Tosa dads seek district seats
Three candidates are campaigning together for school board election
The Wauwatosa School District is no stranger to making headlines.
In an effort to shut down the district’s new sex-ed curriculum, national rightwing groups led protests and a Wauwatosa school board member sued the board. The political divide’s been accompanied by an uptick in fights between not only students but also parents and school administrators.
Now, all eyes are on the candidates for the school board’s upcoming April election, and three on the ballot have caught voters’ attention.
From holding question-and-answer events to hand-delivering yard campaign signs, Mike Zollicoffer Jr., Daniel Gugala and Chris Zirbes are campaigning together as the Three Tosa Dads. With the support has also come skepticism — where did they come from, and who are they affiliated with?
The dads declined an offer to speak at Support Our Schools Wauwatosa’s “School Board Candidate Virtual Forum.” They sent in answers to the organization’s questions but said they didn’t want to participate because those affiliated with the organization are “actively campaigning for our opponents while spreading false statements and innuendo across social media.”
“Support Our Schools Wauwatosa (SOS) has worked since 2015 to support our local public schools in a variety of ways, from advocating for a more fair state funding system to delivering treats during Public Schools Week,” said Laura Rhyne of SOS Tosa in a statement to the Journal Sentinel. “We have a longstanding tradition of sharing nonpartisan election information, and as a 501c4 organization, we do not endorse candidates.”
The Tosa dads say they’re more than happy to speak at nonpartisan events, and they agreed to speak to the Journal Sentinel to outline their goals as board members and clear up some common misconceptions about their campaign.
Why are the Three Tosa Dads campaigning together?
First, Zollicoffer, Gugala and Zirbes want to make it clear that they’re running as separate candidates. However, they said they’re campaigning together to support each other as they run for office for the first time, and because their individual skills would make for a wellrounded board.
“You don’t think it will be, but then when you actually start the process of running, it’s a fairly daunting process to go through the campaign,” said Gugala.
The three said they met through coaching youth sports and having children in the district.
Who is Mike Zollicoffer Jr.?
Here’s a brief biography of Zollicoffer who is running for Seat 7 on the board. 17-year Tosa resident
Father of three
Two of his children attend Tosa West High School
Tosa West PTA member Realtor for Infinity Realty, Inc. Member of Wisconsin Realtor’s Association
Major investor in Realtors Political Action Committee, which donates to both Republican and Democratic entities
Previously a mentor and crisis stabilizer with at-risk youth at Alternatives in Psychological Consultation
Coaches youth sports such as Jr. Trojan Football
His priority is “academics over activism”
Who is Chris Zirbes?
Here’s a brief biography of Zirbes who’s running for Seat 5 on the board. 25-year Tosa resident Father of three, one attending Tosa West High School and two attending Whitman Middle School
Banker at Community Bank in Menomonee Falls
15-year member, former president and current treasurer of the Wauwatosa Mayfair Rotary Club
Previously president and treasurer of men’s rehabilitation center Serenity Inns
Vice president of the Jr. Trojan’s baseball team
Says his first priority for the board is addressing the district budget’s $1.5 million shortfall for the upcoming school year
Who is Daniel Gugala?
Here’s a brief biography of Gugala who’s running for Seat 6 on the board. 25-year Tosa resident
Chief Compliance Officer for California-based InvestCloud Inc.
Father of two in the Wauwatosa school district
Volunteers as a coach in youth sports programs
Here’s what he had to say about book bans: “I want to state very clearly I do not intend to ban books as a member of the school board.”
About the human growth curriculum: “By bringing together the diverse perspectives of our community, to achieve an inclusive vision for the curriculum, we could have better modeled the behavior that we want to see from our students.”
He’s also an advocate for the disability community: “This is a topic that
is near and dear to my heart as my sister has used a wheelchair since youth.”
What are the three Tosa dads’ shared values?
“We’re all independent thinkers,” Zollicoffer said. “And even if we’re on the board, we’re all going to be independent.”
However, they share these core values:
School safety: Addressing the district’s uptick in school violence with “proactive discipline policies,” community engagement and feedback, and a focus on “transparency.” “A lot of the families I’ve spoken to ... feel like they’re not being heard,” Zirbes said.
Accountability: Ensuring resources are allocated for the best educational outcomes. “The job of a school district is to educate students, to prepare them for whatever future that is,” Gugala said. “Whether it’s college in the community, whatever type of role they want to play within society.”
Staff retention: Making WSD a destination for “great teachers” by providing them with the right resources, like classroom aides. “I think, really, we need to have a discussion with the teachers to see how we can really help them,” said Zollicoffer.
Who’s behind their campaign?
The candidates denied having any connections to other groups, local or national. “We don’t have any big outside resources,” Zollicoffer said. “We can’t buy this election.”
However, their sites and social media presences could appear to be similar to Awake Tosa’s.
Awake Tosa’s site was created in October to protest the district’s sex-ed curriculum. The site is currently locked from public view but can still be viewed on the Wayback Machine.
Political parties donate to media campaigns that work to elect their desired candidates. For example, the Republican Party of Wisconsin has donated $2 million to Red Maverick Media.
Two of the Republican Party of Wisconsin’s top contributors are Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, billionaire conservative donors who were also the largest donors in the Mequon-Thiensville school board recall.
The three dads said their sites and social media campaigns are all run by a Wauwatosa volunteer who asked to remain anonymous.
All three candidates also said they receive their own separate funding solely through individual donations.
“I’ve reached out to friends, family, anybody I know, networking, things like that,” Gugala said.
Zirbes described their campaign efforts as “grassroots” and organic, which he’s proud of.
Four of Zirbes’ endorsements listed on his website, Chris Leffler, Paul Foy, David Romoser and Theodore Gurzynski, have collectively donated over $1,300 to former Gov. Scott Walker, among other candidates.
“We don’t have a local electrical union backing us, or nonlocal electrical unit backing us,” Zirbes said.
The local chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers supports the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. Sen. Ron Johnson has spoken out against Wauwatosa’s sex-ed curriculum and sat down with Awake Tosa regarding their concerns.
Zollicoffer donated $500 to Ron Johnson last September.
Republican Tosa residents online have voiced support for the dads’ campaign.
What is their campaign message?
The candidates said they’re running on positivity — instead of motivating residents to vote against something, they’re giving them something to support. “I know at least three people who’ve literally never put a single sign for any election ever in their yard before, they’re like, ‘no, we want to have your signs,’” Gugala said.
While there are challenges to running for a local school board, they see obstacles as opportunities, Gugala said. “We’re doing this because we love the city of Tosa,” Gugala said. “We’ve all been residents a long time, and we want to ensure that our schools are providing the best education for our students.”
Wauwatosa schools are more than their recent headlines, Zollicoffer said, and have the potential to become “elite” public schools. “I hate that we’re getting a really bad rap in the news for some of these things that are coming about, but there is some positive stuff in Wauwatosa, also,” Zollicoffer said.