Primary will in effect crown winners in District 97 Assembly and Waukesha County sheriff

Published on: 8/4/2014

Not surprisingly, long lines aren't expected at the polls next week.

With two races (and only one for some residents) at hand, City of Waukesha Clerk-Treasurer Gina Kozlik said she expects a turnout across the city to be around 15 percent for the statewide primaries on Tuesday, Aug. 12.

"We expect a low turnout," Kozlik said.

But she added, "depending on the amount of campaigning the candidates have done to stir some interest and get people out to vote," the percentage could be higher in the 97th Assembly District, a state representative race in which there are six Republican candidates on the ballot.

Since the primaries used to be in September leading up to the fall general election, Kozlik said not a lot of data is available for previous elections during the summer. (The fall general election schedule is unchanged; this year, it will be on Tuesday, Nov. 4.)

"I think, sadly, the tendency is for voters to wait for the final candidates in the fall either way," Kozlik said of the low-voter turnout for the primaries.

The six Republicans seeking the 97th Assembly seat are all from the city or town of Waukesha. The district covers the southern half of the city of Waukesha, the southwestern portion of the town of Waukesha, the southeastern portion of the town of Genesee and the northeastern portion of the town of Mukwonago.

In the city of Waukesha, residents in wards 5, 7-8, 11, 14-26, 28 and 30-33 will be voting in the 97th Assembly District race.

The candidates in the race are city of Waukesha alderman Aaron Perry, former town of Waukesha supervisor Joe Banske, real estate sales director and former city of Waukesha alderman Scott Allen, Humana consultant Brandon Rosner, GOP activist Vince Trovato and city of Waukesha alderwoman and county board supervisor Kathleen Cummings.

No Democrats are running for the position, so the winner of the primary will essentially become the district's new representative. The winner will replace Rep. Bill Kramer, R-Waukesha, who is not seeking re-election amid sexual assault charges in Waukesha County.

While the 97th Assembly District doesn't include the entire city, every resident has the opportunity to decide who the next county sheriff will be.

Eric Severson, an inspector with the department, and Tom Alioto, a former town of Lisbon police sergeant, are the two Republican candidates.

There is no Democrat on the ballot, so like the 97th Assembly District, the winner of the primary will essentially become the county's new sheriff.

Waukesha County Sheriff Dan Trawicki is retiring at the end of the year after serving 12 years as sheriff.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. To find out where to vote see myvote.wi.gov and to see a list of the polling locations in the city of Waukesha see bit.ly/pollingcenters.

For election night results, see WaukeshaNOW.com.