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American Majority-trained New Leaders Overturn Liberal Village Board in WI
May 12, 2014
Located in the northeastern corner of Waukesha County and just northwest of Milwaukee, Wisconsin is the Village of Menomonee Falls, home to over 35,000 residents. Although Menomonee Falls has small-town charm, the village encountered some bad decisions and frivolous spending that should have been avoided.
The Village Board includes six trustees and a village president. In 2010, The board gave a $17 million interest free loan to hotel developers for a taxpayer owned hotel in their village, who promptly went bankrupt. The Menomonee Falls Taxpayers Association responded by finding candidates to run for Village Board. When the 2013 election came along, two longtime board trustee members were defeated by conservative challengers. One incumbent passed away in November of 2013, and another decided not to run for re-election in 2014, providing conservatives an opportunity in the spring 2014 election.
Katie Kress and Chris Smolik, two conservatives, ran and won this spring. Katie won with 56% of the vote in a three way race, and Chris won with 57% of the vote in a three way race. With their elections, they flipped the Village Board to become conservative controlled.
Katie is a software test analyst, and was completely new to the political world. She is a longtime volunteer at her church, and has gone on four mission trips around the world. She cares about her community, and plans to use her analytical skills on the board.
Chris is a systems and financial analyst. He has lived in Menomonee Falls for 14 years, and looks forward to serving as a conservative voice the people of Menomonee Falls.
Katie and Chris attended an American Majority New Leaders Campaign Training in Menomonee Falls on February 20, 2014.
Katie said, “I truly believe that doing the foot work, going door to door really makes a difference when running a campaign.”
Chris Smolik told us, “The American Majority training impressed upon me that I needed to be pounding the pavement and knocking on doors every weekend and after work during the week as we neared the election. This made the endorsement [from the Menomonee Falls Taxpayers Association] even more effective.”
“It’s not necessarily how many signs are put up because my opponent had many more than I did, or how many endorsements you have,” Chris said. “It’s how many people you meet and ask for their vote. Now it makes sense why you were so insistent that we go door-to-door.”
Congratulations to these two conservatives who are now set to make a difference in their local government!
[…] Third, research what the board has done in the past so you are aware of its political history. Knowing the board’s history has another benefit: it will help you identify the important issues and who the core groups are and what issues around which they usually coalesce. For example in Menomonee Falls, WI, knowing the board’s history would reveal that they recently gave a permit to a questionable business. Conservative challengers made this an issue in their campaigns which gave them enough support to defeat their more liberal incumbents. […]