Hammitt Edges Out Hojnacki In County Board Race; Chairman Dwyer Upset By Brandtjen

In the race for Waukesha County Board District 23 supervisor seat, Keith Hammitt defeated Randall Hojnacki, earning 52 percent of the vote. Turnout in Muskego showed a wider margin in favor of Hammitt (1566 to 1406 votes), but results in the New Berlin voting were late in coming.

The small business owner, who has served on the county board in the past, will represent part of Muskego. He was not available for comment as of Wednesday morning. Dan Draeger, who was unopposed, will represent the 24th District.

Hojnacki, who has not run for office previously, gave his thanks to family and other supporters.

"I want to thank my wife for assisting me with my campaign by, distributing flyers, placing signs along the roadways, attending events with me and fielding phone calls. Without her help, I’m not sure how I would have managed," he said. "I want to thank all the people who voted for me; and supported me along the way, providing me with encouragement and helpful ideas. Thirdly, the people that asked me for a campaign sign and those that allowed me to place my campaign signs on their property, I want to thank them, and I’m very grateful for their permission and support.

"Tomorrow is another day with many new challenges to tackle. My life will go on pursuing new opportunities," he added, while also thanking Hammitt for running a clean campaign.

In other county board races, Waukesha County Board supervisor Janel Brandtjen pulled out an upset Tuesday when the she defeated longtime board chairman James Dwyer, according to unofficial election results.

According to the Journal Sentinel, the two incumbents were pitted against one another in the District 5 race after district maps were redrawn as a result of the 2010 census.  

"I'm proud of the campaign I ran," Dwyer told the Journal Sentinal. The voters made their choice, he added, "and I'll learn to live with that real quick."

Brandtjen, won the race with 57 percent of the vote. Brandtjen has been on the board since 2008. The marketing professional and business owner is a resident of Menomonee Falls. 

Menomonee Falls resident Jennifer Grant upended Michael Hyland in the County Board supervisor seat for District 7. Grant, who described herself as a fiscal conservative, earned 62 percent of the vote. The mother of four is a human resources professional at an area hospital. 

In the election for Lake Country multi-jurisdictional judge, Timothy Kay defeated Peter Wolff. Kay won the election with 63 percent of the vote. Kay has run a private practice for 28 years and has spent 25 years as a municipal prosecutor.