Daniel Bauman Enters Race to Replace Brostoff With Major Endorsements

Daniel Bauman. Photo provided.

The race to replace Jonathan Brostoff on the Milwaukee Common Council received a major shakeup just days after it was announced.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson and Brostoff’s widow, Diana Vang Brostoff, jointly endorsed Daniel Bauman for 3rd District Alderman.

Bauman, a fundraising consultant through his firm prospect414, served as deputy campaign manager on Johnson’s 2021-2022 mayoral campaign and was a friend of Brostoff’s. He worked in the mayor’s office as a staff assistant for approximately a year after the April 2022 election.

A Milwaukee native who grew up in the Sherman Park neighborhood and graduated from Rufus King High School, he lives in Riverwest with his wife and children. Bauman, 43, graduated from UW-Madison and is currently attending graduate school at UW-Milwaukee to receive a master’s degree in urban planning. He has no relation to 4th District Alderman Robert Bauman, a Chicago native. Bauman lived in New York City after college, working first in AmeriCorps and later as a media buyer.

“Daniel is a community-driven person who has a lot of love for the 3rd District and for the city of Milwaukee. He’s somebody that was a close friend of Jonathan’s, somebody who’s been a friend of mine, somebody who demonstrated his desire to move Milwaukee forward. He came back from New York City and worked on my campaign for mayor and served in the mayor’s office for some time and I got the chance to see him and to know him and to see his passion not just for this district, but this city,” Johnson told Urban Milwaukee Friday morning. “And I think he’s going to be a fine addition to the Common Council.”

“Daniel Bauman’s dedication to our community is unmatched,” said Vang Brostoff in a statement. “He has the experience, the heart, and the vision to continue Jonathan’s work and to fight for a Milwaukee that works for everyone.”

Bauman, in a press release, said his campaign would focus on public safety, equitable growth, sustainability and public services.

“Milwaukee’s strength is in its people,” said Bauman. “I believe in building bridges across our community to solve problems and create a better future for everyone.”

The nonpartisan election is to occur alongside the already scheduled spring election on April 1. If three or more candidates register to run, a primary election would be held on Feb. 18 to narrow the field to two.

A second candidate, Kevin Germino, is expected to announce a campaign and even more candidates are expected to enter the race. A Salesforce software consultant, Germino is the vice president of the Murray Hill Neighborhood Association. He lives on the East Side with his wife and child. “He intends to win this election and advance the vision and values of the late Alderman Jonathan Brostoff,” said friend Cade Gerlach in announcing the campaign on social media.

Brostoff, the self-described “honey badger,” was a passionate advocate for sustainable urban development, affordable housing and safe streets.

The district, generally speaking, stretches from E. Pleasant Street north to the city limits at E. Edgewood Avenue and from Lake Michigan west to N. Fratney Street. According to the 2021 redistricting process, 77.5% of the approximately 35,000 voting-age residents identify as white, with 7.6% identifying as Black, 6.5% as Hispanic and 4.9% as Asian.

The 3rd District traditionally has had the city’s highest voter turnout, a fact that held true in the 2024 presidential election.

Brostoff was first elected in a 2022 special election. The then-state representative was the only candidate in the race to replace longtime alderman Nik Kovac, who resigned to become Mayor Cavalier Johnson‘s budget director. Brostff died on Nov. 4.

Circulation of nomination papers can begin on Dec. 1 and all signatures (nomination papers) must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Jan. 7.

Council members are paid $84,205 annually. The winner will hold the seat until Brostoff’s term expires in April 2028.