Wasserman Holds Onto County Board Seat

Sheldon Wasserman. Photo courtesy of Friends of Sheldon Wasserman.

Milwaukee County Supervisor Sheldon Wasserman won a fifth term on the county board Tuesday, defeating Alexander Kostal, an assistant state public defender.

Unoficial results show Wasserman won 57.3% of the vote to Kostal’s 42.2%.

Wasserman, a local physician, proved once again that he maintains a strong base of support in the district he has represented since 2016. Before running for a seat on the county board, he was a Democratic member of the Wisconsin Assembly representing the East Side and North Shore from 1995 to 2009. His county board seat has moved a bit southward with only city neighborhoods, but still includes the East Side.

Wasserman has faced a challenge from candidates attempting to run against him from the left for two election cycles in a row. Kostal is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, as was Eric Rorholm, who Wasserman defeated in 2022.

This was Kostal’s first run for public office. He received endorsements from progressive organizations like Working Families Parties and the Milwaukee Teachers Education Association. Kostal is a member of the Cambridge Woods Neighborhood Association and the Milwaukee County Human Rights Commission.

County supervisors are elected to a two-year term. The part-time, non-partisan position pays $25,924 annually. The county board is the legislative arm of Milwaukee County government.