Milwaukee Co. Board gets many new faces
Nearly a third of seats to be held by newcomers
Next week, voters will elect five new members to the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, marking a turnover of nearly a third of the 18-member board.
Milwaukee County Board Chairman Theodore Lipscomb Sr., who represents District 1 and is among those not running in Tuesday’s election, called the amount of turnover “pretty remarkable.”
He said it’s not just the board turnover that’s significant but that it’s happening at the same time that there’s a change in executive leadership as Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele prepares to leave office after the election.
Incumbents did not seek re-election in the five races where new supervisors will be elected, and in two of those five there is only one candidate. The other 13 supervisors are running unopposed, meaning only three seats on the board are contested.
In addition to Lipscomb, those leaving the board are District 4 Supervisor Marina Dimitrijevic, District 6 Supervisor James “Luigi” Schmitt, District 11 Supervisor Dan Sebring and District 18 Supervisor Deanna Alexander.
Lipscomb had run to succeed outgoing Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele but didn’t make it through the Feb. 18 primary. He will be replaced by Liz Sumner, the sole candidate on the ballot.
Dimitrijevic is running to represent Milwaukee’s 14th District on the city’s Common Council. Running to replace her on the County Board are Andrea Rodriguez and Ryan Clancy.
Schmitt announced in November that he wasn’t seeking another term. Running for his seat are Shawn Rolland and Barb Schoenherr.
Running to replace Sebring are former Milwaukee County clerk and state legislator Joseph Czarnezki and Andrew Moriarity.
Alexander, who became the administrator/clerk/treasurer for the Village of Newburg in Ozaukee and Washington counties last summer, will be replaced by Russell Antonio Goodwin Sr., the only candidate on the ballot.
“When you have so many experienced officials leaving and so many new people coming on, it means there’s going to be a steep learning curve,” Alexander told the Journal Sentinel. “It means they’re going to have to put in a lot of extra work at the front end to understand the needs of the people, the programs, the policies, the history.”
The next County Board will contend not only with the county’s existing challenges but also the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic gripping the nation and globe.