Milwaukee Mayor Barrett resigning, 8 look to replace him
MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett will soon be resigning, setting off a battle royale to take the job he's held for nearly 18 years. During his tenure, he easily beat out competitors for Milwaukee mayor, but now, there's a chance for new leadership.
Already vying for the top city spot are the county sheriff and the Common Council president, plus others.
State Representative Daniel Riemer just jumped in to a field of eight, and that's even before the mayor has officially resigned. The mayor, the city clerk, and the Common Council president say the date still hasn't been figured out.
Mayor Tom Barrett smiles to reporters following his confirmation as U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg.
"I’m guessing there’s going to be 20 names on the ballot," said Mordecai Lee, UW-Milwaukee professor emeritus. "If there’s 10-20 candidates, for somebody to survive the primary to be one of the top two vote-getters, gosh, they only need 15% of the vote or 20% of the vote to survive the primary. So, what they’re doing is they’re trying to find the base and excite the base and get the base out to vote, just so they can survive the primary."
SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News
When Barrett resigns, the Milwaukee Common Council President Cavalier Johnson becomes acting mayor, and the Common Council can call a special election. Does that give a leg up to Johnson in the special election, since he'll be acting mayor?
"Like anything else in politics, things can be unpredictable," said Lee. "Let’s say there’s a snowstorm after Cavalier Johnson becomes the acting mayor. Let’s say some people are very happy with the snow plowing. Let’s say some people are very unhappy with the snow plowing."
He'll face Milwaukee County Sheriff Earnell Lucas, former Alderman Bob Donovan and current Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic. Just joining the race is Rep. Riemer – all vying for a job Barrett says he's loved.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett
He'll soon be resigning after he was confirmed by the United States Senate as ambassador to Luxembourg.
"I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the following nominations en bloc," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
It was so quick, they didn’t even use his name or that of others approved at the very same time. The batch of nominations were confirmed by a voice vote.
Tom Barrett, Luxembourg
"I thought, ‘Oh, well, that’s done.' That was – poof!" said Barrett. "I am very much looking forward to going to Luxembourg. Thank you very much."
Hours before the confirmation, Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson said he ensured no Republicans would object, meaning the nomination could saild thrugh the chamber, where many nominations stalled.
"I also want to thank Sen. Baldwin and Sen. Johnson," Barrett said, "both of whom were critical in insuring that my confirmation went through the Senate."
"Obviously, we’ve known each other for many, many years. We don’t agree ideologically, but we’ve always had a good working relationship. We’ve always had a very candid give and take," Mayor Barrett said of Sen. Johnson. "I certainly made the argument to him to have this coincide with the spring elections would save the taxpayers of the city of Milwaukee literally hundreds of thousands of dollars, in fact it could be as high as three quarters of a million dollars."
The timing is just right that if the Common Council before Dec. 28 calls a special election, they can place it with the regularly-scheduled non-partisan primary on Feb. 15, and the top two vote-getters would move on to the general election on April 5. Linking the elections would save the city hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Featured
6th and Reservoir homicide, Milwaukee man charged
A Milwaukee man is charged with multiple counts – including first-degree reckless homicide – for a double shooting that happened in August.
Featured
Milwaukee man shot during argument, serious injuries
A Milwaukee man, 42, was seriously hurt in a shooting during an argument near 42nd and Capitol.