3 seek opening in 11th District

Top two in County Board primary advance to April vote

A primary election Tuesday will eliminate one of three candidates running for the open 11th District supervisory seat on the Milwaukee County Board.

The seat has been vacant since the September resignation of Mark Borkowski of Milwaukee. The top two vote-getters will compete in the April 5 general election. The candidates are:

Patricia T. Najera, 47, is director of partnerships and fund development for the Electa Quinney Institute for American Indian Education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Najera has served as an appointed member of the Milwaukee City Plan Commission since 1999.

This is her first run for public office. Najera’s campaign website is ptnajera.com.

Dan Sebring, 58, is owner of Sebring Garage LLC, an auto repair shop on the south side of Milwaukee. Sebring unsuccessfully challenged incumbent U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee) in four consecutive races from 2008 to 2014. His campaign website is dansebring.com.

Sebring is in Chapter 13 bankruptcy to repay debts. Those debts include six delinquent tax warrants filed against him since May 2011 by the state Department of Revenue for unpaid sales taxes at his business, according to online court records. Five delinquent tax warrants filed against him before 2011 have been fully satisfied, court records show.

Sebring said he encountered financial problems when he was unable to work for 12 months in 2006 and 2007 following successful treatment and surgery for kidney cancer in 2006.

Yaghnam F. Yaghnam, 40, is a correctional officer with the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office. This is Yaghnam’s first run for public office. His campaign website is yaghnamformilwaukee.com.

Yaghnam lost a Milwaukee home to foreclosure in 2007 and was sued by the state for insufficient child support in 2002 and 2006, according to online court records. In 2003, he was found guilty of misdemeanor battery in a 2002 domestic violence incident, court records show.

In 2009, he paid $2,250 to satisfy a small claims action brought by We Energies.

Beginning in April, supervisors will be paid an annual salary of $24,295, less than half the current base pay of $50,679.