Steve Ponto held on to his seat in the City of Brookfield April 7 when voters elected the incumbent to his fifth term as mayor. Ponto beat Mike Hallquist, a current alderman who had hoped to bring a new generation of leadership to the top elected office in the Waukesha County city of over 41,000 residents.
Ponto won with 56.2% of the votes to Hallquist’s 43.8%.
Voters also chose four aldermen in districts 1, 3, 4 and 6.
Mayor since 2010, Ponto will continue to have major decisions to make on tightening the city’s projected $4 million budget gap after a majority of voters rejected a $6 million property tax levy referendum in April 2025. Ponto previously said he’d want to preserve police, fire and other protective services, but he wouldn’t specify what cuts he’d support.
“It really will depend on the time that we have to make those cuts, if in fact we do,” Ponto said.
Hallquist will continue to hold his seat as an alderman. His term ends in April 2028.
Brookfield mayoral race marked by big D.C. spending and unsolicited ‘harassment’ messaging from incumbent’s daughter
The nonpartisan mayoral race garnered national attention when a D.C.-based group poured over $111,000 into media, ads, and phone messaging in support of Hallquist, who is endorsed by Democrats. Hallquist said he doesn’t support outside spending in local races but couldn’t control the independent group’s influence because of financing laws. Ponto, who is endorsed by Republicans, criticized the group’s spending in Brookfield.
Ponto’s own 2026 campaign left some residents with a bad taste due to Ponto’s daughter’s controversial and persistent communications to Hallquist and his supporters, which Hallquist called harassment. Despite previously labeling herself as her father’s campaign manager, Stephanie Ponto said her words were her own, not her dad’s.
Which aldermen won election in Brookfield on April 7, 2026?
All seven districts had one aldermanic seat up for election, while the other half of the 14-person council hold terms that expire April 2028.
Here’s who won for the 2026 election in the four contested district races:
District 1: Peter Stoll defeated Steve Dasher
District 3: Incumbent Jason G. Anderson defeated Morgan Austgen
District 4: Incumbent Chuck Bloom defeated Jake Gregory
District 6: Catherine Kahler defeated Jeffrey Mellone
(This story has been updated to correct that Jeffrey Mellone was not an incumbent candidate.)
Bridget Fogarty covers Brookfield, Wauwatosa and Elm Grove for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be contacted at bfogarty@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Steve Ponto defeats Mike Hallquist in Brookfield mayor’s race
Reporting by Bridget Fogarty, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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