The Dane County spring 2024 general elections are less than two months away, with a primary election for two districts on Feb. 20.
The general election, held on April 2, will decide the 37 district supervisors for the Dane County Board of Supervisors. Supervisors serve a two-year term in county government.
Two districts, District 13 and District 36, are contested by three candidates and will appear on the Feb. 20 spring primary ballot. The top two candidates in each district will advance to the April 2 election.
District 13 represents much of Madison’s Regent Neighborhood and southern portions of the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, including some dorms and off-campus student housing. District 36 encompasses Cottage Grove and surrounding areas east of Madison.
Ten district supervisor races are contested by two candidates, and 27 district supervisor positions are uncontested. All 37 races will appear on the April 2 ballot.
Districts with primary elections
In District 13, Travis Austin and Ronan Rataj are challenging incumbent Jay Brower.
Austin graduated from UW-Madison in 2023 and has been a board supervisor for the Town of Berry since 2022. Austin unsuccessfully campaigned against Brower for the position in September after the seat was vacated by former District 13 Supervisor Olivia Xistris-Songpanta.
Rataj is a freshman at UW-Madison with two years of experience on the Public Protection and Judiciary Committee of the Dane County Board.
Incumbent Jay Brower was appointed in place of Xistris-Songpanta in September. Brower has served on the County Board’s Health and Human Needs standing committee since taking office.
Brower announced in a press release that he seeks to keep his position to continue aiding public works efforts in District 13.
Madison District 8 Ald. and UW-Madison student MGR Govindarajan publicly announced his endorsement for Jay Brower as Dane County District Supervisor for District 13 on Feb. 15.
Govindarajan said he met with all of the District 13 candidates, but Brower stood out “because of his knowledge of the county system.”
“I endorsed someone who I knew is active with students and student organizations,” Govindarajan told The Daily Cardinal. “He’s open to working with the city to push similar policies at the county level and prioritize students.”
In District 36, Loreen Y. Gage, David Peterson and Andrew McKinney are running to replace retiring incumbent Melissa Ratcliff.
Gage has two and a half years of experience serving as the president of Monona Grove School Board.
“I am eager to bring my expertise in education, social services, affordable housing, management and leadership to this elected position,” Gage announced on Facebook.
Peterson has been a member of the Cottage Grove County Board since 2021, where he has continued to be active in the Village library project. Peterson also chairs the Aging and Disability Resource Center Governing Board for Dane County.
McKinney is an independent consultant based in Cottage Grove, serving in campaign management and fundraising. He has served as a two-time president and two-time vice president of the Monona Grove School Board.
Candidates in both races will appear on the Feb. 20 spring primary ballot.
Other contested districts
Candidates in ten districts are running in a contested general election. These races will not hold votes Feb. 20 but will be on the April 2 ballot.
In District 4, incumbent Matt Veldran is up against candidate Richard Brown Sr.
In District 9, John Wollaeger is challenging incumbent Steven Peters.
In District 12, incumbent Tommy Rylander will run against Sean Burke.
In District 20, incumbent Jeff Weigand is up against Andrea Andrews.
In District 22, Rebecca Witherspoon will run against incumbent Maureen McCarville.
In District 25, David Boetcher and Mark Foster are running to replace retiring supervisor Tim Kiefer.
In District 28, Bill Brosius is challenging incumbent Michele Doolan.
In District 34, incumbent Patrick Miles will run against Ed Wreh.
Uncontested districts
Twenty incumbent supervisors are running unopposed for reelection in the spring. These candidates include the following:
- District 1: Elizabeth Doyle
- District 2: Heidi Wegleitner
- District 3: Analiese Eicher
- District 6: Yogesh Chawla
- District 7: Cecely Castillo
- District 8: Jeffry Glazer
- District 10: Aaron Collins
- District 11: Richelle Andrae
- District 14: Anthony Gray
- District 15: April Kigeya
- District 16: Rick Rose
- District 18: Michele Ritt
- District 19: Brenda Yang
- District 23: Chuck Erikson
- District 24: Sarah Smith
- District 27: Kierstin Huelsemann
- District 30: Patrick Downing
- District 31: Jerry Bollig
- District 32: Chad Kemp
- District 35: Michael Engelberger
In seven other districts, new candidates are running unopposed.
- District 5: Henry Fries
- District 17: Dan Blazewicz
- District 21: Jeffery Kroning
- District 26: Lisa Jackson
- District 29: Dan Postler
- District 33: Randy Udell
- District 37: Kerry Marren
County executive race
Candidates for Dane County executive will not appear on the April ballot. County executive candidates will instead run in a special election to be held this November, with a potential primary in August.
Four candidates — Democratic state Sen. Melissa Agard, Wesley Sparkman, Madison Ald. Regina Vidaver and District 33 Supervisor Dana Pellebon — are vying to replace outgoing county executive Joe Parisi.
Dane County Board Chair Patrick Miles will temporarily become acting county executive when Parisi retires in May and hold the position until a new executive is elected.
Visit the Dane County website to find your district’s supervisor.
Maggie Zale is a senior staff writer at The Daily Cardinal.
