Jeramey Jannene
Vote Tuesday

10th Assembly District Race

Voters in the northeast corner of Milwaukee, Shorewood and Glendale will elect a new state representative.

By - Aug 8th, 2022 02:32 pm
Bryan Kennedy and Darrin Madison Jr. Photos from candidate websites.

Bryan Kennedy and Darrin Madison Jr. Photos from candidate websites.

Voters in the northeastern corner of Milwaukee, Shorewood and Glendale will be able to select a new state assembly representative on Aug. 9. Two candidates are vying for the seat, Milwaukee resident and organizer Darrin Madison Jr. and Glendale mayor Bryan Kennedy.

Formally, the election will determine which candidate will represent Democratic Party in the Nov. 8 general election. But given that the only two candidates registered to run are Democrats, the election will effectively determine the next representative.

The seat was most recently held by David Bowen, who announced he was running for lieutenant governor before suspending his campaign the day nominating papers were due.

The winner will serve a two-year term in the Wisconsin State Legislature. This is the first election being held for this seat following the redistricting process that reconfigured its boundaries.

Want to see what’s on your ballot and where to vote? Visit MyVote Wisconsin to see your polling place and access a sample ballot.

Below you’ll find basic information copied verbatim from candidate campaign materials and a link to any available campaign resources. If you click on their name you’ll be brought to any stories written about the candidate. Candidate names are listed in alphabetical order.

Bryan Kennedy

Bryan Kennedy has the experience we need in Madison:

  • He has served for the last 7 years as Mayor.
  • Prior to becoming Mayor, Bryan was elected to three terms on the Glendale-River Hills School Board.
  • Bryan has been a member of the American Federation of Teachers for more than 20 years. He has served as state president of AFT-Wisconsin, in addition to being president and treasurer in his union local, AFT Local 3535.
  • Kennedy holds a Ph.D. in Latin American Studies (research on economic development in Brazil) from the University of North Carolina and has taught on the faculty of both UWM and MSOE.
  • Bryan has been engaged in Democratic Party politics for more than three decades. He worked for a Democratic Congressman on Capitol Hill, managed various campaigns for Democratic candidates in Wisconsin, and was the party’s nominee for US Congress in 2004 and 2006 in the 5th Congressional District.
  • Bryan and his wife Heather have lived in Glendale for more than 20 years. Their three children all attended public schools.

Darrin Madison Jr.

Darrin carries an unwavering belief that the solutions to the problems that are deeply plaguing our communities are in the hands of those most affected by the issues. That is why he is deciding to step up to fight for the change we all want in this state.

A native of Milwaukee, and the 10th District, Darrin Madison, Jr. was aware at a young age that the world didn’t value his identity and community socially, environmentally, and economically. Community activism and policy development have been his response to this reality.

Darrin found his first place of activism at the Urban Ecology Center at age nine in the Young Scientist program, the later as an youth intern.  At the age of fourteen, he became aware of the political climate in the state of Wisconsin and stood alongside residents and leaders throughout the state to fight against Act 10.

Later that year he joined Urban Underground, a youth-lead social justice organization that focused on building youth leaders to move communities toward a brighter future. Notable figures that have come out of Urban Underground include state representative David Bowen, State representative Kalan Haywood, County Executive David Crowley.

While at Urban Underground, Madison lead social Justice campaigns fighting for youth jobs, youth justice, education, public safety, sexual health, and environmental justice. During this time he also developed leadership skills that reflected the needs of the community by working on political campaigns at the city, county, state, and national level.

After Graduating from Ronald W. Reagan Preparatory High School in 2015, Madison attended Howard University in Washington D.C where he double majored in biology and political science. While attending Howard he worked to win political campaigns for progressive candidates in Baltimore, Washington D.C, and Alaska. After returning to Milwaukee, he served as an Americorps Public Ally where he worked for the Urban Ecology Center (UEC) expanding its Volunteer Program and the City of Milwaukee’s Environmental Collaboration Office (ECO) launching the Eco-neighborhoods initiative.

After transitioning out of that role he worked for four years advocating and winning policy changes as it relates to youth justice, opportunities for youth, participatory budgeting, and climate justice alongside local, state, and national organizations. .Also during this time Madison engaged and mentored high schoolers that came from high schools across the Milwaukee area including Shorewood and Glendale. Creating this community of young leaders has been a high point of his career.

In 2020 Madison attempted a bid for the 10th County Supervisory board seat, but after a hard-fought race lost by 12 votes. Since then Madison has worked for the African American Roundtable as their Democracy Organizer fighting for resident access to the political process through participatory budgeting and a municipal donor voucher program.

District Map

Wisconsin's 10th Assembly District (2022). Image from Wisconsin State Legislature PDF.

Wisconsin’s 10th Assembly District (2022). Image from Wisconsin State Legislature PDF.

PDF map

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Categories: Politics, Uncategorized

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