Dennis Wiser
Dennis Wiser is the District 2 representative on the Racine Unified School District school board in Wisconsin. First elected in 2008, Wiser won a new term in the by-district general election on April 4, 2017. He served as an at-large member of the board from 2008 to 2016.
Biography
Wiser earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He later earned a master's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Wiser worked for 34 years as a teacher and college instructor in Southeast Wisconsin. He also served six years as executive director of the Racine Education Association. Wiser represented District 2 on the Racine Common Council.[1]
Elections
2017
Three of nine seats on the Racine Unified School District school board were up for by-district general election on April 4, 2017. Seats in Districts 2, 3, and 7 were on the ballot. District 2 incumbent Dennis Wiser and District 3 incumbent Michael Frontier won re-election unopposed, while District 7 incumbent Don Nielsen did not seek a new term. Brian O'Connell, who lost to Nielsen in 2016, joined Wiser and Frontier on the board.[2]
Results
| Racine Unified School District, District 2 General Election, 3-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Dennis Wiser Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 1,071 |
| Total Votes | 1,071 | |
| Source: Racine County, Wisconsin, "Final Unofficial Election Results 4-4-2017," accessed April 4, 2017These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||
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.[3][4]
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.[4] 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.[5]
Results
| Racine Unified School District, District 2 Special Election, 1-year term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Dennis Wiser Incumbent |
52.67% | 2,249 |
| John Koetz Incumbent | 47.33% | 2,021 |
| Total Votes | 4,270 | |
| Source: Racine Unified School District, "Racine Board of Education Official Election Results," accessed June 15, 2016 | ||
Endorsements
Wiser received the endorsement of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO.[6]
2014
Dennis Wiser ran against six other candidates for four available seats in the general election on April 1, 2014.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Melvin Hargrove Incumbent |
18.6% | 4,326 | |
| Nonpartisan | Dennis Wiser Incumbent |
17.2% | 3,996 | |
| Nonpartisan | Pamala Handrow Incumbent |
17% | 3,954 | |
| Nonpartisan | Wally Rendón Incumbent |
14.4% | 3,355 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jacqueline Pinager | 12% | 2,795 | |
| Nonpartisan | Henry Perez | 12% | 2,790 | |
| Nonpartisan | Thomas Fineran | 8.2% | 1,915 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.4% | 95 | |
| Total Votes | 23,226 | |||
| Source: Racine Unified School District, "Canvass Committee Report," April 8, 2014 | ||||
Funding
Wiser reported no contributions or expenditures to the school board secretary, which left his campaign with $811.15 on hand from his previous campaign.[7]
Endorsements
Wiser did not receive any official endorsements for his campaign.
Campaign themes
2016
Wiser answered the following questions from The Journal Times:
| “ |
1) Last year, the School Board was divided for months on the district’s employee handbook. What role should administrators, unions and the board have in future handbook changes? All affected parties should have some form of input. This would include not only the board, administrators and unions; it could also include some form of input for parents, the public, etc., as appropriate. The final decision rests with the board. 2) The district recently entered into a tentative agreement to buy the Sturtevant Sportsplex for $5.2 million, and the district is studying how to use and pay for the complex before the board’s May 10 deadline to approve the deal. If you are elected, under what conditions would you support the district buying the Sportsplex? I would support it only in the context of a 10-year RUSD facility plan. The need for additional space is not readily apparent in a time of decreasing student counts. 3) As the district implements block scheduling in high schools next year in preparation for new career academies, some have criticized the district for moving ahead on the change too fast, most notably employee unions. Should the district go ahead with block scheduling next year? Why or why not? The district should move to block scheduling at whatever time the staff has had sufficient and appropriate training and support for the transition. A good start is critical. 4) Over the last year, the villages of Caledonia, Mount Pleasant and Sturtevant have been weighing whether to fund a study of leaving the Racine Unified School District. Would you support these communities breaking away from Unified? Why or why not? Splitting into Unified into smaller districts is like a divorce. The responsible adults need to talk together and decide what is in the best interest of children, and then commit to this decision. 5) If elected, what is the most pressing change you would push for the district to make? Many students start school already at a learning deficit. We need to provide as much early remediation as possible to close this pre-school gap. If else is remediation.[8][9] |
” |
| —Dennis Wiser (2016) | ||
2014
Wiser explained his campaign themes for 2014 in an interview with The Journal Times:
| “ |
What makes you most qualified for a board seat? I’m qualified because I was in the classroom for almost 30 years and I know what it takes to support quality education. Are you familiar with the Common Core State Standards, and do you support or oppose them? Familiar with standards. At this point I totally support the Common Core State Standards. It will bring a level of high standards, accountability and uniformity that’s been missing from education for along time. Do you favor fixing school building components like boilers when they break down or, proactively, when they outlive their life expectancies? I favor the plan. ...It’s obviously going to have to come from pinching pennies by consolidating positions, consolidating facilities, and in some instances by updating some of our facilities we’ll be able to save money that can get reinvested in maintenance elsewhere. And if we do a good enough job we may be able to ask for a facilities referendum.[10][9] |
” |
| —The Journal Times (2014) | ||
See also
- Racine Unified School District, Wisconsin
- Racine Unified School District elections (2017)
- Racine Unified School District elections (2014)
- Racine Unified School District elections (2015)
- Racine Unified School District elections (2016)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Dennis Wiser, "My Background," accessed February 6, 2014
- ↑ Racine County, Wisconsin, "Final Unofficial Election Results 4-4-2017," accessed April 4, 2017
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namednewmap - ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Journal Times, "Election filings, Racine County school boards," January 6, 2016
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedbiemeck - ↑ Wisconsin AFL-CIO, "2016 Spring Election Candidate Endorsements," March 10, 2016
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through e-mail from Patricia Meyer on March 25, 2014.
- ↑ The Journal Times, "Dennis Wiser on the issues," March 12, 2016
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Journal Times, "Racine School Board candidates on the issues," March 18, 2014
| Racine Unified School District elections in 2017 | |
| Racine County, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 4, 2017 |
| Candidates: | District 2: Incumbent, Dennis Wiser District 3: Incumbent, Michael Frontier |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
| 2014 Racine Unified School District Elections | |
| Racine, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 1, 2014 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Thomas Fineran • Pamala Handrow • Melvin Hargrove • Henry Perez • Jacqueline Pinager • Wally Rendón • Dennis Wiser |
| Important information: | Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
