Brower, Bauman Advance From 8-Way Race to Replace Brostoff

Alex Brower and Daniel Bauman. Photos provided.

East Side and Riverwest voters have narrowed the chaotic field of eight aldermanic candidates to two.

Alex Brower and Daniel Bauman will face off in an April 1 to election to replace the late Jonathan Brostoff on the Milwaukee Common Council.

The large field spent the past month participating in a dizzying array of forums and events in the city’s highest turnout aldermanic district. But voters made it clear that only three of the eight were real contenders.

Brower, who narrowly finished first (28.7%, 1,623 votes), is the Milwaukee Substitute Teachers’ Association president and executive director of the Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans. He has run his campaign with the backing of the Milwaukee Democratic Socialists of America. He is promoting a vision of replacing We Energies with public ownership and a return to the city’s Sewer Socialist history of governance. Brower made headlines for a 21-day hunger strike in 2018 for health care coverage for substitute teachers. He’s previously run for school board and city comptroller. Brower, according to his campaign filing, lives a block outside of the district in Riverwest. Candidates must live in the district by the time they take office.

Bauman (27.9%, 1,576 votes) lives in Riverwest with his wife and family and was raised in Sherman Park. He is a marketing consultant and is pursuing a master’s degree in urban planning from UW-Milwaukee. He was deputy campaign manager for Cavalier Johnson‘s mayoral campaign, worked as a staff assistant in the mayor’s office and previously worked in New York City in advertising. Johnson, Brostoff’s widow Diana Vang-Brostoff and Kovac have all backed Bauman.

In addition to Bauman and Brower, Alexander Kostal finished third with 26.9% of the vote, 58 votes short of staying in the race. Kostal is a graduate of UW-Milwaukee, where he served as student government president during a tumultuous period, and the Marquette University Law School. He previously ran for county supervisor in 2024. The Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association is backing Kostal.

No other candidate secured more than 7% of the vote. Nas Musa finished a distant fourth with 6.4% of the vote, despite raising more than $25,000 and heavily campaigning. Political newcomers Frank Ferrante and Josh Anderson finished 5th (3.06%) and 6th (3.04%). Bryant Junco, a law-and-order candidate with a very active online presence, finished 7th (2.2%) after revelations of stalking accusations by women in three states became public on Valentine’s Day. Perennial candidate Ieshuh Griffin finished last with 1.7%.

The special election was triggered by Brostoff’s death in November. The late politician had held the seat since winning a special election in November 2022. Prior incumbent Nik Kovac, now the budget director, won his own eight-way race in 2008 before resigning to join Johnson‘s administration.

The nonpartisan position is a powerful post in city politics. Council members are responsible for approving the city budget, reviewing zoning changes to enable new development and setting city policy on initiatives like reckless driving intiatives. A substantial amount of the role also includes basic constituent service, including addressing issues like garbage pickup, snow plowing and other quality of life issues.

The Third District extends north from Downtown and includes the East Side and the eastern half of Riverwest (district map).

The winner will serve the remainder of Brostoff’s term, which lasts through April 2028. The position pays $84,205 annually.

Daniel Bauman has no relation to 4th District Alderman Robert Bauman.