Campaign About to Begin for Mayoral, Aldermanic Races

Along with the holiday season, election season is upon us.

Come April, half of Wauwatosa's 16 Common Council seats will be up for election, as will the office of mayor. And come Thursday, those running for office may begin circulating nomination petitions.

Those who intend to run, including incumbents, must file campaign registration statements and a declaration of candidacy and turn in valid signed petitions by 5 p.m. Jan. 3. If there are more than two filings for any one office, the field will be trimmed to two in a Feb. 21 primary before the April 3 general election.

As of late Tuesday, only a couple of incumbent aldermen had filed any paperwork, City Clerk Carla Ledesma said. Ald. Jason Wilke (District 8) had filed both his campaign registration statement and his declaration of candidacy. Ald. Cheryl Berdan (District 7) had filed only her registration statement.

One sitting council member, Ald. Linda Nikcevich (District 1), has filed a declaration of non-candidacy, leaving that the only known open seat so far. No non-incumbent candidate has declared for any of the eight positions.

John Pokrandt, a political newcomer, , and Ledesma said he has filed both his statement and declaration.

Mayor Jill Didier had not filed paperwork for re-election as of Tuesday, and no other mayoral candidates have yet emerged.

Didier and possibly other would-be candidates may be awaiting the outcome of new discussions of the mayoral salary that begin at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday night in the council's Employee Relations Committee. The Common Council revisited the mayor's $22,500 annual salary this summer and decided then not to raise it to a proposed $30,000.

Other proposals have been made to increase the mayor's pay up to as much as $45,000 but none gained any traction. If any new decision on the mayor's salary were to be made, it would have to be soon to avoid misleading potential candidates for the office. Any raise would take effect upon the new mayor's taking office after the April vote.

Common Council members make $4,200 a year and there have been no proposals to raise that figure.

Here are the aldermanic seats that are up for election:

• District 1: (Open) Ald. Linda Nikcevich, incumbent, has filed a declaration of non-candidacy.
• District 2: Council President Eric Meaux, incumbent
• District 3: Ald. Jacqueline Jay, incumbent
• District 4: Ald. Dennis McBride, incumbent
• District 5: Ald. Michael Walsh, incumbent
• District 6: Ald. Jeffrey Roznowski, incumbent
• District 7: Ald. Cheryl Berdan, incumbent, filed registration
• District 8: Ald. Jason Wilke, incumbent, filed registration and declaration

There are no seats up for election this spring on the Wauwatosa School Board.

Petitioning for nomination is not demanding, Ledesma said. It takes only minimum of 20 or up to 40 valid signatures to make the ballot as an aldermanic candidate. For mayor, at least 200 or up to 400 signatures are needed.

Ledesma cautioned would-be candidates and signers to be careful this year, though.

"They have to collect signatures under the new district maps," she said. "Even though the new districts don't go into effect until January, you have to petition under those boundaries.

"I'd hate to see someone fail to meet the minimum because they collected outside their new district."

Ledesma said that maps of the new districts are available at her office at City Hall.

The February primary also marks the first election in which new state voter registration laws go into effect. Ledesma said that she would be mailing reminders of the new requirements to show a valid state ID or driver's license along with tax bills and with the December, January and February water bills, as well as putting up flyers in public places.

"There may be some overlap in those mailings, but I want to get the word out and help all we can," Ledesma said. "If people don't see it in the media, they may see it in the mail or on a bulletin board."

More information about the upcoming elections is posted on the city website, including deadlines for mail-in and absentee balloting.