Meet the Candidates for County Office

Milwaukee County Courthouse. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

Milwaukee County voters will make a decisive choice in Tuesday’s partisan primary.

While the primary would normally be just a warmup for a November election, the fact that no Republicans are running for four different county offices means that the winners of Tuesday’s election are the future office holders.

The only competitive race is the election for Milwaukee County Treasurer, where incumbent David Cullen faces off against Ted Chisholm.

Three other races are on the ballot with a single candidate: District Attorney, County Clerk and Register of Deeds.

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 an endorsement-free race summary written by Urban Milwaukee, candidate information provided by the candidate, and a link to any available campaign resources. If you click on a candidate’s name, you’ll be brought to any stories written about the candidate.

Milwaukee County Treasurer

Ted Chisholm is challenging incumbent David Cullen for Milwaukee County Treasurer.

Chisholm, the son of outgoing District Attorney John Chisholm, is a political upstart who dropped out of college to take a job as then-Sheriff Earnell Lucas‘ chief of staff for the 700-employee Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office.

Cullen is a longtime Milwaukee politician who began his career on the Milwaukee School Board in the 1980s, followed by two decades in the state Assembly and a short stint on the Milwaukee County Board.

Chisholm resigned from his job as a senior staffer in the office of the Clerk of Circuit Courts early this year to focus on his campaign for Treasurer.

The office does not typically attract many candidates. Cullen has not faced an opponent since his first run for the office in 2014, when he defeated former state treasurer Dawn Marie Sass in a special election. The official duties of the treasurer include collecting delinquent property taxes and managing the county’s investments.

Since announcing his reelection bid, Cullen has played up his experience in the role while calling Chisholm “a political operative without a college degree.”

But Cullen has also found himself at the center of controversies during that past year that provided fodder for Chisholm’s campaign.

First, he and his fellow constitutional officers, Israel Ramón and George L. Christenson, attempted to persuade the Milwaukee County Board to give them a $33,000 pay raise (a 36% increase). The board approved the raise, but walked it back to an 11.5% increase after a veto from County Executive David Crowley and public criticism of the proposed raises.

Chisholm seized on the issue and said he would refuse the pay raise, and instead work for the Treasurer’s pre-raise salary. However, Cullen nodded to Chisholm’s political motivations, telling Urban Milwaukee, “He got a job at age 22 as chief of staff for the sheriff and I didn’t see him complaining about what he was paid.” [editor: Chisholm was actually 20].

Chisholm went on the attack again after it was reported that Cullen spent thousands of taxpayer dollars on a mailer that resembled campaign literature. Local attorney Daniel M. Adams later discovered that Cullen used voting records from recent low-turnout elections to target the mailer. Chisholm once again pounced and used the information in an ad saying the whole affair “doesn’t pass the smell test.”

David Cullen

David Cullen, a lifelong resident of Milwaukee and graduate of John Marshall High School, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Marquette University Law School, is proud to announce his re-election campaign for Milwaukee County Treasurer. With a proven track record of leadership and a deep understanding of financial matters, Cullen is committed to continuing his service to the residents of Milwaukee County.

As Treasurer, Cullen has demonstrated his expertise in financial management and investment policies, leading to Milwaukee County’s investment earnings exceeding $27 million in 2023. Prior to his election as Treasurer, Cullen served as Co-Chair of the County’s Finance, Personnel, and Audit Committee, where he played a crucial role in passing a budget which included a property tax levy freeze.

Before his tenure as Treasurer, Cullen served as a State Representative, representing parts of Milwaukee, Wauwatosa and the Village of West Milwaukee in the State Legislature. His legislative experience includes serving as Chairman of the Assembly Insurance Committee and as a member of the Joint Committee on Audit.

During his time in the legislature, Cullen received the award for the Outstanding Elected Official of the Year from the Wisconsin Maternal and Child Health Coalition for his leadership on legislation protecting mothers and their newborn babies. He also received the coveted Clean 16 award several times from Wisconsin’s Environmental Decade for his outstanding voting record on environmental issues.

Cullen and his wife, Julie own their home in Milwaukee’s Enderis Park neighborhood. With his experience, knowledge and passion for public service, David Cullen is the ideal candidate to continue serving as Milwaukee County Treasurer.

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Ted Chisholm

Ted is a dedicated public servant with a proven track record of making Milwaukee County government more responsive to our community’s needs. Ted served most recently as the Senior Administrator for Management, Finance, and Strategy in the Milwaukee County Clerk of Circuit Court’s Office, overseeing administration, budget and accounting services, and jury management.

Previously, Ted served as Chief of Staff for the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office, helping the elected sheriff administer an agency of 700 public servants, where he drove for fiscal reform and championed policy innovation.Ted was recognized in 2020 with the Sheriff’s Leadership Award and Distinguished Unit Award for his crisis leadership during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic and prior work building partnerships between law enforcement and public housing agencies.

Milwaukee County District Attorney

Long-serving Milwaukee County District John Chisholm announced in January this year that he would not seek re-election to the office he has held since 2007. Within two weeks Chief Deputy District Attorney Kent Lovern formally announced he would run to replace his boss.

Lovern has worked as a prosecutor in the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office for the past 26 years. He currently supervises the prosecution of homicide and public corruption cases. He’s a graduate Briar Cliff University and earned his law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law.

The election Tuesday will officially make Lovern the next DA, though he effectively has the job already. He is running unopposed in the Democratic primary and there are no candidates running in the Republican primary, so he will also be unopposed in the general election come November.

Lovern has a long list of endorsements from local elected officials, retired judges, local attorneys and community members.

A full bio is available on his website.

Milwaukee County Clerk

George L. Christenson is seeking reelection as Milwaukee County Clerk. It’s his third time running for the office and his third time running unopposed.

The Clerk’s office is responsible for maintaining county records, overseeing the Milwaukee County Election Commission and county board staff. The clerk also serves as the parliamentarian for board meetings.

A full bio is available on his website.

Milwaukee County Register of Deeds

Israel Ramón is seeking re-election as Register of Deeds. He is running unopposed in the partisan primary. He won election in 2020, defeating then Milwaukee County Supervisor John Weishan, Jr.

In 2019, Ramón was appointed to the Office of Register of Deeds by Gov. Tony Evers following the resignation of former Register of Deeds John La Fave. La Fave resigned after being criminally investigated for fraudulent invoicing while serving as the Register of Deeds.

A full bio is available on his website.