Two Candidates Emerge for Vacant County Board Seat

Updated 10:20 a.m. Jan. 10

Greenfield residents who are fans of local elections might feel a little slighted come April.

Only two candidates are vying for two seats on the Greenfield School Board. The same scenario will play out in the Whitnall School Board “race.”

Even Mayor Michael Neitzke will run without opposition, leaving most residents with few choices as to who they want to represent them in local government.

There will be at least one election, however, for some Greenfield residents. According to a list of spring candidate filings on the Milwaukee County Board’s website, two candidates have entered the race to replace Joe Sanfelippo as County Board Supervisor in the 17th District, which includes part of Greenfield.

Entertainer Tom Anthony (Roehl) of Greenfield and Tony Staskunas of West Allis will face off for the spot vacated by Sanfelippo, who left the board after winning a State Assembly seat in the 15th District in the November election.

Staskunas had been the state representative in the 15th District but chose not to run for re-election after serving seven terms. Anthony is the lead singer of the Tom Anthony Group, a band that specializes in Las Vegas-style shows and performances. Anthony and his band have played at Dan Jansen Fest in Greenfield and the Wisconsin State Fair in recent years. He is has also been employed for 20 years with the Milwaukee County Transit System as a manager of printing services

Candidates have until Jan. 15 to enter the special county board election. Whoever wins the seat could have his or her county supervisor pay slashed by 70 percent, should a draft of a bill by Sanfelippo be signed into later this winter.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Sanfelippo is committed to introducing a bill to reform the County Board he once served on, consistent with statements he made while he was a supervisor.

Sanfelippo’s bill, the newspaper said, would require a binding referendum to be held in April that would cut the supervisor’s pay to $15,000, make the positions part-time, and limit the County Board’s budget.

Anthony announced his support of the bill in a statement Wednesday.

"As the only full-time county board in the state, Milwaukee County residents are on the hook for hundreds of thousands of wasted tax dollars," Anthony said. "Making common sense changes to the Board's compensation and budget structures will go an incredibly long way toward tax relief and streamlined government."

In April, suburban voters overwhelming showed support for a two-part, non-binding referendum that asked if the County Board should be reduced from 18 to nine members and if the position of County Supervisor should be part-time.