Shepherd Express Endorsements for the April 6 Election

Shepherd Express Endorsements

FOR THE APRIL 6 ELECTION

Another example of how the pandemic changed our lives is that people are now voting early in much greater numbers. As a result, our endorsements must come out earlier. In the last general election, fewer than half the votes were cast on election day.

In addition, the endorsements printed in the March Shepherd Express magazine will also be posted on our website, www.ShepherdExpress.com and run multiple times over the next four weeks on our Free Daily e-Newsletter. If you are not getting our free daily newsletter, please sign up at shepherdexpress.com.

Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction:

Jill Underly

The Shepherd enthusiastically endorses Jill Underly for Superintendent of Public Instruction. Dr. Underly is a strong advocate for high quality public education and has spent her entire career in education and public service. She has proved herself to be a true leader as a teacher, a principal and a district superintendent. She understands the challenges we face in our state to provide a quality education for every student and has shown that she can produce excellent results within the constraints of whatever budget she is given. Underly has also brought her education experience and her leadership and innovative skills to the Department of Public Instruction where she worked for several years. She is a true educator’s educator. Please vote for Jill Underly for Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Photo Courtesy of Judge Jeffrey Davis JUDGE JEFFREY DAVIS

Court of Appeals District 2 Judge: Jeffrey Davis

Incumbent Jeffrey O. Davis is the clear choice for the District II Court of Appeals bench. He brings three major strengths to the campaign: his thoughtful approach to the law; his broad experience at Quarles & Brady; and his commitment to community service. At Quarles, Davis focused on insurance, commercial, and appellate law. He also was the coordinating partner of the firm’s extensive pro bono practice. He has served on numerous boards, including those for the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Milwaukee, COA Youth and Family Centers, and the Milwaukee Bar Foundation. He has won the endorsements of judges across the political spectrum. Court of Appeals Judges M. Joseph Donald and Lisa Neubauer are backing him, as are State Supreme Court Justices Patience Roggensack and Annette Ziegler. The ability to work with different kinds of people is crucial to judges, who must build alliances to develop coherent, defensible opinions. Davis has the legal and personal attributes a good appellate judge needs.

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 3: Katie Kegel

There is only one contested judicial race in Milwaukee County, and the voters are fortunate to have two good candidates, Susan Roth and Katie Kegel. Susan Roth is a well-respected attorney with a strong endorsement list, but we believe Katie Kegel to be truly exceptional, and that is why the Shepherd is enthusiastically supporting Kegel. We were very impressed with both her professional accomplishments as an attorney but also her personal story.

Kegel grew up in a Wisconsin small town in a working class family where everything she had ever gotten in life, she earned through being smart and being willing to work hard. While a freshman in high school when most small town kids are not thinking about college, Kegel decided she wanted to go to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. As many of you readers know, acceptance to West Point requires not only being a stand-out high school student, but also being nominated by a Congressperson. Kegel was nominated by two: Democratic Senator Feingold and Republican House member Tom Petri. She embodies the best of Wisconsin’s rural, working class values. She’s the real thing. She went on to Marquette Law School where she continues to give back to Marquette as an adjunct law professor.

As a highly skilled trial attorney, Kegel could have chosen to work for a large corporate law firm and earn the big bucks, but devoted her skills and energy instead to defending those who can’t afford a lawyer but still deserve fairness and equal justice. Kegel lives in the Riverwest neighborhood and has worked for the past 10 years as a public defender in Waukesha County.

With the murder of George Floyd and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, we are experiencing a re-awakening of the need for greater social justice in our country. Part of that movement requires the election of judges who have a real understanding of the obstacles that many of us experience because of poverty, tough neighborhoods, lack of good educational opportunities and racial discrimination. As a judge, Kegel will be respectful of all those who come before her court and will work to apply the law to make sure everyone gets a fair trial regardless of their position in the community.

MPS District 5: Jilly Gokalgandhi

The voters in MPS District 5 are fortunate to have two candidates for school board who each have a strong commitment to public service and a strong sense of social justice. The Shepherd endorses Jilly Gokalgandhi because of her career choices and experiences and her life story as a young girl who came to America from India as a small child and worked hard to succeed. She took advantage of the opportunity and received a good MPS education. As an adult, Gokalgandhi spent her career working to improve the educational opportunities for MPS students. As Community Schools Coordinator at Bradley Tech High School, she brought together stakeholders including students, teachers, administrators, neighborhood residents and community partners to support the students with their various individual needs to enhance their chances for success.

In addition to her work with students and teachers, she participated in decisions on the bigger issues like budgets, curriculum development and assessments. These are the areas where she could be a huge asset to our Milwaukee Board of School Directors. Our clear choice is Jilly Gokalgandhi.

MPS District 4: Dual Endorsement Aisha Carr and Dana Kelley

Two very strong candidates came out of the Feb. 16 primary, Aisha Carr and Dana Kelley and the MPS board would do well with either. Both are committed to public service and both are strong progressives. Aisha Carr has two Master’s degrees: one from UW Madison in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis and a second from Cardinal Stritch University in Urban Special Education. Carr is a special education and English teacher. We are impressed with the fact that she led a Restorative Practice program to promote civil resolution to any form of conflict. She also has experience on Capitol Hill where she worked for former U.S. Senator Russ Feingold. Dana Kelley, a proud alumna of MPS, attended UWM and MATC and has an Associate degree in biblical studies from the Midwest Bible College. She’s a mom and has been a successful community organizer/activist with such groups as North Side Rising and the highly regarded Citizen Action of Wisconsin. Kelley is running for this position as a democratic socialist which for her means, “That we will have a world where regular people have the power to make the economic decisions that affect all of us.”

Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors District 10:

Dual Endorsement Priscilla E. CoggsJones and Darrin B. Madison Jr.

The upcoming special election for District 10, called to fill the seat left by Supreme Moore Omokunde, who is now serving in the Wisconsin State Assembly, is going to be a truly competitive race. Priscilla E. Coggs-Jones of the Coggs family, a Milwaukee Black political dynasty in years past, garnered over 42 percent of votes in the five-candidate primary election in February, but Darrin B. Madison Jr. is set to put up a good fight, with some pretty notable organizations backing him.

Madison started working at the Urban Ecology Center when he was 14 and began leadership development training at Urban Underground the next year. He’s served as a Public Ally for two years and is a member of the Milwaukee Democratic Socialists of America. Part of Madison’s platform focuses on his goal to create a local food production and distribution network based on the parks system that will fund maintenance and cultivate a green career pipeline for residents.

Coggs-Jones founded Urban Grassroots Inc., an organization that has worked to beautify neighborhoods, organize community cleanups and work to rid hunger and food insecurities for the last 10 years. She’s been a board member for King Advisory Inc. for 10 years, served on the City of Milwaukee Bronzeville Board for five years and has worked as coordinator of Fourth of July City Programs at Dr. Martin L. King Jr. Park for the last five years.

The Shepherd believes that the 10th Supervisory district will be well represented with either candidate.