The dust has not settled on the November elections. I have not heard Senate Candidate Eric Hovde’s plan of action after an apparent razor thin loss to incumbent Senator Baldwin other than he has publicized a dozen legitimate questions that need answers. One question concerns the 4:30 am (Wednesday) ballot drop in Milwaukee that changed Hovde’s seemingly insurmountable lead to trailing the incumbent. Another question involves the shady democrat support for the two third party candidates that allegedly drew support away from Hovde. While we cannot close the books on the November elections with these pertinent questions, we must realize that after November comes April and some equally critically important elections in the Coulee Region and all across Wisconsin.

Considering the April elections, time is of the essence. Nomination papers are due on January 7th with a primary, if needed, on February 18th. The spring election is April 1st.

The election of a new Supreme Court Justice to replace the retiring Justice Ann Walsh Bradley will be the big story of the spring election. Justice Bradley has been on the State Supreme Court since 1995 and is part of the current liberal 4-3 majority. The winner will cause the court to lean either liberal or conservative thereby having a bigger impact than most new justices on the Supreme Court. As I write this, there are two known candidates but there is a month and a half until nominations are closed.

Waukesha County Circuit Judge Brad Schimel, the former State Attorney General, is a conservative candidate with a wealth of experience qualifying him for the position. He was the elected Waukesha County District Attorney and then the State of Wisconsin Attorney General before becoming a Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge. His record indicates he will defend the Constitution and the Rule of Law.

Dane County Circuit Judge Susan Crawford, a former prosecutor and private practice attorney, is a liberal candidate that has also worked in multiple government agencies. She has been endorsed by the four current liberal leaning Justices of the Supreme Court. These are the same four justices that caused new legislative maps to be drawn for the 2024 campaign – the maps that dramatically destroyed the previously properly drawn districts in the Coulee Region.

The second, and certainly as important, state-wide election will be for the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI). The first-term incumbent, Jill Underly, is a candidate for re-election. The Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) Political Action Committee has determined a widespread desire for new leadership at the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and are supporting a challenger, Jeff Wright. Wright is the current Superintendent of the Sauk Prairie School District. There may be other candidates before the January 7th deadline.

This election for the SSPI is of utmost importance for many reasons. The first may be President-elect Trumps strong vocal desire to shutter the federal Department of Education. How will this impact the State of Wisconsin and all the local school districts? The second is the fact that almost half of Wisconsin’s school districts have had a referendum on the ballot in 2024. This giant systemic financial problem appears to be a state problem, and we the people need a leader to address and resolve the situation. Then there are the issues of parents’ rights, Title IX issues of boys in girls’ sports and bathrooms, and the basic concerns of student behavior. And the final, but perhaps most critical reason, concerns academics. Academics include “Why Johnny can’t read”, lowering academic standards to make results sound better, and the difference between “Project 1776” and “Project 1691!”

And if that is not enough to consider, DPI still has $13M in federal school aid unaccounted for according to the Institute for Reforming Government!

Then there are the “local elections” for county boards, municipal leaders, and school boards of education. Remember the cliché “All politics is local”? Former Speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill, a Massachusetts Democrat, made the phrase famous although it had been around for years. For “We the People” to be successful, local governments need local leaders to solve the local problems!

Local school boards will face most of the same problems as the SSPI, but just with a local focus. While the SSPI may set state policies, local school boards must assure those policies are followed and set other local policies for their own district. While local school boards spend time on budgets, buildings, and behavior; they must not forget their responsibilities for “reading, writing, and arithmetic”! Additionally, local school boards need to react to their recent referendums: either how to spend the money or how to manage without the money!

Local governments are involved with budgets and buildings too but also get involved with law enforcement and public services just to name a few of their many responsibilities.

April may come after November, but the time is now to act! For the state-wide elections please study the issues and then study the candidates. Pick a conservative candidate to support, ask the tough questions, and then encourage and educate your friends and family. For the local elections, consider being a candidate or help finding a good conservative to be a winning candidate. Keep asking the tough questions. Every candidate needs volunteer help for a successful campaign and that might be you!

Many of us came through the recent national campaign with the thought “We have a country to save.” We need to work just as intensely on the spring elections because now “We have our local municipality, county, and school board to save!”