Sheriff David Clarke lashes out at opponents after winning primary
By Georgia Pabst and Dave Umhoefer of the Journal Sentinel, August 13th, 2014
Article Source
Fresh from an election night battle where big money was a focus, Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. talked tough Wednesday, saying he's "back in the saddle" and ready to challenge other politicians whom he called "imperial leaders."
"People in this city decided they wanted me to lead the office on public safety and not the city fathers," he said, citing County Executive Chris Abele, Mayor Tom Barrett and others whom he called "soft on crime."
His first order of business, he said, will be to fight for a 2015 budget for more resources to provide for public safety because in recent years his budget has been cut.
With an apparent boost from Republican voters who crossed over to the Democratic primary, Clarke defeated Milwaukee police Lt. Chris Moews in Tuesday's Democratic primary.
Geographically, Clarke's victory was marked by two sharp contrasts to the 2010 Moews-Clarke matchup.
Clarke scored a huge turnaround in south suburban communities. He swept them this time, while in 2010 Moews won Greendale, Hales Corners, Cudahy, Franklin, Greenfield, Oak Creek and St. Francis.
In Milwaukee, Clarke won with a razor-thin margin over Moews, just 1% in Milwaukee wards, yielding him 50.4%, according to unofficial returns. Four years ago, Clarke rolled up almost 57%.
In the city, Clarke did particularly well in predominantly African-American wards in Milwaukee that traditionally have voted heavily Democratic. There, Clarke ran up a 23% lead over Moews, our review of returns from areas with at least 66% black voting population showed.
On the south side, Moews defeated Clarke in the 12th Aldermanic District, represented by Ald. Jose Perez, and in Ald. Bob Donovan's 8th Aldermanic District.
The sheriff's race drew national attention when the political action committee of former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg purchased more than $150,000 in broadcast ads to try to defeat Clarke.
The Greater Wisconsin Committee, funded in part by Abele, also purchased more than $400,000 worth of broadcast media to take aim at Clarke, who received support from the National Rifle Association for his strong pro-gun stance.
The NRA spent some $30,000 on ads in various online forums. But the NRA's primary contribution to any political race is its ability to mobilize its members to get involved and to vote. Clarke certainly benefited from the outside interest group's efforts to raise money nationally while organizing its troops locally.
In addition, Citizens for Responsible Government and Citizens for Urban Justice spent a total of $70,000 on ads backing Clarke.
Nonetheless, Clarke called his win "a repudiation" of outside money. He said the outside money "backfired" and energized his supporters.
In a statement Wednesday, Moews said: "The voters have spoken and I accept the results. With twice as many voters in this election than four years ago, there's a brighter spotlight on the work of the Milwaukee County sheriff's office.
"I hope the sheriff will set politics aside, reconsider his go-it-alone approach and work collaboratively and respectfully with law enforcement and municipal leaders to truly make our community safer and stronger."
But Clarke scoffed at Moews' statement.
"That's not a concession speech," Clarke said. "This election was a referendum on his approach vs. mine and a majority of those who voted said they liked my style and they can expect more of it."
Likewise, he brushed off Abele, who said he had called Clarke on Wednesday and left a message congratulating him.
"I always look forward to working with everyone — people who I supported and won and people who won and I didn't support," Abele said.
Clarke said he had received "hundreds" of phone calls and didn't get Abele's message.
"He says that all the time," Clarke said, dismissing talk of cooperation. "It's empty rhetoric. He tried to run me out of Dodge when he tried to eliminate me from the public scene. It's disingenuous."
Clarke is all but assured of re-election in November because there is no Republican opposition and he will face off with little-known independent candidate Angela Walker.
Barrett, who also supported Moews, said he felt from the beginning that Moews had an uphill battle. The mayor said the results showed that the vast majority of voters in the city voted in the Democratic primary, as opposed to the Republican primary.
"It was stunning. All the traffic moved to the Democratic side," he said.
Asked if he expected Clarke to challenge him in 2016 as Clarke and others have suggested, Barrett said he had no idea. "It's America. He makes that decision."
When asked about a possible mayor's race, Clarke said he's flattered by talk of his running for another office, but that he has not made that decision yet.
And he said often opportunities come his way that he might explore. When asked if he would pledge to serve out a four-year term, he said he takes one day at a time. "My interest is in a four-year term and I'm fine being sheriff," he said.
Moews, 42, challenged Clarke, 57, four years ago and drew 47% of the vote to Clarke's 53%. This time, it was 52% to 48%.
Daniel Bice and Don Walker of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.