Wisconsin Right Now

The Wauwatosa School District is asking voters to approve a pair of referendums worth $124.4 million on the Nov. 5 ballot. But a taxpayer advocacy group believes the district , with declining enrollment, should “right-size” its current budget rather than using a referendum to spend more taxpayer money. The group pointed toward a second planned referendum in 2026 as part of a cycle of tax increases that it believes needs to end. The group points to a reported $4 million budget mistake by the district as a sign of mismanagement. The district’s two proposals include $16.1 million per year for four years to fund operational expenses such as salaries and benefits and a $60 million referendum for maintenance and capital projects at Eisenhower, Madison, Roosevelt, Jefferson, and Washington elementary schools, Montessori/Fisher and Wauwatosa East and West high schools. State law caps how much a district can increase its property tax levy without voter approval. The district says t...

Sean Lowe, a pro-BLM candidate, ran on a self-proclaimed "anti-racist" platform of bringing "police reform" to Wauwatosa. Former Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele told Wisconsin Right Now that Sean Lowe's Wauwatosa aldermanic campaign "made a mistake here which they're addressing" and has refunded his donation amount that exceeded campaign limits. Chris Abele's comments come the day after Wisconsin Right Now exclusively reported that Lowe's campaign finance reports violated campaign finance laws in several ways. For one, his campaign filed its pre-election campaign finance reports on April 4, the day before the election, when they were due on March 28. The other media have ignored the problems in Lowe's reports. Why that matters: Lowe, it was announced Friday, won the race by ONE VOTE. But his late filings made it difficult for voters to know who was funding his campaign before the election, not only Abele but also a hos...

John Larry is running for Wauwatosa alderman with generally positive press. However, what the media are failing to remind voters is that Larry was once captured on body camera threatening to knock out and slap 'the sh*t out of' a police lieutenant, according to the video and a citation that Wisconsin Right Now obtained via open records laws. Further, Larry has a history of racial Facebook posts that refer to "White-watosa" and "Amerikkka!" Larry is squaring off on April 5, 2022, Melissa Dolan in Wauwatosa's District 8 alderperson. Larry, the former Wauwatosa police and inequities committee chair, later called for the resignation of that lieutenant, as well as the police chief. The government ad hoc committee Larry chaired - which is formally called the "Policing & Systemic Inequities" - was charged with making recommendations on changes in police and Common Council training and procedures on everything from warrants to racial bias ...

The wolves are coming for your flock; beware the vocally 'non-partisan' candidate. By: Paris Procopis Well, it's Wisconsin spring elections season and that means a whole slate of non-partisan local government races like city councils and school boards. The ballots are basically final for the February primaries, which lead to the April general election. Sure, non-partisan sounds good, but, as the last few years have taught us, there is no such thing as a non-partisan race. This has never been more true than today. Over the years, the left capitalized on their push for 'non-partisan' races. This focus on local races is how cities like Wauwatosa ended up with hyper-leftist social justice warrior majorities on the City Council and on the School Board. [You can follow WisRed on Facebook for a list of vetted conservative candidates for the spring primary and general election here .] Wauwatosa is not alone; Liberal extremists have been entrenched through...

The wolves are coming for your flock; beware the vocally 'non-partisan' candidate. Well, it's Wisconsin spring elections season and that means a whole slate of non-partisan local government races like city councils and school boards. The ballots are basically final for the February primaries, which lead to the April general election. Sure, non-partisan sounds good, but, as the last few years have taught us, there is no such thing as a non-partisan race. This has never been more true than today. Over the years, the left capitalized on the their push for 'non-partisan' races. This focus on local races is how cities like Wauwatosa ended up with hyper-leftist social justice warrior majorities on the City Council and on the School Board. [You can follow WisRed on Facebook for a list of vetted conservative candidates for the spring primary and general election here .] Wauwatosa is not alone; Liberal extremists have been entrenched throughout the state and ...

UPDATE: Two Wauwatosa police officers have been shot in Wauwatosa during a shooting at the Radisson Hotel. One male suspect is now in custody. Wauwatosa police say on Saturday, around 10:33pm, they responded to a shots fired call at the hotel. When they arrived, several witnesses and guests told them the shots came from the second floor. As officers were checking that floor, a suspect fired at them. Two officers were hit and they suffered non-life-threatening injuries, they are in the hospital in stable condition. A male suspect was located and arrested and no other guests were hurt. The Radisson is located at 2303 N. Mayfair Road. Earlier, reporter Vince Vitrano said in a Facebook Live  broadcast that his station also heard that “two police officers were shot here at the hotel.” He said he was in the lobby for an event at the hotel and three or four officers were responding to the hotel with long guns and a sense of urgency. Vitrano was in the ballroom for the event next,...

The Radisson shooting reports on the police scanner described a dangerous scene. We're getting reports that two officers may have been shot in Wauwatosa during a shooting at the Wauwatosa Radisson Hotel. That comes from police radio reports and a law enforcement source, and it's preliminary information. The Radisson is located at 2303 N. Mayfair Road. Our law enforcement source said that one of the officers appears to have been wounded in the arm and is expected to be okay. The other officer's condition is not clear. "Subject in custody," an officer said at one point. Authorities have not formally confirmed what happened or whether any officers were wounded, however, but videos did emerge showing the massive law enforcement presence at the scene. On the scanner traffic, an officer said, "Our shooter is on the north side of the building, second floor." The incident broke out around 11:15 p.m. on Saturday, November 6, 2021. "If we move...

There will be a new Wauwatosa police chief announced on Thursday, July 1, 2021. The City of Wauwatosa Police and Fire Commission will take a vote at 4:30 p.m. today. Update - It was announced, on a 4-1 vote, that James MacGillis will be the new Wauwatosa chief. Read our updated story here. All three finalists are current or retired Milwaukee Police Department commanders. One, Jeffrey Norman, is currently the acting MPD chief, but his future in that post is uncertain as the city continues to delay in coming to a decision on the Alfonso Morales mess. Morales is scheduled to resume his job as Milwaukee police chief on July 3, per a judge's order, if the city doesn't reach a settlement with him. All three finalists for Wauwatosa police chief are long-time commanders with the MPD: James MacGillis, Jeffrey Norman, and David Salazar. At the same exact time, the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission is meeting to hear an update on Morales. How to Watch According to the cit...

James MacGillis, a retired Milwaukee police commander who runs a major drug investigation unit known as HIDTA, is the new Wauwatosa police chief. He was formerly director of training for the Milwaukee Police Academy. The City of Wauwatosa Police and Fire Commission voted 4-1 to choose MacGillis at 4:30 p.m. today. Jeffrey Norman, the acting Milwaukee police chief, received one vote. That decision sets the stage for Norman to possibly become permanent MPD chief if the city reaches a settlement with Alfonso Morales , which it must do by July 12. All three finalists were current or retired Milwaukee Police Department commanders. David Salazar was the other finalist for the Tosa chief position. James MacGillis will replace long-time chief Barry Weber, who was chief for 31 years and had 48 years of law enforcement experience. James MacGillis Biography Wauwatosa released this bio for James MacGillis. He is a retired MPD commander who is currently in a leadership position for a...

Judge Glenn Yamahiro, whose ex-wife and the mother of his child has represented the families of men shot by former Wauwatosa Police Officer Joseph Mensah, used a rare John Doe procedure on Wednesday to find probable cause that Mensah committed homicide by negligent handling of a dangerous weapon in the death of Jay Anderson five years ago. Yamahiro's decision, which is unheard of in Wisconsin, runs counter to the decision years ago of an elected prosecutor and former prosecutor. Mensah was already cleared in the 2016 death of Anderson by the elected district attorney John Chisholm and by former US Attorney Steve Biskupic in a report as an independent investigator. Furthermore, a federal review amounted to nothing, and the Milwaukee Police Department did an exhaustive review at the time. He will appoint a special prosecutor to consider whether to bring a homicide charge. Remember that any charges would need to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt before a jury. That's a highe...

Milwaukee County Judge Yamahiro, in an unprecedented decision, has outrageously found probable cause that former Wauwatosa police officer Joseph Mensah committed homicide in the five-year-old death of Jay Anderson Jr. Judge Yamahiro will appoint a special prosecutor to consider whether to bring a homicide charge using a little-known provision in John Doe laws. Remember that any charges would need to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt before a jury. That's a higher standard than probable cause. We don't think the media will tell you all of these facts, but they are important to remember. Here are 14 key facts that are important to remember about Judge Yamahiro's outrageous decision: Judge Yamahiro Key Facts 1. Judge Yamahiro has a significant alleged conflict of interest. His ex-wife and the mother of his child, Deja Vishny, assisted in representing the Anderson family and has worked side-by-side for months with attorney Kimberley Motley, calling for criminal charges...

Deja Vishny, the ex wife of the judge who issued the unprecedented decision that there is probable cause that already cleared former Wauwatosa Police Officer Joseph Mensah committed homicide appeared in a press conference last year in which she trashed Mensah and vowed that she and attorney Kimberley Motley would "use every legal means at our disposal to continue this fight. To continue the fight to make sure Mensah is never a police officer." You can watch the video later in this article. In addition, Deja Vishny, a former public defender who works for Motley's law firm on an of counsel basis, has written many anti-Mensah screeds on Twitter, calling for him to be fired. She also wrote a tweet that somewhat presaged what her ex-husband, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Glenn Yamahiro, decided as a result of a rare John Doe hearing requested by Motley and the family of Jay Anderson, who Mensah shot to death. Vishny, who has helped Motley represent the Anderson family as...