County Clerk Glides Through First Election Night, Just One Minor Hiccup

Kathleen Novack's first countywide election went smoothly, but then again this is Waukesha County. City of New Berlin provided inaccurate totals in the State Supreme Court election – however it did not alter overall election night outcome.

Waukesha County Clerk Kathleen Novack coasted through her first countywide election Tuesday with final results being reported shortly after 10 p.m. in the low-turnout election. However, this is Waukesha County, and seemingly every election has its twists and turns.  Results from communities throughout Waukesha County started coming in shortly after 8 p.m., which helped make for a quick reporting turnaround. “We are thrilled by that,” Novack said while waiting for the very last units to report Tuesday night. However, it was revelead Wednesday morning that the City of New Berlin provided inaccurate totals in the State Supreme Court election – however it does not alter the overall election night outcome. Novack provided the following …

•  6 Comments
• Photos (1)

John Wilson

9:07 am on Thursday, February 21, 2013

This is real news from Waukesha County? That's about as new as informing us that our government lies to us... all the time. Now remember to hide under your wooden desk when we are under a nuclear attack, so you will be safe!   more ›

Novack to Replace Nickolaus as Waukesha County Clerk

City of Pewaukee alderwoman Kathleen Novack will replace embattled Waukesha Coutny Clerk Kathy Nickolaus, who decided to not seek re-election.

City of Pewaukee Alderwoman Kathleen Novack will be the new clerk of Waukesha County. Novack, 62, won 71 percent of the vote, or 155,430 votes, in Tuesday's county clerk race, beating Town of Lisbon business owner Jessie Read, 52, who collected 63,575 votes, or 29 percent of the vote. The results are unofficial. Novack, is a retired federal employee who was first elected to the City of Pewaukee Common Council in 2006 and lost her re-election bid in 2009. She was elected to the council again in 2010 and said she planned to run for another term unless, if elected as county clerk,  it interferes with the county job. Novack is the second City of Pewaukee alderman to serve dual elected roles in recent years. Ald. Mike Hasslinger served as …

• Photos (1)

County Clerk Candidates Vow to Restoring Public Faith in the Office

A City of Pewaukee alderman and Town of Lisbon small business owner square off in Tuesday's election to replace embattled Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus.

With an office mired in controversy the past several years, two candidates are seeking to replace outgoing Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus in Tuesday's election. Town of Lisbon Democrat Jessie Read will face off against Republican candidate City of Pewaukee Alderwoman Kathleen Novack to replace Nickolaus. Although they come from different backgrounds, both hold a common theme of restoring integrity to the office if they're re-elected. Read, 52, owns JRR Bookkeeping and said her business skills and experience would make her a strong  candidate to become the new county clerk and serve the public. "I'm promoting the idea that No. 1, I'm going to bring honesty and integrity into the office," she said. "I believe its been lacking lately …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (3)

Waukesha County Election Preview

Only the county clerk's race is contested as two candidates vie to replace the controversial Kathy Nickolaus.

Four countywide races are on the ballot in Waukesha County this November, but only one — that of the county clerk — is contested. That seat has been the subject of heated controversy, as incumbent Kathy Nickolaus was criticized for a series of election mistakes, most notably reporting the wrong tally in the state Supreme Court race in 2011. Under heavy criticism, Nickolaus announced in April that she would not seek re-election, leaving a vacant seat. The position pays $74,703 annually. Vying for that seat are Republican Kathleen Novack and Democrat Jessica Read. The other countywide races are unopposed:

• Photos (2)

Dems Feel Left Out of County Election Equipment Discussion

County Executive Dan Vrakas consulted with Kathleen Novack, who is the Republican in the clerk's race in November, which has Democrats crying foul.

A state Democratic party official is asking the Waukesha County Chairman to explain why he consulted with the GOP County Clerk candidate, but not the Democrat, when proposing to purchase new election equipment. JSOnline.com reported that County Chairman Dan Vrakas had included a $70,000 capital expenditure in the 2013 budget after discussing it with Kathleen Novack, the Republican nominee for county clerk, according to Vrakas chief of staff Shawn Lundie. Democrat Jessie Read, her opponent in the November general election, was not similarly contacted, however, JSOnline.com reported. A letter sent to Lundie from Jeff Christensen, Decmocratic chairman of Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District, explained that he was "strongly disappointed" …

•  6 Comments
• Photos (1)

Bernard Forand

11:41 am on Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Fiscal Year{ FY } in politics is from October to September. Bush presented Obama with a 9% constricting economy. Bush reieceved a 5.6 Trillion surplus to budget debt from Clinton. So lets take that and subtract what Bush debts were, that he handed over to Obama. Surplus of $5.6 Trillion plus all debts incurred since October 2008 to January 2009 and we come with a 5.6% reduction in debt to GDP. In…   more ›

Sussex Votes Hovde, Novack in Primary Election

Hovde narrowly wins the Sussex vote over Thompson by abut 70 votes, but voter turnout was dismal.

Although he couldn’t replicate his success around the state, GOP U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde inched out a narrow victory in Sussex Tuesday. With just 71 more votes than former governor – and GOP Senate nominee – Tommy Thompson, Hovde snatched the win in the village with 572 votes. Thompson came in second with 501 Sussex votes, followed by Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald with 315 votes. Former U.S. Representative Mark Neumann brought up the rear with 242 votes. Along with the rest of Waukesha County, Sussex favored City of Pewaukee Alderwoman Kathleen Novack to replace Kathy Nickolaus as county clerk. Novack snatched 448 votes, with Kathleen Karalewitz taking second in the race with 384 votes. Gina Kozlik came in third. The only other…

• Photos (1)

Kathleen Novack Wins Waukesha County Clerk Primary Election

Tight race in three-way Republican primary election. Meanwhile, Register of Deeds candidate Jim Behrend wins GOP primary election.

In an election night surprise, City of Pewaukee Alderwoman Kathleen Novack pulled out a win Tuesday to advance in the Waukesha County clerk race. Novack received 35.9 percent of the vote to Town of Mukwonago Clerk/Administrator Kathleen Karalewitz’s 33.5 percent and City of Waukesha Deputy Clerk/Treasurer Gina Kozlik's 30.3 percent. While Karalewitz and Kozlik received support from prominent community leaders, it wasn't enough for her to take the race. All election results are unofficial until canvassing. The vote tallies are: Novack said she wasn’t surprised by her victory. “I was very hopeful that this would be the outcome,” she said. “It has been a very tough race with some strong opponents. Even with the final numbers, it is not a huge…

•  25 Comments
• Photos (1)

Primary Election Preview: Waukesha County Clerk

Tuesday's primary election is among three area candidates – Kathleen Novack, Kathleen Karalewitz and Gina Kozlik – who look to be Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus' successor.

The three candidates running for the Waukesha County clerk’s post on the Republican ticket all want to see election night result reporting improved while restoring public trust and confidence in the office. Election night snafus are well documented in the clerk’s office. Under intense scrutiny, Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus decided she was no longer running for the seat. Meanwhile, costs to fix election-related problems in the office are exceeding $250,000. Delayed unofficial vote reporting is among problems. But the biggest problem was in the April 2011 State Supreme court election when Nickolaus mistakenly left out tallies from the entire city of Brookfield in unofficial results reporting to the Associated Press on election night…

•  7 Comments
• Photos (4)

Karalewitz is Clear Choice for County Clerk

Vote for Karalewitz because experience matters in the County Clerk race.

Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Karalewitz's Experience Perfect for County Clerk

The Republican primary election for Waukesha County clerk is Aug. 14.

Letter To The Editor: I am sure most are aware of the mess in the Waukesha County clerk’s office. Now we are reading that the mess is going to cost the taxpayers of Waukesha County $256,300.  I suspect this is only the cost of the software and the folks who install it. The question that is not being asked is who is going to oversee the installation of this software and the education of the people in the department? Obviously it has to be a person with a great deal of experience. That is why I am voting for Kathy Karalewitz who has 25 years of experience running elections, the majority being in Waukesha County and Menomonee Falls. I was the village president of Menomonee Falls for 10 years and was fortunate to have worked with Kathy for …

•  4 Comments
• Photos (1)