Ehley Easily Wins Mayor's Office, But Aldermanic Seats Are All Close Calls

Kathy Ehley won a solid victory to become the next mayor of Wauwatosa, and three new aldermen will likely be seated after one race between newcomers and the defeat of two incumbents.

Those are the unofficial results, but all three aldermanic races are a bit too close for any of the supposed victors to feel complete comfort, because there might be valid absentee ballots left to count.

Ehley, though, can rest assured. In an election that turned out 42 percent of voters, she outpolled Ald. Pete Donegan 7,241 to 5,177, or slightly better than 58 to 42 percent.

Ehley had campaigners stationed at all 14 polling places who collected reports from poll workers after the 8 p.m. close of voting, and she declared victory by 9 p.m., reporting her own final result as 7,235 to 5,170.

Ehley thanked her “kitchen cabinet” of close supporters and campaigners for their tireless work on her behalf.

Donegan, though, waited until 10:30 p.m. to concede, once more than half of the results had been tabulated at City Hall and it became clear that Ehley’s numbers were almost precisely on target.

"If I have lost, I want to congratulate Kathy,” Donegan said. “She's a great lady, and I'm sure she will do well for Wauwatosa.

"I appreciate all who supported me, and I assure them that as an alderman I will pursue all the things I stood for in my campaign."

Ehley becomes the fourth woman in a row to be elected mayor of Wauwatosa, following Maricolette Walsh, Terry Estness and Jill Didier.

Donegan will retain his seat as 1st District alderman; he was in the middle of his second term of office and did not have to give up his seat to run for mayor.

Three close races, and a new vote-counting rule

If Ehley won handily, all three contested aldermanic seats turned out to be real contests — and there is an outside chance in every one of them that the unofficial results could be overturned on review.

In the 1st District, a contest of newcomers, Jim Moldenhauer appeared to have defeated Jeffrey Kroll 816 to 778, a margin of just 38 votes but probably enough to hold up.

In the 3rd District, challenger Greg Walz-Chojnaki overcame incumbent Jacqueline Jay by just 18 votes in a 746-728 outcome. Jay indicated in a phone interview that could be close enough to consider a recount.

And in the 5th District, incumbent Ald. Michael Walsh appeared to fall to challenger Joel Tilleson by only nine votes, 522-513. Walsh graciously conceded to Tilleson, but only informally, "until someone tells me otherwise."

In previous elections, even a vote as close as that one would not likely be questioned. There is no automatic recount for close races, City Clerk Carla Ledesma said, but trailing candidates in a close race can request one.

But a change in state election rules does make those close calls uncertain.

The Government Accountability Board now requires absentee ballots received through Friday to be counted as well, as long as they were postmarked no later than Tuesday. That, with any irregularities in any of the unofficial ballots, could sway as few as nine votes.

A municipal canvassing board will meet Monday to review and certify the votes cast plus any new absentee ballots, and then will pass its results on to county canvassers who will meet later next week before Tuesday’s results are finally certified.

Referendum supports smaller council

A non-binding referendum on reducing the size of the Wauwatosa Common Council from its current 16 seats was supported by a large majority of voters, who polled 8,145 to 3,127, or 72 percent, to see a smaller governing body.

The referendum sets no final size on the council; it only advises that it be reduced in number of representatives and has no binding force on the council to act.

National, county races

In the Republican presidential primary in Wauwatosa, Mitt Romney drew 5,270 votes to Rick Santorum’s 2,673, with Ron Paul coming in a distant third with 764 votes and Newt Gingrich lagging badly with just 284.

On the Democratic side — yes, there was a spot on the ballot — President Barack Obama recorded 3,705 votes.

In contested county races, Judge Nelson Phillips III outpolled Carolina Stark in the race for the Circuit Court’s Branch 17, and in Branch 23 Lindsey Grady drew 4,964 votes to Hannah Dugan’s 4,037. Stark and Grady were the overall winners.

For county comptroller, Scott Manske was the overwhelming choice of Wauwatosans, 6,429 to 2,898, over Kristie Bunting. Manske won the election.

In two County Board races, Supervisor Jim “Luigi” Schmitt seemed likely to hold his 6th District seat in a district based mostly in Wauwatosa, polling 5,294 to 2,599 over challenger Barbara Schumacher.

David Cullen and Dan Cody, vying for a handful of Wauwatosa wards, had a closer race that wouldn’t be decided on Tosa votes alone, with Cullen getting 1,462 votes to Cody’s 1,149.