Jose Rea

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Jose Eladio Rea

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Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

April 7, 2020

Education

High school

Madison West High School

Other

Information Technology Academy, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Personal

Profession

Student

Contact

Personal website

Jose Eladio Rea ran for election to the Dane County Board of Supervisors to represent District 5 in Wisconsin. Rea lost in the general election on April 7, 2020.

Although common council elections in Madison are officially nonpartisan, Rea identified as a progressive.

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

As of his 2017 run for common council, Rea was a product specialist for Apple, an equal opportunities commissioner for the city of Madison, and a political science student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In 2012, he graduated from the Information Technology Academy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Rea has served as a student senator, a member of the board of trustees and the vice chancellor's LGBT advisory committee, a campus ambassador, a peer mentor, and the communications and volunteer coordinator for the LGBT Resource Center. He has also served as an intern for state Rep. Jonathan Brostoff (D) and the Division of Information Technology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Elections

2020

See also: Municipal elections in Dane County, Wisconsin (2020)

General election

General election for Dane County Board of Supervisors District 5

Elena Haasl defeated Jose Eladio Rea in the general election for Dane County Board of Supervisors District 5 on April 7, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Elena Haasl (Nonpartisan)	54.5	905
	Submit photo	Jose Eladio Rea (Nonpartisan)	44.9	745
		Other/Write-in votes	0.7	11

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,661
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2017

See also: Municipal elections in Madison, Wisconsin (2017)

The city of Madison, Wisconsin, held an election for common council on April 4, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was January 3, 2017.

All 20 common council seats were up for election in 2017. Incumbents ran for re-election in 19 of the 20 districts. They were unopposed in 15 of those races. Incumbent Sheri Carter defeated Jose Rea in the general election for the District 14 seat on the Madison Common Council.

Madison Common Council, District 14 General Election, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Sheri Carter Incumbent	77.99%	1,017
Jose Rea	21.93%	286
Write-in votes	0.08%	1
Total Votes		1,304
Source: Dane County Clerk, "2017 Spring Election," accessed May 4, 2017

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Jose Eladio Rea did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2017

See also: Ballotpedia's municipal government candidate survey

Rea participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of municipal government candidates. The following sections display his responses to the survey questions. When asked what his top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:

“	My top priority would be to advocate for more resources for our homeless and to advocate and fight for proper funding from the federal government.	”
—Jose Rea (March 27, 2017)

Ranking the issues

The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the city, with 1 being the most important and 12 being the least important: city services (trash, utilities, etc.), civil rights, crime reduction/prevention, environment, government transparency, homelessness, housing, K-12 education, public pensions/retirement funds, recreational opportunities, transportation, and unemployment. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important.

Issue importance ranking
Candidate's ranking	Issue	Candidate's ranking	Issue
1	Government transparency	7	Housing
2	Civil rights	8	Crime reduction/prevention
3	Environment	9	Public pensions/retirement funds
4	Homelessness	10	Transportation
5	Unemployment	11	City services (trash, utilities, etc.)
6	K-12 education	12	Recreational opportunities

Nationwide municipal issues

The candidate was asked to answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding issues facing cities across America. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions.

Question	Response
Is it important for the city’s budget to be balanced?Answer options: Not important; Not important, but required by state law; A little important; A little important, but required by state law; Important; Very important	Important
Which level of government do you feel should set a minimum wage?Answer options: None, Local, State, Federal	Federal
What do you think is the best way to improve a city’s public safety? Candidates could write their own answer or choose from the following options: Increased economic opportunities, Increased police presence/activity, Harsher penalties for offenders, Public outreach/education programs	Public outreach/education programs. It would really be a combination of all except the second option [increased police presence/activity, public outreach/education programs, and increased economic opportunities but not harsher penalties for offenders]. I chose to select public outreach/education programs as a first step because you must understand the problems communities are facing before you begin to legislate them.
How do you think your city should emphasize economic development? Candidates could write their own answer or choose from the following options: Changing zoning restrictions, Create a more competitive business climate, Focusing on small business development, Instituting a citywide minimum wage, Recruiting new businesses to your city, Regulatory and licensing reforms, and tax reform	Recruiting new businesses to your city
What is the one thing you’re most proud of about your city?	I'm proud of our diversity and our commitment to living in a completely sustainable future.
What is the one thing you’d most like to change about your city?	I would like to see the community invest more into developing neighborhoods and seek to understand more clearly the needs of people of color and other marginalized individuals. We will can only progress together.

Additional themes

Rea's campaign website highlighted the following issues:

“	Affordable Housing: With Madison seeing an increase in housing developments, it is important that we make sure our city residents are involved every step of the way. Jose is dedicated to keeping open transparency when it comes to city government. He believes that in order for city residents to prosper together, elected officials must push for a living wage for all Dane county residents. Jose looks forward to working with city officials to continue and progress the conversation on affordable housing and an increase to the minimum wage. Also, to help close the gap in housing equity, Mr. Rea would like to see more lower income housing reserved in these newer developments. Civil Rights: As a second generation Mexican-American and openly out candidate; civil rights and public engagement of underrepresented groups is a top priority for Jose. With members of the Black, Latino, Asian, Native-American, and LGBT+ communities all calling district 14 home, it is important that city officials work to cultivate a progressive environment. Mr. Rea seeks to provide increased funding to support local programs for our underrepresented youth, continued funding of successful job programs, and increase funding to help support education assistance for our underrepresented youth. Also, he supports a continued investment in Madison’s Public Libraries; a vital part of our communities. Environment: Climate change is a very real and very pressing issue that can no longer be swept under the rug. That is why candidate for Alderman, Jose Rea, seeks to prioritize the issue of climate change by focusing on sustainability, waste management, and continued funding towards a more green economy. He believes that proper funding and investment by the city of Madison towards renewable energy resources will provide many sustainable jobs and revenue for our city. He hopes to work with members of the city, state and local officials to propel conversations of a green economy here in Madison, WI. Education: Mr. Rea finds it particularly disgraceful that Dane county and the City of Madison continue to have such a wide education gap when it comes to our students. Proper investment must be given to all students and equal enforcement of school board policies must be made so that our underrepresented youth can truly have an equal opportunity to advance their education. Having attended Madison public schools, Jose, represents a MMSD success story. However, that does not take away from the fact that many are still being failed by our failure to act. That is why Mr. Rea is running to promote a shift in education funding back to our public schools.	”
—Jose Rea's campaign website, (2017)

See also

2020 Elections

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Government

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External links

Suggest a link

• Madison Common Council
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