nov 26, 2004 - Tom Barrett becomes Milwaukee's mayor

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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.

Barrett was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Thomas and Gertrude Barrett 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: Tommy, Annie, Erin, and Kate.

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 competing 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 primaries to Jim Doyle, who went on to win against incumbent Scott McCallum.

Several months earlier, in April of 2002, John Norquist, longtime mayor of Milwaukee, became involved in a sex scandal involving a subordinate and announced that he would not seek reelection. Even before losing in the gubernatorial race, pundits wondered if Barrett would run for mayor as a sort of "consolation prize". 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.

Barrett did run for mayor of Milwaukee, however. He faced a crowded field in the primaries, including Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke, Jr. and the Acting Mayor Marvin Pratt. (Norquist resigned from office before the end of his term to take a job in the private sector.) Though Pratt was the top vote-getter in the February 2004 primaries, 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).

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 the personality; he works deliberately and methodically, without much flare.

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