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Bryn Biemeck
Bryn Biemeck was a candidate for District 6 representative on the Racine Board of Education in Wisconsin. Biemeck filed for the 2016 election, but was removed from the ballot due to a shortage of valid signatures.[1]
Biemeck was a candidate for at-large representative in 2015. She was defeated in the general election on April 7, 2015.
In a candidate questionnaire, Biemeck stated her position on the nonbinding referendum question on the ballot which sought to create a separate school district for Caledonia and Sturtevant. She said, "It is important to gauge the interest of the community before deciding whether or not to proceed, so I am in favor of the non-binding referendum being on the ballot."[2]
While the school board is a nonpartisan body, Biemeck was a 2014 Republican candidate for District 63 of the Wisconsin State Assembly.[3]
Biography
Biemeck was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wis. She majored in education at Cardinal Stritch University. She moved to Racine County with her husband in 2008. Biemeck is a certified reinvention specialist and life coach. She also teaches chess in an elementary after school program.[4]
Elections
2016
The 2016 election for all nine seats on the Racine Unified School District was the district's first using a by district system rather than electing members at-large. A primary election was held on February 16, 2016, for Districts 6 and 7 with the general election on April 5, 2016. Board candidates were required to live in their election districts. The change was enshrined in state law through legislation sponsored by State Sen. Van Wanggaard (R) and State Rep. Tom Weatherson (R), who represent districts that include Racine. The election districts approved by the school board on October 27, 2015, led to three races in 2016 where three incumbents were assured defeat because they faced fellow board members.[5][6]
Candidates backed by the Wisconsin AFL-CIO won seven of the board's nine seats in 2016. Michelle Duchow in District 1 was not endorsed due to her unopposed race and District 9 winner Robert Wittke was endorsed by The Journal Times as a candidate who would stand up to unions.
District 1 candidate Michelle Duchow was the only unopposed candidate in the race. Dennis Wiser defeated fellow incumbent John Koetz in District 2, while incumbent Michael Frontier ousted fellow board member Pamala Handrow in District 3. Julie McKenna defeated Kim Plache to take the District 4 seat. Challenger Steven Hooper defeated incumbent Chuck Goodremote for the District 5 seat. Newcomer Matthew Hanser narrowly defeated board president Melvin Hargrove in District 8. Incumbent Don Nielsen finished first in the District 7 race against challenger Brian O'Connell. Nielsen and O'Connell defeated Adrienne Moore in the primary. Three newcomers were guaranteed to join the board after this election with no incumbents running in Districts 1, 6 and 9. John Heckenlively defeated Jim Venturini for the District 6 seat, while Robert Wittke defeated Kurt Squire in District 9.[6] Ernest Ni'A was defeated by Heckenlively and Venturini in the District 6 primary. Bryn Biemeck was removed from the ballot in District 6 following a Wisconsin Government Accountability Board appeal by the Racine Education Association.[1]
2015
Three at-large board incumbents, Wally Rendón, Don Nielsen and Kim Plache, sought re-election in the general election on April 7, 2015. They faced challengers Bryn Biemeck and Lisa Parham.[7] While Nielsen and Plache retained their seats and Parham won her first term on the board, Rendón and Biemeck were defeated.
Results
| Racine Unified School District, At-Large General Election, 3-year term, 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Kim Plache Incumbent |
25.3% | 11,183 | |
| Nonpartisan | Don Nielsen Incumbent |
21.7% | 9,571 | |
| Nonpartisan | Lisa Parham |
20.9% | 9,248 | |
| Nonpartisan | Wally Rendón Incumbent | 17% | 7,494 | |
| Nonpartisan | Bryn Biemeck | 15.1% | 6,656 | |
| Total Votes | 44,152 | |||
| Source: Racine County, Wisconsin, "Final Official Election Results for 04-07-2015," accessed April 22, 2015 | ||||
Funding
Biemeck reported $3,001.00 in contributions and $2,983.15 in expenditures to the Racine Unified School District Clerk for School Board Elections, which left her campaign with $17.85 on hand in this election. She was the only candidate not to file as exempt from campaign finance reporting in this election.[8]
Endorsements
Biemeck was endorsed by The Journal Times, which stated, "One of the key roles of the school board is to watch over taxpayer money. While likely she will ruffle some feathers with her strong opinions, it’s good to bring in fresh ideas and Biemeck is not shy about voicing her thoughts."[9]
2014
- See also: Wisconsin State Assembly elections, 2014
Elections for all 99 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 12, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 2, 2014. Andy Mitchell was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Incumbent Robin Vos defeated Bryn Biemeck in the Republican primary. Vos faced Mitchell in the general election.[10][3][11] Incumbent Vos defeated Mitchell in the general election, and was re-elected for another term.[12]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Robin Vos Incumbent |
63.3% | 15,361 | |
| Democratic | Andy Mitchell | 36.7% | 8,917 | |
| Total Votes | 24,278 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Robin Vos Incumbent |
89.5% | 4,594 |
| Bryn Biemeck | 10.5% | 540 |
| Total Votes | 5,134 | |
Campaign themes
2015
Campaign website
Beimeck made the following statements on her campaign website:
| “ | Restore Quality in Schools
“I believe that to restore quality in our schools, we must first begin by rewarding quality teachers and the passion that they give to the classroom. Great teachers are the key to a great education for our students. Secondly, we must ensure that teachers have the resources and tools that they need to provide the quality education that each child deserves.” - Bryn Reduce the Costs of an Education “One of the greatest barriers our schools face is the rising costs of providing a quality education to our students. We must cut the red tape that is preventing teachers from receiving the resources that they need, and allow for the better use of finances and equipment in the classroom. Furthermore, we need school board members that will analyze administrative overhead and find creative ways to save money.” - Bryn Rebuild Relationships with Parents “Over the last several years, a widening gap has been developing between parents and what happens in the classroom. We must bridge the gap to unite parents and teachers in their common goal of properly educating our next generation. My plan is to develop an active line of communication with the community to gain an insight into the unique challenges families face in the Racine Unified School District.” - Bryn[13] |
” |
| —Bryn Biemeck's campaign website (2015)[14] | ||
The Journal Times questionnaire
Biemeck participated in a questionnaire of all the school board candidates by The Journal Times. The questions and her responses are below.
| “ | JT: Why are you running for a seat on the Unified school board? What relevant experience would you bring?
Biemeck: I am running for the school board so that I am able to passionately serve the community. I bring excitement and new ideas to what has become a stagnant body. We see the same people constantly being elected to the board time and time again. The board is ripe with cronyism. I promise to be a vocal advocate of positive change in Racine Unified.[13] |
” |
| —Bryn Biemeck (2015)[2] | ||
| “ | JT: What is the most pressing issue the board must address?
Biemeck: The board must address its communication with staff, and more importantly, the community. A lot of people I have spoken to feel left out or discouraged by the board. Many people have told me that they feel the board doesn't listen to their needs. As public servants, it is their job to listen to and address everyone's concerns, and create an open environment for the exchange of ideas.[13] |
” |
| —Bryn Biemeck (2015)[2] | ||
| “ | JT: What is your position on the idea of municipalities like Caledonia or Sturtevant creating their own school districts?
Biemeck: It is important to gauge the interest of the community before deciding whether or not to proceed, so I am in favor of the non-binding referendum being on the ballot. I feel it is a shame that communication has broken down to the point that these communities feel the need to separate from RUSD because their needs are not being addressed.[13] |
” |
| —Bryn Biemeck (2015)[2] | ||
| “ | JT: How do you think Unified should adjust to the cuts in state funding expected in the proposed 2015-17 state budget?
Biemeck: With the numerous cuts to education, it is the responsibility of the board to find solutions to reduce costs. We need to ensure that as much money as possible is going into classrooms, and not being wasted on administration and bureaucracy. RUSD must perform a full audit, and find exactly where every dollar is being spent.[13] |
” |
| —Bryn Biemeck (2015)[2] | ||
| “ | JT: Did you support the referendum approved in November that will allow the district to collect about $128 million in taxes over the next 15 years? Why or why not?
Biemeck: I am never in favor of taxes being raised. Voters were misled to believe that their property taxes would go down if they voted for the referendum. In actuality, they would have gone down this year regardless of it passing or not due to a credit from the state. Over the next 15 years, you will see your taxes go up because of this referendum. I promise to vote against all future tax increases.[13] |
” |
| —Bryn Biemeck (2015)[2] | ||
| “ | JT: How do you think the district should address discrepancies in achievement between whites and minorities?
Biemeck: The key is to reach out to parents and make them engaged and invested in their child's education. The achievement gap has been shrinking, and the best way to continue this progress is to communicate with parents to find solutions that fit the needs of their child. Every child deserves a quality education. We must search for ways to best serve our diverse community.[13] |
” |
| —Bryn Biemeck (2015)[2] | ||
| “ | JT: Is the Racine Unified School District failing or succeeding in its charge to educate local students? Why?
Biemeck: There is a definite need for improvement. We need to set our goals high, and then higher still above that to create the best learning environment possible for our children. We cannot afford to waste another generation on failed educational experiments. We need to reach out to teachers and find out what is working best, and then take their success and spread the methods they use to all of our schools. Individual success stories can become success stories for everyone.[13] |
” |
| —Bryn Biemeck (2015)[2] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Bryn Biemeck Racine Unified School District. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Racine Unified School District, Wisconsin
- Racine Unified School District elections (2015)
- Racine Unified School District elections (2016)
- Hot tub Gatorade, turnout in Peoria and the Wisconsin state...
- Wisconsin school districts 2014 review
- Wisconsin State Legislature
- Wisconsin state legislative districts
- Wisconsin State Assembly
- Wisconsin State Assembly elections, 2014
External links
- Racine Unified School District
- Wisconsin State Legislature
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Official campaign website
- Bryn Biemeck on Twitter
- Bryn Biemack on Facebook
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedbiemeck - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 The Journal Times, "Candidates offer vision for RUSD," March 30, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Wisconsin Government Accountability, "Candidates Registered by Office," June 11, 2014
- ↑ Bryn Biemeck for Racine Unified School Board, "About," accessed February 4, 2015
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namednewmap - ↑ 6.0 6.1 The Journal Times, "Election filings, Racine County school boards," January 6, 2016
- ↑ Margaret Koenig, "Email correspondence with Racine Unified School District Office of Communication & Community Engagement," January 7, 2015
- ↑ Margaret Koenig, "Email correspondence with Pat Meyer, Racine Unified School District Deputy Clerk for School Board Elections," August 28, 2015
- ↑ The Journal Times, "Journal Times editorial: Unified School Board — We endorse Plache, Biemeck and Parham," April 1, 2015
- ↑ Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, "Wisconsin 2014 fall primary election results," accessed August 12, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "2014 Partisan Primary Candidates," accessed June 19, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Canvass Results for 2014 General Election," December 1, 2014
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 13.7 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Bryn Biemeck for Racine Unified School Board, "On the Issues," accessed February 4, 2015
| 2015 Racine Unified School District Elections | |
| Racine County, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 7, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Don Nielsen • Incumbent, Kim Plache • Incumbent, Wally Rendón • Bryn Biemeck • Lisa Parham |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
