Three on primary ballot for 13th Senate District

By Chris Spangler  

Contributor  

Three candidates, including current and former state Assemblymen, are on the ballot in the Tuesday, Feb. 16, Republican primary for the 13^th Senate District seat. On the ballot for the post formerly held by Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, are John Jagler, Todd Menzel and Don Pridemore.

In November, Fitzgerald was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He succeeded Congressman F. James Sensenbrenner, who retired after four decades in Washington D.C. 

The winner of the GOP primary will face off in the April 6 general election against Democrat Melissa Winker, an Oconomowoc teacher who previously ran for Assembly, and independents Spencer Zimmerman of the Trump Conservative Party and Ben Schmitz of the American Solidarity Party.

Candidate John Jagler, of Watertown, currently represents the state’s 37^th Assembly District, which includes portions of Jefferson County.

He was elected to his fourth term in the Assembly in November, serving as chairman of the Assembly Housing and Real Estate Committee and co-chairman of the Assembly Committee on Mental Health. He authored the Special Needs Scholarship Program, which broadens educational opportunities for students with special needs. 

Jagler started working in the Capitol in 2010 as communications director for then-Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald. In 2012, he won election to the Assembly. 

Prior to that, he had a 20-year broadcasting career and was host of “Wisconsin’s Morning News” on Milwaukee’s Newsradio 620 WTMJ.

Jagler currently is a Realtor in the Watertown area, and his family owns an all-natural dog treat company.

Jagler said that he ran for Assembly eight years ago to make a difference. While as a broadcaster, he had talked about the issues, he said, he felt that as a legislator, he could work toward finding solutions to them.

“I am seeking this office to have a larger role in taking the common-sense ideas from our area to the Capitol,” he said. “The global pandemic has inflicted pain and confusion on far too many aspects of daily life. Helping our small businesses, essential workers and improving education for all students will be my priorities.”

He has been endorsed by U.S. Rep. Fitzgerald, former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, Wisconsin Right to Life and Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt, among others.

Todd Menzel, of Columbus, operates Menzel Enterprises Inc. as chief operating officer. He is a past board member of the Wisconsin Towing Association and secretary of the Sun Prairie Youth Football League.

He said he is running for office because, with the economy negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest, he feels that the government truly has not been serving the people.

“I am seeking the office of Wisconsin state senator because I have real-life experience as an entrepreneur, rather than a longtime politician, to negotiate and bring common-sense solutions to our great state,” he said. “I understand the struggles of Wisconsinites because I, too, have faced these same hurdles.”

His cited his issues of focus to include the economy, helping small businesses, workforce development, education, police training and transportation. 

“More than anything, we need to bring our great nation and our people back to a time when we all felt safe, happy and in good health,” he added. “Common sense politics must return, and I intend to speak for the people.”

Don Pridemore, of Hartford, is a U.S. Air Force veteran whose professional career included working as an engineer for Johnson Controls for 16 years, with 18 years at Badger Meter. He has four electronics patents to his name. 

From 2005-15, he represented District 22 in the state Assembly. He ran for Wisconsin superintendent of public instruction in 2013, but was defeated by incumbent Tony Evers in the general election. 

He said he decided to run for the state Senate seat to work toward enacting education reform and addressing election laws.

Pridemore has said that he would want to expand the school voucher system in Wisconsin and take a look at dividing up the Milwaukee Public School District into smaller districts.

A supporter of term limits for elected officials, the candidate has said that he would like to diffuse the power of unions, give more power to principals and eliminate standardized testing, which discriminates against low-income and minority students.

In addition, he reportedly has said does not believe that the results of the November election were valid and that he would support resolutions to end mandates from Gov. Evers. 

“I want people to be aware that I’m the true conservative,” Pridemore was quoted as saying. “I’m not a moderate. I’m an action guy. I don’t sit on my hands and do nothing.”

The 13th Senate District includes parts of Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Jefferson, Washington and Waukesha counties.
Jefferson County communities in the district include Watertown, Concord, Ixonia, Lake Mills, Milford, Oconomowoc, Waterloo, Helenville, Ixonia, Cambridge, Johnson Creek, Lac La Belle, and Rockdale.