In a School Board election that seemed to hinge on the teachers contract and Act 10, three conservative candidates emerged to compete for a seat on the board along with incumbent David Noshay.
When the polls closed and the results came in, one of those self-proclaimed conservatives, Paul A. Tadda, claimed a seat on the board. Noshay also defended his seat on the board and was also re-elected.
Tadda defeated the field of candidates by 10 points raking in 34 percent of the vote, or a total of 4,029. Noshay reclaimed his seat by receiving 24 percent of the vote, or 2,801 votes. Tadda claimed the lionshare of the votes in every single voting ward in the village.
Michele Divelbiss raked in 22 percent of the vote, or 2,661 votes. R.L. Houdek rounded out the field with 20 percent of the vote, or 2,388 votes.
"I'm humbled by the voters and I look forward to working with the administration and the rest of the board," Tadda said Tuesday. "I've been working at this a long time and started back in January and never gave up. My basic conservative message resonated well."
Noshay could not be reached Tuesday for comment on his victory.
Tadda, Houdek and Divelbiss all were public about their conservative values. Both Houdek and Tadda received endorsements from the Menomonee Falls Taxpayers Association. Now that Tadda has earned a seat on the board, he said there will be eyes watching him.
"There's going to be a lot of people watching and conservatives will have high expectations," Tadda said.
The results are not final until canvassed by the Menomonee Falls School District April 10.
Menomonee Falls School Board Results
34%
4,029
David Noshay (i)
24%2,801
Michele Divelbiss
22%2,661
R.L. Houdek
20%
2,388
Waukesha County Board Race
Janel Brandtjen pulled off a suprise victory against Waukesha County Board Chairman James T. Dwyer. Jennifer Grant posted a strong victory for the District 7 race.
Results for the District 7 race are still not official as results from Waukesha County have not been completely posted.
District 5
56.7%
2,298
James T. Dwyer
43.2%
1,750
District 7 - Menomonee Falls Portion
Village President Randy Newman and Municipal Court Judge Bradley Matthiesen filed nomination papers and each will serve another term as they both ran uncontested.
(PS - if ObamaCare (a.k.a. the plan formerly pushed by the Heritage Foundation) is overturned in the courts, Paul Ryan's Medicare voucher plan is dead, as is any hope of privatizing Social Security. Both of these Republican plans include individual mandates.)
Kinda makes you wonder about Belling and others who are so far right if you are in the the wrong party? It's just like most of the Republicans now days blasting each other. People are tired of it. I agreed with Michelle because she wasn't too far on either side, but this year there was so much hatred against the contract and the unions. She said she would have agreed with the contract. It is better that she talked with her heart-truth than blasting away at teacher pay and benefits to get a vote. People will hopefully see that Michele was better than what they will get with Tadda.