Former Mayoral Aide, MPD Official Charged With Voter Fraud

Marcey Patterson appears before the Community & Economic Development in March 2025. Image from City of Milwaukee City Channel, City Clerk’s Office.

Marcey Patterson is alleged to have committed one of the stranger cases of voter fraud in recent Milwaukee history.

It’s cost her a high-paid, executive command staff job with the Milwaukee Police Department. It could also cost her more than $8,200 if the city pursues clawing back improperly paid residency bonuses.

Patterson, according to a newly filed criminal complaint, is alleged to have lived in the suburbs of Glendale and Brown Deer while repeatedly claiming a Milwaukee home where her mother lives as her primary residence.

Since moving out in 2018, Patterson, 45, voted 12 times using a city of Milwaukee address while not living in the city of Milwaukee.

The address issue netted Patterson, the recently resigned Community Relations and Engagement Director for MPD, a Class I felony charge. If convicted, the felony carries a fine of not more than $10,000, imprisonment of up to three years and six months or both.

Patterson, according to the 2025 city budget, was to be paid $112,498 this year. She resigned from the job on July 21, five days after she was interviewed by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office. The criminal charge was filed Monday.

She had joined the police department in 2022 after spending more than a decade in other city roles, including several with the mayor’s office.

As portrayed by Assistant District Attorney Matthew Westphal‘s criminal complaint, Patterson offered a confusing explanation for where she lives and what constitutes a permanent residence.

“Patterson was shown the April 4, 2022, personal history questionnaire and agreed that she filled it out. When shown where she’d listed the [Milwaukee] residence, Patterson stated that was the residence she considered her permanent residence. However, she stated that she does not sleep at the [Milwaukee] residence at all. She then stated that her mother is 80 years old, so she does have occasional overnight visits.

“When asked where she sleeps, Patterson said the Brown Deer address is her address where she lives, where she sleeps, where she wakes up, where she leaves for work, and where her son is. But she stated [the Milwaukee address] is a permanent address she uses. Complainant asked Patterson whether she was staying at the [Milwaukee] address when she listed the [Glendale] residence. Patterson stated that she would occasionally stay at the [Milwaukee] residence to help her mother, but where she ‘laid her head at night was [at the Glendale address].'”

The complaint says that Patterson offered the fact that the Milwaukee address was printed on her driver’s license as a reason she kept using it. She does co-own the home, according to the complaint and city assessment records.

She gained no clear benefit by voting in one Milwaukee County municipality over another, but declaring a Milwaukee residence for city payroll purposes is an entirely different story.

As of 2019, city employees who live within city limits are paid an extra 3%. The policy was put in place after the state, in 2013, unilaterally stripped the city’s residency requirement.

“Complainant asked Patterson where she was living when she was hired by MPD. Patterson stated the [Glendale] residence. When asked about the 3% incentive, Patterson stated she wasn’t aware of it until the recent reclassification of her position approximately one year and a half previous. She stated that she thought living within 15 miles of the City was sufficient. When asked where she learned about the 15-mile rule, she stated that she overhead people talking about it when the new residence rules were being discussed. Complainant knows that the 3% residency incentive never included a 15 mile rule for non-sworn employees,” says the complaint.

The 15-mile rule applies to a maximum distance sworn public safety personnel must live from the city’s borders. Patterson was a civilian employee.

Citing interviews with MPD chief of staff Heather Hough, Mayor Cavalier Johnson‘s chief of staff and former MPD chief of staff Nick DeSiato, the mayor’s office manager Patty Doll and an email between Patterson and the payroll office, Westphal alleges “the evidence shows that Patterson was aware of the 3% incentive and knew that she did not live in the City of Milwaukee.”

There is no criminal charge related to the 3% incentive payment, but the nature of it is detailed at length in the criminal complaint about voter fraud.

“As a result, during her employment at MPD, Patterson received $8,226.78 in overpayments due to the 3% incentive. MPD would not have authorized these payments but for Patterson’s false assertions regarding her residence,” says the complaint.

In a press release issued Monday, MPD said its own internal affairs investigation substantiated the claims about “criminal misconduct” after becoming aware of the claims in June. Patterson also amended her residency status after being confronted about the issue.

“We hold all members of our department—sworn and civilian—to the highest standards of ethical conduct. We will continue to act decisively to maintain public trust and uphold the values of this organization,” said Chief Jeffrey Norman in a statement.

Patterson, according to her LinkedIn profile, worked in the Mayor’s Office and Department of City Development from 2007 until her transition to MPD.

She started as “Director of First Impressions” under Mayor Tom Barrett and rose through the ranks as scheduling coordinator, special assistant, DCD economic development specialist and, starting in 2016, “Faith Based and Community Engagement Liason.” She left the mayor’s office in December 2021, the same month Johnson became mayor.

A spokesperson for Johnson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Patterson’s first appearance is scheduled for Sept. 15.

UPDATE: The timing of Patterson’s departure from the mayor’s office has been expanded upon.