Tom Barrett (politician)

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Thomas Mark Barrett (born December 8, 1953) is an American politician, former Congressman from Wisconsin and the current mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Contents 1 Personal Background 2 Legislative political life 3 Mayoral Election 4 Mayor of Milwaukee 5 Electoral history 6 External links 7 References

[edit] Personal Background

Barrett was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Thomas and Gertude Barrett. He attended the private Marquette University High School and graduated with a degree in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1976. He received his Juris Doctor from the same school in 1980. After clerking for a federal judge, he practiced law between 1982 and 1985.

Barrett is married to Kris Barrett. They have four children.

He is a Roman Catholic.

[edit] Legislative political life

In 1984 he ran for the Wisconsin State Assembly as a Democrat and won, after losing in 1982. He served in the Assembly until 1989, when he won a seat in the Wisconsin State Senate. He served in the State Senate until winning a seat in the United States House of Representatives in 1992. Representing the fifth district, he served in Congress for the next ten years.

Barrett laid low for most of his time in Congress, but played a more important role in the impeachment of President Clinton. He was critical of both Clinton and the House Republicans, and drafted a censure motion.

In 2002, when reapportionment caused Wisconsin to lose a House seat, all of Milwaukee was combined into one congressional district (the city had been split between two districts for many years). Barrett opted not to run against fellow Democrat Jerry Kleczka, who had represented the other side of Milwaukee. Instead, Barrett sought the Democratic nomination for governor. He lost in the primary to Jim Doyle, who went on to win against incumbent Republican Scott McCallum.

[edit] Mayoral Election

Several months earlier, in April 2002, John Norquist, longtime mayor of Milwaukee, announced that he would not seek reelection after being implicated in a sex scandal involving a subordinate, Marilyn Figueroa. Even before losing in the gubernatorial race, pundits wondered if Barrett would run for mayor as a sort of "consolation prize" ^[1]. Barrett beat back these accusations, repeatedly saying that he would not run for mayor of Milwaukee. "It would be too hard to serve as governor and mayor at the same time," he said at the time. ^[2]

Barrett did run for mayor of Milwaukee, however. He faced a crowded field in the primary, including Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke, Jr. and the Acting Mayor Marvin Pratt. Though Pratt was the top vote-getter in the February 2004 primary, Barrett handily defeated Pratt in the general election in April.

Race and race relations were a major factor in the race. (Clarke and Pratt are black and Barrett is white).

[edit] Mayor of Milwaukee

Among Barrett's top priorities were auditing the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, lowering crime, and revitalizing the cities older neighborhoods. He also made a commitment to keep the budget in line while holding down city property taxes.

Barrett's critics accuse him of being "missing in action," not regularly making the headlines. Others say this is just part of his personality; he works deliberately and methodically, without much flair. ^[3]

[edit] Electoral history

• 2004 Race for Mayor (Milwaukee)
  • Tom Barrett (D), 54%
  • Marvin Pratt (D) (inc.), 46%
• 2002 Race for Governor - Democratic Primary
  • Jim Doyle (D), 38%
  • Tom Barrett (D), 34%
  • Kathleen Falk (D), 27%

[edit] External links

• Interview with Mayor Barrett
• Barrett's biography on the City of Milwaukee's website
• Series of biographical articles on Barrett from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
• Voting record maintained by the Washington Post

[edit] References

1. ^ Spivak, Cary & Dan Bice "Pratt's daughter gets sweet deal on house" Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, August 26, 2002.
2. ^ Held, Tom. . "2004 mayoral race now is wide open". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, April 23, 2002
3. ^ "Editorial: Barrett's report card". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, June 19, 2004

Preceded by: Marvin Pratt (acting mayor)	Mayor of Milwaukee 2004 - present	Succeeded by: incumbent
Preceded by: Jim Moody	United States Representative for the 5th Congressional District of Wisconsin 1993 - 2003	Succeeded by: Jim Sensenbrenner