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John Humphries
John Humphries is a former candidate for the nonpartisan office of Wisconsin superintendent of public instruction.[1] He was defeated in the primary election on February 21, 2017.
Biography
Humphries graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a B.S. in bacteriology in 1988 and went on to work for the university's research labs and area biotechnology companies. He volunteered as a tutor in Wisconsin public schools and went on to earn an M.S. in education from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 1996 and a certification in school psychology from UW-Whitewater in 1997.[2][3]
Humphries worked as a school psychologist for the Norris School District from 1997 to 2000. He went on to work as a school psychologist and special education designee for the La Farge School District and the Viroqua School District from 2000 to 2001. In 2001, he began working as the director of student services for the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District and transitioned to the role of pupil services coordinator for the district in 2003.[2][3]
Humphries began working for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction in 2004 as a school psychology consultant, where he remained until 2011. He spent the following year as the executive director of pupil services for the Beloit School District. In 2012, Humphries joined the Dodgeville School District as the director of pupil services and the educator effectiveness project implementation coach (EPIC). He became the district's director of state and federal programs in July 2016, but resigned from the district in December 2016 to focus on his campaign for superintendent of public instruction.[2][4]
Following his resignation, the district contracted with Humphries' consulting firm, BrainDance LLC, in order to allow Humphries the flexibility to continue working for the district in a limited capacity while campaigning for public office.[4][5]
Education
- B.S., bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- M.S., education, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
- Ed.S., educational leadership and policy analysis, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Certification, school psychology, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
- Certification, superintendent of schools, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Certification, director of special education/pupil services, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Elections
2017
The office of Wisconsin superintendent of public instruction was up for election in 2017. The primary election was held on February 21, 2017, to narrow the candidate field to the top two vote recipients. The general election was held on April 4, 2017.
Incumbent Tony Evers, who was first elected in 2009 and then re-elected in 2013, filed to run for re-election. Two challengers, former Beloit superintendent Lowell Holtz and former Dodgeville district administrator John Humphries, filed to challenge Evers' bid for a third term in office. Rick Melcher ran as a write-in candidate.[1]
| Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction, Primary Election, 2017 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
 Tony Evers Incumbent |
69.7% | 251,477 | |
| Lowell Holtz |
22.9% | 82,519 | |
| John Humphries | 7.4% | 26,563 | |
| Rick Melcher | 0% | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 360,559 | ||
| Source: WisconsinVote.org, "Current election results," accessed February 22, 2017 | |||
Noteworthy events
Humphries and Holtz discussions
According to a report in the Wisconsin State Journal on February 15, 2017, Wisconsin superintendent of public instruction candidate John Humphries stated in an interview that fellow candidate Lowell Holtz had suggested in writing that he or Humphries suspend their campaign in exchange for a guaranteed position with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction upon the defeat of incumbent Superintendent Tony Evers. The proposed three-year position would pay an annual salary of $150,000, including benefits and a driver, and would exercise authority over certain urban school districts.[6]
Holtz claimed that the suggestion was an idea rather than a formal proposal. He stated that the arrangement had been formed in writing at the request of a group of business leaders who hoped that Humphries and Holtz, both conservative candidates, could cooperate to defeat Evers.[6][7]
"It’s true that we had breakfast together. It’s true that a number of business people asked us to get together and discuss options for working together because they thought we would have a better chance," Holtz said in a radio interview with the Dan O’Donnell Show on WISN-AM. "There was no specific proposal. There were ideas that were thrown around. They were ideas."[6][7]
"Unfortunately, we are on totally opposite ends of the political spectrum," Holtz continued. "The differences between Mr. Humphries’ approach to education and mine were too stark to be reconciled, so the conversation ended there."[6]
Humphries claimed that the proposal came directly from Holtz rather than business leaders. He later offered Holtz a position on his campaign, but the two candidates did not reach an agreement.[6][7]
Both candidates released draft documents of the proposal to the public, but the documents contained different information and neither could be verified by the Wisconsin State Journal as an unaltered version. According to the documents, Holtz's position with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction would be guaranteed for three years and would pay an annual salary of $150,000, including benefits and a driver. Holtz would also be granted the authority to break up certain urban school districts, including Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, Madison, and potentially Green Bay, as well as alter the school boards as needed. Humphries' position would satisfy the same terms, but no specific school districts were identified.[6]
Response
Scot Ross of One Wisconsin Now, a self-described progressive 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, filed a complaint on February 16, 2017, requesting that the Wisconsin Ethics Commission investigate the discussions between Humphries and Holtz. The complaint alleged that Humphries and Holtz violated campaign finance laws since the proposed position with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction constituted the exchange of value for votes, or "an election bribe."[8][9][10]
Incumbent Superintendent Evers requested that Humphries and Holtz provide more information about the discussions.[11]
Conclusion
The Wisconsin Ethics Commission unanimously dismissed the complaint against Humphries and Holtz on March 14, 2017. The commission stated:[12]
| “ | The Commission dismisses the complaint filed by Scot Ross and One Wisconsin Now on the basis that the allegations and documents contained in the complaint do not violate election bribery provisions contained in Wis. Stat. § 12.11, therefore there can be no reasonable suspicion that a violation of this law has occurred.[12][13] | ” |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms John Humphries Wisconsin Superintendent of Schools. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Wisconsin | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wisconsin Elections Commission, "Candidate Tracking by Office," January 3, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 LinkedIn, "John Humphries," acessed February 13, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 John Humphries for State Superintendent of Public Instruction, "About," accessed February 13, 2017
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 WiscNews.com, "State superintendent candidate John Humphries hired back by Dodgeville district on consulting contract after resigning," January 5, 2017
- ↑ Star Tribune, "Wisconsin superintendent candidate hired as consultant," January 5, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Wisconsin State Journal, "State superintendent candidate: Challenger offered 6-figure job to drop out of race," February 16, 2017
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, "Wisconsin superintendent candidates Humphries, Holtz tangle on alleged post-election job offers," February 15, 2017
- ↑ Stevens Point Journal, "Evers, liberal group rip Humphries and Holtz over meeting about mutual support," February 16, 2017
- ↑ State of Wisconsin Ethics Commission, "Complaint Form," February 16, 2017
- ↑ One Wisconsin Now, "About," accessed February 16, 2017
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedStevens - ↑ 12.0 12.1 WisPolitics.com, "Wisconsin Ethics Commission—letter dated March 15, 2017," March 15, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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