Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
Wendell Harris Sr.
Wendell Harris Sr. was a member of the Milwaukee Board of School Directors in Wisconsin, representing District 2. Harris assumed office in 2015. Harris left office in 2019.
Harris ran for re-election to the Milwaukee Board of School Directors to represent District 2 in Wisconsin. Harris lost in the general election on April 2, 2019.
Biography
Born in Arkansas, Harris served in the U.S. Air Force before going on to work for A.O. Smith. During that time, he served on the executive board of Smith Steelworkers, DALU 19806, AFL-CIO for eight years. After his retirement in 1998, Harris went on to serve as the first vice-chair of the Wisconsin NAACP. When he served on the school board, Harris lived with his wife, Rozalia, in the Enderis Park neighborhood.[1]
Harris ran as a candidate for the Socialist Party in the Milwaukee mayoral race in 2000.[2]
Board membership
2015-2016
The Milwaukee Board of School Directors voted unanimously on 88.74 percent of its votes between the annual organizational meeting on April 28, 2015, and the regular board meeting on November 17, 2016. The voting data indicated that Mark Sain, Larry Miller, Carol Voss, Terrence Falk, and Claire Zautke were the majority faction on the board, and Annie Woodward and Wendell Harris Sr. were the minority faction on the board. Michael Bonds and Tatiana Joseph did not vote consistently enough with either group to be included in the majority or minority faction.[3]
Elections
2019
See also: Milwaukee Public Schools, Wisconsin, elections (2019)
General election
General election for Milwaukee Public Schools Board of School Directors District 2
Erika Siemsen defeated incumbent Wendell Harris Sr. in the general election for Milwaukee Public Schools Board of School Directors District 2 on April 2, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Erika Siemsen (Nonpartisan) | 60.1 | 5,338 |
 | Wendell Harris Sr. (Nonpartisan) | 39.9 | 3,542 | |
| Total votes: 8,880 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2015
Five seats on the Milwaukee Board of School Directors were up for election on April 7, 2015. Two of the races were contested.
District 2 incumbent Jeff Spence faced challenger Wendell Harris Sr. Stephany Pruitt challenged District 3 incumbent Michael Bonds.
Brian Eisold filed a declaration of candidacy to challenge at-large incumbent Terrence Falk. However, Eisold did not file the necessary nominating signatures, leaving Falk unopposed in his re-election bid. District 1 incumbent Mark Sain and candidate Carol Voss for District 8 were also unopposed in the election.
All of the incumbents except Spence, who was defeated by Harris, retained their seats, and Voss won her first term on the board in the open District 8 race.
Results
| Milwaukee Public Schools, District 2 General Election, 4-year term, 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Wendell Harris Sr. |
62.5% | 3,467 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jeff Spence Incumbent | 37% | 2,053 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.5% | 26 | |
| Total Votes | 5,546 | |||
| Source: City of Milwaukee Election Commission, "April 7, 2015: Spring Election Summary Report," accessed April 22, 2015 | ||||
Funding
Harris reported $18,260.09 in contributions and $10,283.19 in expenditures to the Milwaukee Election Commission, which left his campaign with $7,976.90 in cash on hand in this election.[4]
Endorsements
Harris was endorsed by Wisconsin Progress.[5]
See also
2019 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Facebook, "Wendell Harris for Milwaukee Public Schools Tuesday April 7, 2015: About," accessed February 4, 2015
- ↑ Ballot Access News, "Socialist Party Activist Elected to Milwaukee School Board," April 25, 2015
- ↑ Milwaukee Public Schools, "Proceedings (Minutes) of the Board," accessed January 26, 2017
- ↑ Milwaukee Election Commission, "Campaign Finance Reports 2015 Election Cycle," accessed August 25, 2015
- ↑ Wisconsin Progress, "OUR ENDORSEMENTS FOR SPRING 2015," accessed February 25, 2015
| 2015 Milwaukee Public Schools Elections | |
| Milwaukee County, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 7, 2015 |
| Candidates: | District 1: • Incumbent, Mark Sain
District 2: • Incumbent, Jeff Spence • Wendell Harris Sr.
|
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
