What's on my April 2 ballot in Wisconsin? Your guide to Milwaukee-area races, referendums in 2024 election

Wisconsin's presidential primary is April 2, but Milwaukee-area voters will weigh in on plenty of other local races, school and public safety referendums and statewide ballot questions.

Some communities held a February primary to narrow down candidates for local offices like mayor, city council and school board. The candidates who advanced, or those who didn't face multiple competitors, are on this ballot.

If you're curious why state lawmakers or members of Congress aren't on this ballot, that primary isn't until August. Those candidates will move onto the general election in November, when voters will elect the president.

More: What are Wisconsin's 2024 elections, and when are they? Four dates to put on your calendar.

The polls will be open April 2 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

There are lots of resources for voters at myvote.wi.gov. You can:

Here's a guide to what you'll see on your April 2 ballot if you're a Milwaukee-area voter, and links to our coverage of local races. An (i) denotes an incumbent ā€” an official who currently holds the position.

Presidential preference primary

While Biden and Trump have secured enough delegates in earlier state primaries to become their parties' presumptive nominees, presidential candidates who have dropped out will still appear on Wisconsin's ballot.

Some voters plan to choose the "uninstructed delegation" option as a signal of protest against Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas war. Writing in another name is also an option for any office.

Democratic Party

  • Joe Biden (i)

  • Dean Phillips

Republican Party

  • Chris Christie

  • Vivek Ramaswamy

  • Ron DeSantis

  • Nikki Haley

  • Donald Trump

Presidential primary: Wisconsin's 2024 presidential primary election: date, who's on the ballot, voting deadlines

Statewide referendum questions

Question 1: "Use of private funds in election administration. Shall section 7 (1) of article III of the constitution be created to provide that private donations and grants may not be applied for, accepted, expended, or used in connection with the conduct of any primary, election, or referendum?"

Question 2: "Election officials. Shall section 7 (2) of article III of the constitution be created to provide that only election officials designated by law may perform tasks in the conduct of primaries, elections, and referendums?"

A "yes" vote is supported by Republicans and conservative groups, while Democrats and liberal groups support voting "no." The referendums stem from Republican scrutiny of private grants funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg that helped clerks run elections during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Statewide referendum: Wisconsin's April 2 referendum questions and the 'Zuckerbucks' debate, explained

City of Milwaukee races

Milwaukee Mayor

  • Cavalier Johnson (i)

  • David King

Milwaukee City Attorney

  • Tearman Spencer (i)

  • Evan Goyke

Milwaukee Comptroller

  • Bill Christianson

  • Gregory Gracz

Milwaukee Common Council

District 3

  • Jonathan Brostoff (i)

  • Ieshuh Griffin

District 4

  • Robert Bauman (i)

  • Rayhainio ā€œRay Nittiā€ Boynes

District 5

  • Lamont Westmoreland (i)

  • Bruce Winter

District 6

  • Milele Coggs (i)

  • Brandon Payton

District 7

  • DiAndre Jackson

  • Jessica Currie

District 8

  • JoCasta Zamarripa (i)

  • Ryan Antczak

District 10

  • Sharlen Moore

  • Richard Geldon

District 11

  • Peter Burgelis

  • Josh Zepnick

Milwaukee races: What to know about Milwaukee city offices on the April 2 election ballot

Milwaukee County races

Milwaukee County Executive

  • David Crowley (i)

  • Ieshuh Griffin

Milwaukee County Comptroller

  • Michael Harper

  • Liz Sumner

Milwaukee County Board

Supervisor 3

  • Sheldon Wasserman (i)

  • Alexander Kostal

Supervisor 4

  • John Eckblad

  • Ron Jansen

Supervisor 9

  • Patti Logsdon (i)

  • Danelle Kenney

Supervisor 14

  • Caroline Gomez-Tom (i)

  • Angel Sanchez

Supervisor 18

  • Deanna Alexander (i)

  • Brandon Williford

Milwaukee County races: Here's what to know about Milwaukee, Milwaukee County seats on the ballot this spring

School referendums

Milwaukee Public Schools' referendum is one of the biggest items on the ballot, with the mayor, county executive and state Democratic lawmakers backing it because school funding hasn't kept pace with inflation. The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce is among the groups opposing it because of the increase in property taxes.

Breakdown of MPS referendum: Should voters support April 2 referendum for MPS? Policy Forum breaks it down.

  • Milwaukee Public Schools: $252 million operational referendum

  • Grafton: $11.4 million facilities referendum

  • Greendale: $12.5 million operational referendum

  • Hamilton: $7.6 million operational referendum, $25 million facilities referendum

  • Lake Country: $16.7 million operational referendum, $9.5 million facilities referendum

  • Mukwonago: $102.3 million facilities referendum

  • North Lake: $3.4 million operational referendum

  • Pewaukee: $28.5 million facilities referendum

  • South Milwaukee: $10 million operational referendum

Milwaukee-area referendum roundup: Voters will decide on millions of dollars in school referendums this spring, including in Milwaukee, Mukwonago, more

School boards

Cudahy School Board (two seats)

  • Lissa Skogland

  • Michael Johnson (i)

  • Randy Hollenbeck

  • Ellen Price

Elmbrook School Board (two seats)

Area IV

  • Jean Lambert (i)

  • Peter Machi

At-large

  • Mary Wacker

  • Nicole Hunker

Franklin School Board (three seats)

  • Maqsood Khan (i)

  • Angela Bier (i)

  • Ann Sepersky (i)

  • Angela Kallay

  • Jaclyn Gaffney

  • Jon Peccarelli

Franklin school board race: Franklin School Board candidates talk teacher retention, classroom behavior, ahead of election

Germantown School Board (one seat)

Seat No. 1

  • Tracy Pawlak (i)

  • Jeff Voyer

Seat No. 7

  • Tom Barney (i)

  • Fred Fleitz

Germantown school board race: School safety, critical race theory among issues for Germantown School Board candidates

Greendale School Board (two seats)

  • Brian Bock

  • Elise Ciske

  • Mary Grogan (i)

  • Kristin Settle

Greendale school board race: Amid ACLU lawsuit, Greendale school board candidates share plans for DEI, school funding

Hartford J1 School Board (two seats)

  • Ed Behnke (i)

  • Ian Bronbeck

  • Barbara Lindert

  • Terrence Perfect

Hartland-Lakeside School Board (three seats)

  • Chris Adsit (i)

  • Ledia Duvnjak

  • Chris Haglund

  • Niels Peterson

  • Matt Schwab

Menomonee Falls School Board (two seats)

  • Jennifer Grant (i)

  • Travis Langer

  • John Witt

  • Jessica Birkholz

Menomonee Falls school board race: Menomonee Falls school board could be fully backed by Republican Party this spring

Shorewood School Board (one seat)

  • Ellen Eckman

  • Andrew Frey

Shorewood school board race: Meet the two Shorewood School Board candidates running April 2

Waukesha School Board (three seats)

  • Kelly Piacsek (i)

  • Anthony Zenobia (i)

  • Stephanie Fidlin

  • Angelique Byrne

  • Eric Brooks

Municipal races

Big Bend Village Board (three seats)

  • Traci Lewandowski (i)

  • Gregory Peterson

  • Bryan Bindel

  • Thomas Zembruski

  • Derek Verburght

Brookfield Common Council

District 5

  • Amanda Davis

  • Dean Marquardt

District 7

  • Eric Fugleberg

  • David Poglitsch

Brown Deer Village Board (two seats)

  • Gary Springman

  • Renee Booker

  • Jeff Woods

Cedarburg Public Safety Referendum

Under state law, the increase in the levy of the City of Cedarburg for the tax to be imposed for the next fiscal year, 2025, is limited to 2.390%, which results in a levy of $11,970,886. Shall the City of Cedarburg be allowed to exceed this limit and increase the levy for the next fiscal year, 2025, for the purposes to increase funding to hire and retain additional fire and emergency medical services personnel for the Cedarburg Fire Department, by a total of 10.795%, which results in a levy of $13,263,188, and on an ongoing basis, include the increase of $1,292,302 for each fiscal year going forward?

Public safety referendums: Several North Shore suburbs will have public safety referendums on the April 2 ballot

Chenequa Village Board (three seats)

  • Carol O. Manegold (i)

  • Ted Rolfs

  • JoJo Gehl Neumann

  • Richard Grunke (i)

Cudahy Common Council

District 1

  • Miranda Levy (i)

  • Shawn Bumgardner

District 3

  • Randy Hollenbeck (i)

  • Rob Haines

Cudahy Common Council race: Incumbent Randy Hollenbeck faces newcomer Rob Haines for Cudahy District 3 seat

Eagle Town Board (two seats)

  • Judy Rozinski (i)

  • Barb Day Pinekenstein

  • Richard Kugel (i)

Fox Point Village Board (two seats)

  • Mark Freedman

  • Paul Krechel

  • David R. Miller

  • Max Barry

Franklin Judge

  • Ted Kafkas

  • Georgia L. Konstantakis

  • John J. Brennan

Genessee Town Board (two seats)

  • Tony Reece

  • Art Schneider

  • Terry Tesch

  • Charles Ross (i)

Glendale Mayor

  • Bryan Kennedy (i)

  • Steve Bruckner

Glendale mayor race: Here's what to know about the candidates running for mayor of Glendale on April 2

More: A Glendale mayoral candidate who wants to crack down on crime addresses his own criminal history

Town of Grafton Public Safety Referendum

Under state law, the increase in the levy of the Town of Grafton for the tax to be imposed for the next fiscal year, 2025, is limited to 1.364%, which results in a levy of $1,559,881. Shall the Town of Grafton be allowed to exceed this limit and increase the levy for the next fiscal year, 2025, for the purpose of enhancing Emergency Medical and Fire Protection Services, including, but not limited to, the hiring and retaining of additional fire and rescue personnel, by a total of 23.876%, which results in a levy of $1,932,316, and, on an ongoing basis, include the increase of $372,435 for each fiscal year going forward?

Village of Grafton Public Safety Referendum

Under state law, the increase in the levy of the Village of Grafton for the tax to be imposed for the next fiscal year, 2025, is limited to 3.558%, which results in a levy of $9,233,828. Shall the Village of Grafton be allowed to exceed this limit and increase the levy for the next fiscal year, 2025, for the purpose of enhancing Emergency Medical and Fire Protection Services including, but not limited to, the hiring and retaining of additional fire and rescue personnel, by a total of 16.007%, which results in a levy of $10,711,900, and, on an ongoing basis, include the increase of $1,478,072 for each fiscal year going forward?

Greendale Village Board (two seats)

  • Elaine Unger (i)

  • Colleen Fechtmeyer (i)

  • Richard Brockmann

Greenfield Common Council

District 5

  • Shirley A. Saryan (i)

  • Safia Jama

Lac La Belle Village Board (two seats)

  • Craig Niebler

  • Jeffrey Ritter

  • Joseph Renner (i)

  • Richard Allen

Lannon Village Board (three seats)

  • Don Sommers

  • Ronald J. Nellis (i)

  • Tina Moore

  • Terri Grennier (i)

Menomonee Falls Village President

  • Jeremy Walz (i)

  • Brittany Wohlfeil

Menomonee Falls village president race: Meet the two candidates running for village president in Menomonee Falls

Mukwonago Village Board (two seats)

  • Darlene M. Johnson (i)

  • David Boebel

  • Eric Brill (i)

Muskego Common Council

District 3

  • John Terrence (i)

  • Dennis Decker

District 5

  • Philip G. Conrardy

  • Deb Schroeder (i)

Oak Creek Common Council

District 4

  • Lisa Marshall (i)

  • Rosemarie Annonson

Pewaukee Common Council

District 2

  • Spencer Tabbert

  • Ian Clark (i)

Port Washington Public Safety Referendum

Under state law, the increase in the levy of the City of Port Washington for the tax to be imposed for the next fiscal year, 2025, is limited to 1.215%, which results in a levy of $8,203,430. Shall the City of Port Washington be allowed to exceed this limit and increase the levy for the next fiscal year, 2025, for the purpose of hiring and retaining additional fire and emergency medical services personnel for the City of Port Washington Fire Department, by a total of 14.323%, which results in a levy of $9,378,430, and on an ongoing basis, include the increase of $1,175,000 for each fiscal year going forward?

Town of Saukville Public Safety Referendum

Under state law, the increase in the levy of the Town of Saukville for the tax to be imposed for the next fiscal year, 2025, is limited to 0.757%, which results in a levy of $459,013. Shall the Town of Saukville be allowed to exceed this limit and increase the levy for the next fiscal year, 2025, for the purpose of enhancing Emergency Medical and Fire Protection Services, including but not limited to, the hiring and retaining of additional fire and rescue personnel, by a total of 44.681%, which results in a levy of $664,103, and, on an ongoing basis, include the increase of $205,090 for each fiscal year going forward?

South Milwaukee Common Council

District 2 (two seats)

  • Tim Backes (i)

  • Erin Seel

  • Scott C. Baitinger

  • Michal Olechowski

District 4 (two seats)

  • Peggy Clark (i)

  • David Bartoshevich (i)

  • Ryan Breaker

Summit Village Board (two seats)

  • Tina Kummrow

  • Jim Petronovich (i)

  • Jeff Lee (i)

Thiensville Village President

  • John Rosing

  • David Lange

Waukesha County Board

District 1

  • Burdus H. Galbraith II

  • Steve Styza

District 2

  • Wayne Euclide

  • Matthew E. Weil (i)

District 18

  • Thomas Harland

  • Larry Nelson (i)

Waukesha Village Board

Trustee #3

  • Cheryl Kane

  • Roger Adams

Wauwatosa Mayor

  • Andrew Meindl

  • Dennis McBride (i)

Wauwatosa mayor race: Andrew Meindl faces incumbent Dennis McBride for Wauwatosa mayor. Here's what to know.

Wauwatosa Common Council

District 3

  • Michael Indy Stluka

  • Robin Brannin (i)

District 8

  • Erik C. Fanning

  • Jason Wilke (i)

Wauwatosa Common Council race: Here's what to know about the two candidates running for Wauwatosa District 8 alderperson

West Allis Mayor

  • AmyRose Murphy

  • Dan Devine (i)

West Allis Common Council

District 2 (two seats)

  • Chad Halvorsen

  • Tracy Stefanski (i)

  • Marissa Nowling

West Bend Common Council

District 1

  • John Butschlick (i)

  • Neil Fulton

District 5

  • Mary Beth Seiser

  • Viney Pheng

District 7

  • Bill Schmidt

  • Justice Madl (i)

Whitefish Bay Village Board (two seats)

  • Bruce Kruger

  • Sam Dettmann

  • Jacob Haller (i)

Whitefish Bay Village Board race: Get to know the three candidates running for two Whitefish Bay trustee seats this election

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: A guide to Milwaukee-area races in Wisconsin's April 2, 2024 election