Barrett’s chief of staff Curley retires from post
He has worked at City Hall for 30 years, including 14 with mayor
It’s the end of an era.
Patrick Curley, Mayor Tom Barrett’s longtime chief of staff, is retiring after 30 years at Milwaukee City Hall.
Curley has been the mayor’s only chief of staff over the last 14 years, serving since Barrett was first elected in 2004. Thursday was his last day at work.
Curley, 64, said his retirement plans involve going to this weekend’s Chicago Cubs series at Miller Park, spending a week in Florida and taking “some time to decompress.”
“I’m taking the summer, and maybe a good chunk of the fall, to do as little as possible,” he said. “There’s no new employment opportunity. There is no hard and fast anything.”
Curley told Barrett after the April 2016 election
that he could do two more years, he said. After talking it over with his wife, Anne, he decided to stick with the retirement plan.
“There’s no good time, there’s no bad time, it’s just time. You know when it’s time,” Curley said.
“You have to make a decision thinking about what’s best for you and your family.”
Barrett praised Curley for his ability to get things done at City Hall.
“Anybody who’s seen my administration over the last 14 years can tell you how critical he’s been to what we’ve done here,” Barrett said. “He was in many ways the guy who made sure that things got done in city government.”
Barrett’s political opponents have at times clashed with Curley, with one calling him the mayor’s “henchman” and “barnacle on City Hall.”
Barrett and Curley have been friends for 50 years, since they were students together at Marquette University High School.
Asked how they first met, Barrett said, “He never passed the basketball.”
“I always had the hot hands,” Curley said, laughing. “That’s why.”
Paul Vornholt, director of the Port of Milwaukee, will take over as Barrett’s chief of staff on Monday.
Vornholt has previously worked as a city lobbyist and staff adviser under Barrett.
He also worked at the state Department of Justice and for Brown County Executive Nancy Nusbaum. Before that, he worked at the Capitol.
Jodie Tabak, Barrett’s spokeswoman, will also take on additional responsibilities.
Curley previously served as the city’s lobbyist under former Mayor John Norquist, then left city government in 2004 to work on Barrett’s mayoral race.
His first job at City Hall came in 1985, when he worked for the Commission of Community Relations.
Curley’s pension will be about $66,000 a year.
Curley called his time working for the city “a great career.”
“There’s a lot of people who work here who do amazing things, and are really dedicated to this city,” he said. “It’s incredible to see that and experience that.”