Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
Joseph Como Jr.
Joseph Como Jr. is an at-large representative on the Waukesha School District school board in Wisconsin. First elected in 2002, Como won a new term in the at-large general election on April 4, 2017.
Biography
Como graduated from Waukesha South High School in 1980. He later earned a B.A. in psychology from Lawrence University in 1984. Como has been the owner of Comstar, LLC in Waukesha since 1990. He and his wife have two kids who were attending district schools at the time of his tenure.[1][2]
Governing majority
2015
From January 2015 to December 2015, the Waukesha School Board voted unanimously on 85.1 percent of the 94 motions brought forward by board members. The board approved 100 percent of the motions recorded during regular meetings in 2015. These totals exclude motions to approve board minutes or procedural votes. Because of the high rate of unanimous votes, a governing majority could not be determined.
Dissenting votes
Steve Edlund opposed 10 of the 14 measures that were not unanimously approved in 2015. Karin Rajnicek voted no on five of these non-unanimous measures, joining Edlund on four occasions. Of these four motions, one dealt with foreign language as an elective option for sixth-graders, two dealt with facilities upgrades and one sought to exceed revenue limits on a non-recurring basis. There were no board votes in 2015 where more than two members voted in opposition.
Absences
Edlund, Rajnicek, William Baumgart, Ellen Langill, and Kurt O'Bryan each missed one meeting in 2015. No board meetings in 2015 featured more than one absent member.
Issues
Votes on fiscal or budgetary issues accounted for 27 motions or 28.7 percent of all motions brought to the board in 2015. District procedures and personnel decisions accounted for 24 motions each or a total of 51 percent of all motions. The board also voted on 14 curriculum motions with a scattering of votes for athletics, board procedures, and charter schools.
Elections
2017
Three seats on the Waukesha School District school board were up for general election on April 4, 2017. Incumbents Joseph Como Jr., Barbara Brzenk, and Karin Rajnicek won re-election without opposition.[3][4][5]
Results
| Waukesha School District, At-Large General Election, 3-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Barbara Brzenk Incumbent |
33.77% | 4,475 |
| Joseph Como Jr. Incumbent |
33.63% | 4,456 |
| Karin Rajnicek Incumbent |
32.60% | 4,320 |
| Total Votes | 13,251 | |
| Source: Waukesha County Clerk, "2017 Spring Election," accessed April 4, 2017 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||
2014
Joseph Como Jr. and fellow incumbents Barbara Brzenk and Karin Rajnicek sought re-election without opposition in the general election on April 1, 2014.
Results
Como won by default due to the lack of opposition by the January 7 deadline.
Funding
As of February 10, 2014, Como did not report any campaign contributions or expenditures to the district office. State law allows candidates to claim exempt status from campaign finance reporting if contributions and expenditures do not exceed $1,000 during a calendar year.[6]
Endorsements
Como did not receive any official endorsements for his campaign.
2011
| Waukesha School District, At-large General Election, 3-year term, April 5, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Barbara Brzenk Incumbent |
25.1% | 10,395 | |
| Nonpartisan | Karin Rajnicek Incumbent |
25% | 10,382 | |
| Nonpartisan | Joseph Como Jr. |
24.8% | 10,284 | |
| Nonpartisan | Kurt O'Bryan Incumbent | 24.4% | 10,104 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.7% | 282 | |
| Total Votes | 41,447 | |||
| Source: Karin 4 Kids, "Election Results," accessed February 10, 2014 | ||||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Joseph Como Waukesha school board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Waukesha School District, Wisconsin
- Waukesha School District elections (2017)
- Waukesha School District elections (2014)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Joe Como, Jr.," accessed February 10, 2014
- ↑ Como for Schools, "Biography," accessed February 10, 2014
- ↑ Nick Katers, "Email exchange with Susan Ettinger," January 4, 2017
- ↑ Waukesha County Clerk, "2017 Spring Election," accessed April 4, 2017
- ↑ Nick Katers, "Email exchange with Susan Ettinger," January 4, 2017
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Campaign Finance Overview: Local Candidates," May 2010
| Waukesha School District elections in 2017 | |
| Waukesha County, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 4, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Joseph Como Jr. • Incumbent, Barbara Brzenk • Incumbent, Karin Rajnicek |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
| 2014 Waukesha School District Elections | |
| Waukesha, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 1, 2014 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Barbara Brzenk • Joseph Como Jr. • Karin Rajnicek |
| Important information: | Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
