Raclaw to Challenge Veteran in 14th Supervisory District

Supervisor Richard Nyklewicz, the last man standing from the crew of pre-1982 County Supervisors, will face a rare challenge for his seat when Milwaukee Police detective Sebastian C. J. Raclaw announces his candidacy for the Milwaukee County Supervisor for the 14th District at Saturday’s South Shore Water Frolics parade, scheduled to depart from S. Kinnickinnic Ave. and E. Conway St. headed southbound toward the lake at 11 a.m.

Raclaw will appear in the parade in a Red Corvette (his own) driven by former Milwaukee Police Association President Bradley DeBraska.

Raclaw is a member of the Board of Trustees of the association, and serves as an elected trustee of the $5+ billion City of Milwaukee Employee Retirement System.

Nyklewicz, 52, has held the seat since elected as a 20-year old in a special election in 1975. He is the only remaining member of the County Board to have been present during the pension scandal that led to the massive recalls and resignations that disgraced the board and to have qualified for the controversial pension sweetener available to pre-1982 county hires. Supervisors Borkowski, Coggs-Jones, De Bruin, Holloway, Johnson, Mayo, Quindel, Schmitt, Weishan and White were supervisors during the 2002 scandal, but only Supervisors Nyklewicz, Bailey and Podell were eligible for the “backdrop.” Only Nyklewicz remains on the board.

As Bruce Murphy wrote in Milwaukeeworld on March 19th, 2002:

“The big pension increase going to county employees hired or elected before 1982 affected only three supervisors: Tom Bailey, Rich Nyklewicz and Penny Podell. This group of old timers will gain a 25% increase in their final average salary, if they continue on the job until April 2004. This will allow them to circumvent the county provision that prevents employees from collecting more than 80% of their salary in annual pension.

“By contrast, the other 22 supervisors, along with other employees who started after 1982, merely got an increase in their pension multiplier – the annual percent of salary that counts toward their pension. For public officials, it increased from 2% to 2.5%. This is a 25% increase, but it simply brings them up to the same level as all other elected officials who started prior to 1982: 2.5% of their salary for every year worked up to a maximum of 80% of their salary. The other 22 supervisors, in short, cannot circumvent the prohibition against collecting more than 80% of their final average salary.

This article was originally published by Milwaukee World.