City Attorney Candidates

Vince Bobot, Grant Langley and Tearman Spencer. Images from the candidates.

Milwaukeeans voting in the February 18th spring primary election will find a long list of options on their ballot. While we would normally preview the entire race in one article, the ballot will be a long one and we are breaking our preview into multiple parts.

Three candidates are running for a four-year term as City Attorney. The top two vote-getters in the primary will advance to the April 7th general election.

Below you’ll find basic information provided by the candidates themselves and a link to any available campaign resources. And if you click on their name you’ll be brought to any stories written about the candidate. Candidate names are listed in alphabetical order.

Vince Bobot

Vince Bobot was the first student to earn his law degree part time from Marquette Law School while serving as a police officer from 1971 to 1993.  Rising to the rank of lieutenant, Bobot was cited for Outstanding Service to the Police Department in 1976 and received an award after being shot in the face when stopping an armed robbery. Bobot was named Police Officer of the Year by the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Association in 1977, He also received the Civic Award for Heroism from the State Street Advancement Association and Miller Brewing Co. in 1977.  Bobot received 28 separate Meritorious Arrest Citations while a police officer for his actions for apprehending criminals involved in crimes such as burglary, armed robbery and murder. He also served as a trustee with the Milwaukee Police Supervisors Association.

Vince served as an assistant city attorney from 1993 to 1999 and again from 2005 to 2008. He served as President of the Municipal Attorney’s Association. He went on to serve as a Milwaukee Municipal Judge from 1999 to 2003 and served on the faculty of the Wisconsin Municipal Judges Association.

In addition to serving as a private attorney, Vince was twice elected as a commissioner of the Milwaukee Social Development Commission, which he currently serves as vice chairman. He also serves on the board of the SDC Properties Corporation and the Social Development Foundation. He was named Commissioner of the Year in 2017.

Vince is past president of the of the 13th District Neighborhood Association and a member of the Southside Scholarship Foundation. He is a former member of the St. Joseph’s Foundation and the Southside Business Association.

Presently, Vince Bobot is Chairman of the Administrative Review Appeals Board for the City of Milwaukee.

Vince is a graduate of St. Roman Parish School and Pulaski High School and received his Bachelor of Science degree from The University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, majoring in Criminal Justice and his Juris Doctorate degree from Marquette Law School. Bobot is married to his wife Linda and has one daughter, Bonnie, and two grandchildren, Tony and Emily.

Vince Bobot has lived in the City of Milwaukee his entire life.

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Grant Langley

First elected to the position of City Attorney in 1984, Langley has been re-elected by Milwaukee residents and taxpayers eight times.

As current Milwaukee City Attorney, Langley leads an office of 38 attorneys who perform all the legal work for the City of Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Board of School Directors and the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee.

The legal practice areas covered by the City Attorney’s office include real estate development, employment and labor law, pension and deferred compensation, civil rights and tort litigation, business licensing, code enforcement, nuisance abatement, elections, ethics, public records and open meetings law, housing, school law, contracting and procurement.

Langley’s achievements have been recognized with awards from the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Bar Association, the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee and other professional organizations.

His office recently received the 2019 Diversity and Inclusion Trailblazer award from the State Bar of Wisconsin.

He holds a Juris Doctor degree from Marquette University Law School.

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Tearman Spencer

Tearman Spencer has spent a career fighting for justice and making sure people are safe. He’s overcome personal adversity, achieving through hard work what doctors said wouldn’t be possible. Now he’s ready to stand up and fight for the people of Milwaukee.

Born and raised in Milwaukee, Spencer earned an engineering degree from the University of Southern California and became an award-winning safety engineer, focusing on transportation infrastructure including dams, bridges, tunnels and rail systems, working all over the country. He ensured maintenance on refineries was done safely, and oversaw safety professionals on the cleanup of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Spencer was then diagnosed with a degenerative condition that confined him to a wheelchair, and while striving to recover, earned a Masters in Business Administration from Golden Gate University. He later received a Juris Doctor (law degree) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Spencer returned to Milwaukee and opened a successful law practice, handling real estate and business cases, and protecting individuals against big banks. More recently, he has focused on defending the rights of consumers, and winning millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts for his clients.

Spencer is committed to community leadership, including serving on the board of Community Brainstorming Conference and as a member of the Felmers Chaney Advisory Board. He also completed the FBI Citizens Academy and is active in the FBI Citizens Academy Alumni Association.

Along the way, Spencer defied expectations and learned to walk again.

With more than 30 years of leadership experience, Spencer is ready to run the City Attorney’s office, a broad operation that oversees civil, criminal, and municipal law on behalf of the people of Milwaukee.

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