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Dozens of seats up for grabs in Tuesday’s election

By: Erika Strebel, [email protected]//April 4, 2017//

Dozens of seats up for grabs in Tuesday’s election

By: Erika Strebel, [email protected]//April 4, 2017//

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Voters on Tuesday will weigh in on more than 50 state judicial races across the state.

Of the seats up for grabs Tuesday, 11 are contested. The notable races include one for Milwaukee County’s Circuit Court Branch 47 seat. Scott Wales, a Fox Point municipal judge and Milwaukee lawyer, is vying for the spot against Kashoua Yang, a Milwaukee lawyer who practices family law, family mediation, workers’ compensation law and social security disability.

In Dane County, Marilyn Townsend and Jill Karofsky are facing off for the Branch 12 seat. Townsend is a Madison employment lawyer; Karofsky is the executive director of the state Department of Justice’s Office of Crime victim services.

Meanwhile, 41 candidates are running unopposed. Among the incumbents who are running unopposed are Supreme Court Justice Annette Ziegler, District 1 Court of Appeals Judge Bill Brash and District 2 Court of Appeals Judge Brian Hagedorn. In Rock County, Circuit Court Judge Michael Fitzpatrick is running unopposed for a seat on the District 4 Court of Appeals.

For a seat on Milwaukee County’s municipal court bench, Milwaukee Municipal Court Judge Valarie Hill is trying to protect her seat from a challenge from William Crowley of Disability Rights Wisconsin.

Hill fended off three challengers in February’s primary, taking 47 percent of the vote, or 13,084 votes. Crowley, for his part, beat out two other candidates — Assistant City Attorney Kail Decker and Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee Staff Attorney Brian Michel — getting 19.2 percent of the vote, or 5,356 votes.

Here are the other uncontested judicial races in the state:

Columbia County Circuit Court Branch 2

  • Judge Andrew Voigt, incumbent

Dane County Circuit Court Branch 9

  • Judge Richard Niess, incumbent

Door County Circuit Court Branch 2

  • Judge David Weber, incumbent

Fond du Lac County Circuit Court Branch 5

  • Judge Robert Wirtz, incumbent

Grant County Circuit Court Branch 1

  • Judge Rober VanDeHey, incumbent

Green Lake County Circuit Court

  • Judge Mark Slate, incumbent

Iron County Circuit Court Judge

  • Judge Patrick Madden, incumbent

Jefferson County Circuit Court Branch 4

  • Bennett Brantmeier, litigation and municipal defense attorney in Jefferson

Kenosha County Circuit Court Branch 4

  • Judge Anthony Milisauskas, incumbent

Marathon County Circuit Court Branch 4

  • Gregory Strasser, incumbent

Marathon County Circuit Court Branch 5

  • Judge Michael Moran, incumbent

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 1

  • Chief Judge Maxine White

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 4

  • Judge Michael Hanrahan, incumbent

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 9

  • Judge Paul Van Grunsven, incumbent

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 10

  • Michelle Ackerman Havas, assistant Milwaukee County district attorney

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 13

  • Judge Mary Triggiano, incumbent

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 18

  • Judge Pedro Colon, incumbent

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 19

  • Judge Dennis Cimpl, incumbent

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 21

  • Judge Cynthia Davis, incumbent

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 33

  • Judge Carl Ashley, incumbent

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 35

  • Judge Frederick Rosa, incumbent

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 36

  • Judge Jeffrey Kremers, incumbent

Oconto County Circuit Court Branch 1

  • Judge Michael Judge, incumbent

Outagamie County District Court Branch 1

  • Judge Mark McGinnis, incumbent

Polk County Circuit Court Branch 2

  • Judge Jeff Anderson, incumbent

Racine County Circuit Court Branch 3

  • Judge Emily Mueller, incumbent

Rock County Circuit Court Judge Branch 6

  • Judge John Wood, incumbent

Sheboygan County Circuit Court Branch 2

  • Judge Kent Hoffmann, incumbent

Sheboygan County Circuit Court Branch 3

  • Judge Angela Sutkiewicz, incumbent

Sheboygan County Circuit Court Branch 5

  • Judge Daniel Borowski, incumbent

Washington County Circuit Court Branch 1

  • Judge James Pouros, incumbent

Waukesha County Circuit Court Branch 3

  • Judge Ralph Ramirez, incumbent

Waukesha County Circuit Court Branch 4

  • Judge Lloyd Carter, incumbent

Waukesha County Circuit Court Branch 11

  • Judge William Domina, incumbent

Waushara County Circuit Court

  • Judge Guy Dutcher, incumbent

Winnebago County Circuit Court Branch 2

  • Judge Scott Woldt, incumbent

Winnebago County Circuit Court Branch 6

  • Judge Daniel Bissett, incumbent.

The following are the nine other contested state judicial races in other parts of the state:

Burnett County Circuit Court

Melissia Mogen, Siren attorney

David Grindell, Frederic attorney

Dodge County Circuit Court, Branch 2

Martin De Vries, incumbent, Gov. Scott Walker’s appointee to the bench

Randall Doyle, Beaver Dam attorney

Kenosha County Circuit Court, Branch 7

Jodi Meier, incumbent, Walker’s appointee to the bench

John Ward, Kenosha attorney

Manitowoc County Circuit Court, Branch 3 

Bob Dewane, assistant district attorney for Manitowoc County

Patricia Koppa, Manitowoc register in probate

Polk County Circuit Court, Branch 1

  • Daniel Tolan, incumbent appointed by Walker
  • Malia Malone, Polk County corporation counsel

Trempealeau County Circuit Court

  • Rian Radtke, corporation counsel attorney
  • Rick Schaumberg, Osseo attorney

Vernon County Circuit Court

  • Darcy Rood, attorney at Abt Law office in Westby
  • Timothy Gaskell, Vernon County district attorney

Washington County Circuit Court, Branch 3

  • Judge Todd Martens, incumbent
  • Robert Olson, West Bend attorney

Waupaca County Circuit Court, Branch 1

  • Troy Nielsen, state public defender
  • Eric Hendrickson, attorney at New London-based Werner, Johnson and Hendrickson

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