33-year-old Dyango J. Zerpa, Milwaukee County Supervisor For The 14th District Resigns From His First Term In Office

Zerpa was previously fired as a legislative aide to State Representative Sylvia Ortiz-Velez in August 2022.

By H. Nelson Goodson 

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

January 27, 2023

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Hispanic News Network U.S.A. (HNNUSA) has learned that Dyango J.  Zerpa, 33, the current Milwaukee County Supervisor for the 14th District (formerly the 12th District) last day in office was on Thursday, he previously submitted his resignation effective on Friday, January 27, 2023. Zerpa previously notified the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office and the Milwaukee County Clerk's Office as per law that he would resign effective Friday.

Zerpa says that he will pursue other career opportunities, but didn't not explained why he resigned from the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors.

His resignation will likely lead to a special election to fill his seat on the 14th District for County Supervisor.

In August 2022, HNNUSA first broke the story of Zerpa, then a legislative aide to State Representative Silvia Ortiz-Velez (D-Milw) had been terminated after she discovered that Zerpa had claimed worked hours in order to collect a salary when in fact Zerpa did not work those hours at her Madison legislative office.

Rep. Ortiz-Velez reported Zerpa's disception to collect a salary for hours he did not work to the Legislative Human Resources Office and a legislative audit was conducted, which found Zerpa indeed claimed hours for salary when he did not work and was terminated.

On Friday, Wisconsin State Representative Ortiz-Velez confirmed that she isn't aware, if Zerpa ever refunded the salary pay to the state that he collected, but didn't actually worked.

So far, the State hasn't criminally charged Zerpa for falsely filling out time cards for hours worked to collect a salary, which he never worked in Madison at State Representative Ortiz-Velez's 8th Assembly District office.

Representative Ortiz-Velez  confirmed that Zerpa had been terminated by the State on July 18, 2022. Rep. Ortiz-Velez also released the following statement to HNNUSA in August, "Mr. Zerpa was terminated by the state for misconduct connected with his work after a full investigation. The State recommended termination action, and I supported the state's decision to terminate Mr.  Zerpa."

According to Milwaukee County Court records, on January 2006, a petition was approved for Dyango Joses Smith to change his name to Dyango Joses Zerpa.

Zerpa was also the legislative aide to Ortiz-Velez when she was a Milwaukee County Supervisor in the 12th District and he worked worked in her election to get elected to the County seat in the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors replacing then incumbent Supervisor Peggy West in April 2018.

Zerpa while working as a legislative aide to Rep. Ortiz-Velez in Madison, he ran in 2021 unopposed for the 12th District Supervisor's seat (now the 14th District after redistricting) vacated by Ortiz-Velez.

While Zerpa was a County Supervisor in the last 8 months, he allegedly committed some irregularities while in office at the County level and also some irregularities in his campaign finance reports, but not serious enough to warrant any criminal charges by the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office, according to sources. 

A Special Election will be held at a later date to fill the seat for the remaining time of 1 year and 4 months left of a 2 year term Zerpa has resigned from.