A South Milwaukee judge has officially resigned after facing charges regarding the false claims related to her nomination papers for the April election. The charges stem from allegations that she didn’t lawfully collect all the necessary signatures.
Prosecutors from Milwaukee County revealed that Judge Kelly Martyka was actually living in Racine, rather than the required South Milwaukee, even before the election. Despite winning the election by just 36 votes against her opponent Megan Zienkiewicz, no charges were filed against her for failing to meet residency requirements.
Recently, Martyka landed a new position as director of development at the Milwaukee Parks Foundation, but she is now facing a serious Class A misdemeanor for false swearing, which could result in a nine-month jail sentence and up to a $10,000 fine. She pleaded not guilty during her court hearing on October 8.
In her resignation email dated Sept. 19, Martyka defended herself, stating that her resignation was not due to wrongdoing. The part-time judicial post provided around $20,000 a year. Elected for the first time in 2022, she expressed that the ongoing investigation felt like an unfair and targeted attack on her character and integrity.
According to an eight-page criminal complaint, detectives conducted thorough surveillance on Martyka for more than a month. They tracked her movements and verified her cell phone records to determine her nightly location for almost a year.
The residency issues were flagged when her husband applied for a position with the South Milwaukee Police Department earlier in March, where he indicated his residence as Racine. This raised eyebrows since it suggested that Martyka could be residing separately from him.
Surveillance revealed that between May 19 and June 26, she stayed at her husband’s home in Racine several times, indicating that it was her primary place of residence during that period.
Cell phone records corroborated that from August 6, 2024, until July 2, 2025, she spent approximately two-thirds of her nights in Racine, including the week surrounding both the election day and its aftermath. This evidence suggested she lived in Racine, only heading to South Milwaukee on voting day.
In terms of the nomination papers, she submitted 53 signatures, exceeding the minimum needed to qualify for a spot on the ballot. However, the investigation revealed she had covered up the original name of the circulator who claimed to collect these signatures and instead signed her own name. When investigators reached out to the first two signatories, they confirmed that they were responsible for obtaining several of the initial signatures.
An investigation on July 31 revealed that she had conceded to not collecting all required signatures personally but insisted she resided in South Milwaukee at the time of filing her election paperwork and casting her vote.
The Common Council of South Milwaukee has recently enacted a resolution to temporarily fill the vacancy left by Martyka until the April 7 elections. The winning candidate will fill the remainder of her term.
For further developments, reach out to Daniel Bice at (414) 313-6684 or via email at dbice@jrn.com. Follow him on X at @DanielBice or connect with him on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice.
Originally published by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Judge From South Milwaukee Steps Down After Accusations of Nomination Papers Fraud
