Tom Barrett (Wisconsin)
Tom Barrett was the Mayor of Milwaukee in Wisconsin. Barrett assumed office on April 20, 2004. Barrett left office on December 22, 2021.
Barrett ran for re-election for Mayor of Milwaukee in Wisconsin. Barrett won in the general election on April 7, 2020.
Barrett was a Democratic candidate for Wisconsin governor in a recall election against incumbent Gov. Scott Walker on June 5, 2012. He also ran against Walker in the general election for governor on November 2, 2010.[1] He was defeated by Republican Scott Walker in both elections.
Barrett previously represented the 14th Assembly District in the Wisconsin State Assembly. He was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in 1989 and then elected to represent Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1993.
Biography
Tom Barrett was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His father, Thomas, had been a U.S. Air Force pilot who was deployed to Wisconsin for training during World War II. His mother, Gertrude, and his father met at the University of Wisconsin-Madison after she had lost her first husband in World War II.
Tom Barrett earned his undergraduate and law degrees at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and clerked for Judge Robert Warren of the Eastern District of Wisconsin federal court from 1980 to 1982. That year he ran unsuccessfully for the State House. In April of 1984, he won a special election for the 14th Assembly District.[2] Barrett was re-elected in November of 1984, 1986, and 1988. In December of 1989, Barrett ran for the 5th State Senate District in a special election and won.[2] Three years later, Congressman Jim Moody announced his retirement, and Barrett ran successfully for his empty seat in Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Wisconsin lost a congressional seat in the 2000 Census, and Barrett declined to compete in a primary for the newly drawn 4th Congressional District in 2002. That year, he ran for governor but lost the Democratic primary to eventual Governor Jim Doyle. In 2004, he defeated incumbent Milwaukee Mayor Marvin Pratt and was re-elected as mayor in 2008, 2012, and 2016.
Barrett has lived in Milwaukee's Washington Heights neighborhood with his wife, Kris, and their four children.
Career
- 2004-2021: Mayor of Milwaukee
- 2012: Democratic Candidate for Governor of Wisconsin
- 2010: Democratic Candidate for Governor of Wisconsin
- 1993-2003: U.S. House of Representatives, Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District
- 1989-1993: Wisconsin State Senate, District 5
- 1984-1989: Wisconsin State Assembly, District 14
Elections
2020
See also: Mayoral election in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (2020)
General election
General election for Mayor of Milwaukee
Incumbent Tom Barrett defeated Lena Taylor in the general election for Mayor of Milwaukee on April 7, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Tom Barrett (Nonpartisan) | 62.5 | 57,492 |
![]() | Lena Taylor (Nonpartisan) | 36.5 | 33,572 | |
Other/Write-in votes | 0.9 | 852 |
Total votes: 91,916 | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Mayor of Milwaukee
Incumbent Tom Barrett and Lena Taylor defeated Tony Zielinski and Paul Rasky in the primary for Mayor of Milwaukee on February 18, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Tom Barrett (Nonpartisan) | 50.0 | 33,151 |
✔ | ![]() | Lena Taylor (Nonpartisan) | 30.7 | 20,347 |
![]() | Tony Zielinski (Nonpartisan) | 15.7 | 10,385 | |
Paul Rasky (Nonpartisan) | 2.9 | 1,902 | ||
Other/Write-in votes | 0.8 | 509 |
Total votes: 66,294 | ||||
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2016
The city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, held elections for mayor and city council on April 5, 2016. A primary election took place on February 16, 2016. All 15 city council seats were up for election. Incumbent Tom Barrett defeated Robert G. Donovan in the Mayor of Milwaukee general election.[3]
Mayor of Milwaukee, General Election, 2016 | ||
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Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
![]() |
70.01% | 111,016 |
Robert G. Donovan | 29.69% | 47,082 |
Write-in votes | 0.3% | 475 |
Total Votes | 158,573 | |
Source: City of Milwaukee, "Spring Election Official Results," April 11, 2016 |
Mayor of Milwaukee, Primary Election, 2016 | ||
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Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
![]() |
46.14% | 30,239 |
![]() |
32.44% | 21,261 |
Joe Davis Sr. | 18.51% | 12,132 |
James Methu | 2.68% | 1,755 |
Write-in votes | 0.22% | 147 |
Total Votes | 65,534 | |
Source: City of Milwaukee, "2016 Spring Primary Final Results," February 19, 2016 |
Endorsements
Barrett received the following endorsements in 2016:
- Former Democratic Senator Herb Kohl endorsed Barrett on March 16.[4]
- President Barack Obama issued a statement of endorsement for Barrett in March 2016:[5]
“ | Tom Barrett has been an outstanding mayor for the city of Milwaukee, and his hard work has put his city on a path toward a stronger future. Tom has fought to strengthen neighborhoods by bringing people together to solve tough problems. He's been a leader in the battle to get illegal guns off the street.[6] | ” |
—President Barack Obama[5] |
2012
- See also: Scott Walker recall, Wisconsin (2012)
Barrett ran for Wisconsin Governor in the recall election against incumbent Gov. Scott Walker. He lost to Walker in the recall on June 5, 2012. Hariprasad "Hari" Trivedi came in third.
Recall of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, 2012 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
Republican | ![]() |
53.1% | 1,335,585 | |
Democratic | Tom Barrett | 46.3% | 1,164,480 | |
Independent | Hari Trivedi | 0.6% | 14,463 | |
Scattering | - | 0.1% | 1,537 | |
Total Votes | 2,516,065 | |||
Election results via Wisconsin Government Accountability Board |
Barrett easily won the primary on May 8[7] against Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, State Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, Secretary of State Douglas La Follette and protest candidate Gladys Huber.[8][9]
Recall petitions were turned in on January 17, 2012 and certified on March 30, the same day Barrett officially declared he was running.[10]
Wisconsin Governor Recall - Democratic Primary, 2012 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
![]() |
58.1% | 390,191 | ||
Kathleen Falk | 34.1% | 229,236 | ||
Kathleen Vinehout | 4% | 26,967 | ||
Doug La Follette | 2.9% | 19,497 | ||
Gladys Huber | 0.7% | 4,847 | ||
Scattering | 0.1% | 864 | ||
Total Votes | 671,602 | |||
Election results via Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. |
Endorsements
- Wisconsin Professional Police Association[11]
- U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl[12]
- Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters[13]
- National Association of Police Organizations[14]
Campaign Finance
In 2014, Barrett's campaign fund was required to donate over $20,000 to charity as a result of taking too much money in donations from special interest groups during the recall election. The Government Accountability Board discovered that Barrett had gone over the $700,830 limit on donations from political action committees in 2012. Barrett had accepted $720,911. Patrick Guarasci, a political adviser for Barrett's campaign, said the error was made by accident and the overage of $20,081 was donated to "Earn & Learn," a program created by Barrett to provide summer jobs to Milwaukee teens.[15]
2010
Barrett lost to Scott Walker (R) in the general election on November 2, 2010.[16] James James (Common Sense) and Jim Langer (I) also ran.
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Tom Barrett did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Noteworthy events
Events and activity following the death of George Floyd
Barrett was mayor of Milwaukee during the weekend of May 29-31, 2020, when events and activity took place in cities across the U.S. following the death of George Floyd. Events in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, began on Friday, May 29, 2020, outside the Wisconsin Black Historical Society.[17] On May 30, Mayor Tom Barrett (D) issued a curfew.[18] The same day, Gov. Tony Evers (D) activated and deployed the Wisconsin National Guard to the city at his own request.[19]
To read more about the death of George Floyd and subsequent events, click [show] to the right. | |||
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On March 19, 2020, Tom Barrett announced that he self-quarantined following an interaction with someone who tested positive for coronavirus.[26]
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Coronavirus pandemic |
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COVID-19, also known as coronavirus disease 2019, is the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The first confirmed case of the disease in the United States was announced on January 21, 2020. For more of Ballotpedia's coverage of the coronavirus impact on political and civic life, click here.
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Associated Press/C-SPAN, "Campaign 2012 - Wisconsin Election Results," June 5, 2012
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 UW-Madison Digital Archives, "1991-1992 Wisconsin Blue Book," accessed April 22, 2014(See Page 31)
- ↑ City of Milwaukee, "2016 Spring Election Candidates," January 8, 2016
- ↑ FOX 6, "Race for mayor of Milwaukee: Big endorsements for incumbent Tom Barrett, challenger Bob Donovan," March 16, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Obama issues endorsement of Mayor Tom Barrett for re-election," March 9, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ WTAQ, "Recall elections officially ordered against Gov. Walker, 5 other GOP lawmakers," March 30, 2012
- ↑ Wisconsin State Journal, "GOP's fake Democrats for recall primaries named," April 5, 2012
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, "Walker, Barrett begin sprint to historic vote," May 9, 2012
- ↑ Bellingham Herald, "Milwaukee mayor throws hat in ring with upcoming recall election of governor," March 31, 2012
- ↑ Star Tribune, "Largest police union endorses Democrat Tom Barrett in Wisconsin governor recall," April 24, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ FOX 11 Online, "Gov. candidates get big-name endorsements," April 30, 2012
- ↑ Examiner, "WLCV endorses Tom Barrett for Governor," May 16, 2012
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Walker, Barrett pick up national endorsements," May 24, 2012
- ↑ Journal Sentinel, "Barrett campaign forfeited $20,000 for recall election violation," April 16, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "G.A.B. Canvass Reporting System," December 8, 2010
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "'We're here in solidarity': Protest in Milwaukee over George Floyd death in Minneapolis," May 29, 2020
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "'We cannot operate like that': Curfew set in Milwaukee, National Guard on the way after MPD officer shot, 16 buildings looted overnight," May 30, 2020
- ↑ Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs, "Wisconsin National Guard troops mobilized in support of Milwaukee civil authorities," May 30, 2020
- ↑ Washington Post, "The death of George Floyd: What video and other records show about his final minutes," May 30, 2020
- ↑ The New York Times, "8 Minutes and 46 Seconds: How George Floyd Was Killed in Police Custody," May 31, 2020
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 USA Today, "Medical examiner and family-commissioned autopsy agree: George Floyd's death was a homicide," June 1, 2020
- ↑ Associated Press, "Chauvin guilty of murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death," April 20, 2021
- ↑ CNN, "Protests across America after George Floyd's death," accessed June 2, 2020
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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- ↑ CBS 58, "Mayor Barrett self-quarantines after coming into contact with person testing positive for COVID-19," March 19, 2020
Political offices | ||
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Preceded by - |
Mayor of Milwaukee 2004-2021 |
Succeeded by Cavalier Johnson |
Preceded by - |
U.S. House Wisconsin District 5 1993-2003 |
Succeeded by F. James Sensenbrenner (R) |
Preceded by - |
Wisconsin State Senate District 5 1989-1993 |
Succeeded by - |
Preceded by - |
Wisconsin State Assembly District 14 1984-1989 |
Succeeded by - |
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State of Wisconsin Madison (capital) |
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