new Districdt 9 seat, saying she was “as committed as ever to serving our community with transparency, collaboration, and a focus on practical solutions.”
Makhlouf was first elected in 2022. When Tosa Forward News asked him last week if he would be running against Brannin for the District 9 seat, he said he was still considering it and planned to make a final decision after the holidays.
District 11 — This is the geographically largest new district in the city and has a diverse mix of property uses, from residential to industrial. Mayfair Mall and the Mayfair Collection shops are in District 11, as are the businesses along 124th Street from Capitol Drive to Center Street.
The district also includes all or parts of several distinct neighborhoods, including Fisher Woods and Mayfair Park on the south side. On the north side, Park Ridge, Currie Park Estates and Sheraton Lawns straddle the upper Menomonee River, and several of the homes there along the Menomonee River Parkway were hit hard by the August 2025 flooding.
The district currently is home to three current council members: Mike Morgan, Melissa Dolan and Jason Wilke.
Wilke told Tosa Forward News that he plans to retire from the council after this term and will not be running for election in the new district. The longest-serving member of the current council, he was appointed to fill a vacancy in 2009 and first elected in 2010.
Morgan and Dolan said they both plan to run for the new District 11 seat. Morgan was first elected in 2020, and Dolan was first elected in 2022.
- David Paulsen, a Tosa East Towne resident and editor of Tosa Forward News, has more than 25 years of experience as a professional journalist. He can be reached at editor@tosanews.com.
