Here's what to know about the two candidates for Wauwatosa's District 3 alderperson seat

Incumbent Robin Brannin faces Michael Indy Stluka for Wauwatosa District 3 alderperson in the April 2 election.District 3, which includes the southwestern-most parts of the city, is where plans for the 28-story Drew Tower apartments and office high rise on the corner of Bluemound and Mayfair were ultimately scrapped after resident opposition.

The alderperson seats in this election are for two-year terms, rather than four. That's because in 2026, Wauwatosa will be represented by one alderperson in twelve districts after voters decided in a referendum to make the Common Council smaller and the council discussed and adopted the changes.

Here's what to know about the candidates.

Michael Indy Stluka

Background: Michael Stluka, who is known by his nickname “Indy,” moved to Wauwatosa in 2020 but has been involved in the community since 2017. That’s when he helped found and build up the girl's lacrosse co-op program for Wauwatosa West and East high schools. Stluka helped Wisconsin make girls lacrosse an official sport at the high school level, and stepped away from coaching last year in part to run for Common Council.

Stluka's background is in data, policy, and risk analysis and management. He served on tenant-landlord relations and neighbor-police safety committees as a Madison resident. He and his wife, whose family has long lived in Tosa, have two young children.

Website: stluka4tosa.com

Supporters: Stluka’s run for alderperson is financed by monetary donations from supporters, self-funding and in-kind donations for graphic design and photos, according to the latest campaign finance reports.

Endorsements: Stluka published nine residents' and small business owners’ endorsements on his website. He said he's been endorsed by current District 3 Ald. Joe Makhlouf and former alderperson Nancy Welch.

Stluka wants Council public comment, record all public meetings for transparency

Stluka said a lack of transparency pushed him to run for alderperson.

“This isn’t something to further political ambitions,” he said. “I really want to be viewed as a community advocate, a community helper.”

He would want to add timed public comment at Common Council meetings. Wauwatosa currently does not permit in-person comments at Common Council meetings unless there's a scheduled public hearing. The city allows in-person comments at the Transportation Affairs, Community Affairs, Financial Affairs and Government Affairs committee meetings, as well as at Plan Commission meetings, according to the city website.

Other committees may take public comment, at the discretion of the committee chair, according to the city website.

He said he’d want to create email inboxes for all committee groups so public comments can be directly sent to committee members.

Stluka thinks recording all public meetings would also help residents feel more engaged and trusting of local government. The city only video records Common Council, the four standing committees and Plan Commission, according to Eva Ennamorato, Wauwatosa communications manager.

This frustrated Stluka recently when he reached out to the city clerk and learned there was no recording of the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee meeting from February 12 that discussed a draft of the future land use plan.

“This is something we could do right away if people want ― record and publish all our meetings,” he said.

A vocal opponent to the Drew Tower project, Stluka wants to create a neighborhood association steering committee on development

Stluka was vocally against the Drew Tower project proposed for his neighborhood and wants to advocate sustainable development in the area, he said.

For Stluka that means height limits next to residential zones. He also wants to limit TIF funding on developments that don’t include affordable housing units for people earning 30% the area median income, which is low supply in Wauwatosa, Stluka said.

Stluka wants to bring in more community input and transparency on developments, especially when TIF is involved.

That’s why he’d want to create a neighborhood association steering committee on development that would allow developers to meet multiple times with committee members who live in the neighborhood of the proposed development to discuss the project before going through the City review process.

Stluka brings ideas to improve child care and seniors with their property taxes

Based on his family’s own experiences seeking child care, Stluka said he wants to help increase child care options and capacity in Wauwatosa. He said he’d want to use existing city financial assistance programs to fund expansion of child care facilities or create new sites.

Stluka also said he’s concerned about local seniors on fixed incomes who fear being taxed out of Wauwatosa.

He’d want to bring a program similar to Madison's Property Tax Assistance for Seniors, which helps pay for all or some of a homeowner’s property taxes. He said he'd work to make Wauwatosa’s program meet the needs and desires of the community and he would connect with the Wauwatosa's Senior Commission for input.

Robin Brannin (incumbent)

Website: robinfortosa.org

Supporters: Brannin accepted monetary donations from supporters and an in-kind donation from Abi Gilman, the owner of Little Village Play Cafe, as well as self-funded her campaign, according to the latest campaign finance reports.

Endorsements: Brannin lists on her website more than a dozen residents and small business owners who endorse her. Nine current alderpersons endorse her along with Liz Heimerl-Rolland on the Wauwatosa School Board and Chris Due, Wauwatosa Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Commission Chair and district 3 resident.

Biography: Brannin and her family have lived in Wauwatosa since 2013. She was the president of the Tosa Heights Neighborhood Association before moving to District 3 in 2021, where she got involved in the Fisher Woods Neighborhood Association. Brannin was appointed to the Common Council in 2022 to fill a vacancy after Nancy Walsh moved out of District 3.

Brannin works as the director of digital marketing strategy at MorganMyers, a Waukesha public relations and communications agency. Brannin and her husband have two young children and own Tosa Bike Garage, a local bike shop in the village. Brannin is the president of the Underwood Elementary School Parent-Teacher Organization.

Brannin wants to push forward investment on west side of the city

Brannin has led efforts to fund and create the West Tosa sub-area plans as part of the 2045 Comprehensive Plan. The city held a public event in February to gather input from community members for how North Avenue and Bluemound Road should be developed in the coming years. She said she’ll continue the sub-area plan process if re-elected.

Brannin’s goals for improved development in Wauwatosa includes making Wauwatosa’s streets safer for bikers and pedestrians, a common theme she said she and her husband hear from people who visit their bike shop in the village.

She also plans to work with the city to figure out how to publicly fundraise the final portion of funds for the new city park being built at 116th Street and Gilbert.

Brannin wants to make it easier for small businesses to open in Wauwatosa

Brannin said she knows first-hand how difficult it can be to open a business, and she wants to help Wauwatosa make the process more efficient.

“I've spent the last year and a half really advocating for small businesses, meeting with our development department over the last year and really trying to make it easier for local small businesses to open,” Brannin said.

A guide of steps to open a business in Tosa that is easy to understand and amending ordinances with restrictive fees are changes that could make a big difference for local business owners, she said, pointing out that West Allis does a great job welcoming small businesses, and could be used as a model for Tosa.

Brannin identifies areas for 'pocket parks'

Brannin sees opportunities for Milwaukee County Parks and Wauwatosa to work together to improve current parks.

Brannin also wants to identify spaces in Wauwatosa for “pocket parks” ― taking smaller pockets of land the city already owns and maintains and repurposing them into community gathering spaces.

Neighborhood associations could take advantage of grants for parks and green spaces to finance a bench, tables or anything else for the space, she said.

Since Tosa is a landlocked city that needs more housing, the areas identified as pocket parks would be small lots not viable or attractive for housing, Brannin said.

"Even if we create housing, we need to make sure that people have an area within the community to enjoy," she said. “I think we have to balance the addition and creation of new housing developments with our green spaces."

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Editor's Note: This story was updated 3/28/2024 to add that in-person public comment is permitted at Wauwatosa Plan Commission meetings.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brannin, Stluka face off in Wauwatosa Common Council District 3 race