Sup. Vincent Faces Challenge in Heated Race for District 11

Kathleen Vincent (left) and Ryan Antczak (right).

In Milwaukee County’s District 11, incumbent Supervisor Kathleen Vincent faces a challenge from Ryan Antczak, a frequent candidate for public office on Milwaukee’s South Side who has not yet won an election.

The race for the district on the southwest side of the county has become the most contentious of the county board election cycle. Vincent has filed a criminal complaint alleging Antczak is knowingly spreading false information, and she has since released Antczak’s personnel file from his time as a county employee.

District 11 includes the village of Greendale, the city of Greenfield and a small portion of the southwest side of the city of Milwaukee between S. 83rd Street and S. 27th Street.

Vincent is a two-term supervisor and an educator for the Kenosha Unified School District. Along with serving on the county board, Vincent is also a member of the Greendale school board.

Antczak is a former Milwaukee County correctional officer of nearly 18 years. In 2017, while working at the Community Reintegration Center (CRC), then called the House of Correction, he resigned while on suspension and facing potential termination on a handful of disciplinary charges, according to county records released by the Vincent campaign. Since then, he has run for public office several times, seeking seats on the Milwaukee Common Council, the county board and in the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Antczak declined to be interviewed about his candidacy. He also declined to comment on his employment history with the county or the criminal complaint Vincent filed on March 25 against him. The complaint charges that Antczak spread false claims about Vincent’s public meeting attendance and job performance.

In 2024, Antczak pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly making a false statement to affect the outcome of an election for mailers he distributed while running against JoCasta Zamarripa for the Milwaukee Common Council.

District 11 is one of only three county board seats with a competitive race this election cycle. Voters in the district will pick their new representative on Tuesday, April 7.

County supervisors are elected to two-year terms. The nonpartisan position pays $32,819 annually. The county board is the legislative arm of Milwaukee County government, tasked with financial oversight and approval of the approximately $1.3 billion Milwaukee County budget.

In an interview with Urban Milwaukee, Sup. Vincent discussed her reasons for seeking re-election and some of the most pressing issues facing the county.

Why is Vincent running for re-election?

Vincent said she thinks she has “been doing a great job as the supervisor for District 11.”

“I grew up in this community, and the people there mattered to me, and I know I can be a strong voice for the residents of District 11,” she said. 

Primary areas of focus

If re-elected to another term, Vincent said she is interested in working on housing and mental health, adding that the issues are, in some cases, intertwined. Vincent said she has been going on “ride-alongs” with the county’s homeless outreach teams during the past year.

Milwaukee has a housing shortage, she said, adding, “There are abandoned buildings, there are vacant lots, there are places where housing should and could be going up.”

She has been candid about her struggles with mental health in the past and said she believes she can be an effective advocate for people struggling with mental health because of this.

Vincent supports the effort led by County Executive David Crowley‘s administration to build more affordable housing in county suburbs.

“We do have people that are financially strapped, even in the suburbs,” Vincent said, “and they deserve an opportunity to also have, not only secure housing, but they deserve to have quality schools for their kids to go to.”

County budget challenges

Considering the projected budget gaps facing the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) and the county budget as a whole, Vincent said the county should continue to advocate for more funding from the state.

The county does not receive a “fair share” of state revenue considering how much it contributes to the state budget, Vincent said. “This is not a conversation that’s going to go away because we’re not getting our fair share, and that’s part of the reason why you’re seeing these drastic cuts.”

When it comes to transit, Vincent noted that MCTS buses no longer serve all the communities in her district. After service reductions implemented in the 2026 budget, buses no longer run to Greendale.

“We’re paying for a transit system that residents don’t even have access to in our district,” Vincent said. “I do think we need to continue to lobby. There has to be something at the state level to understand that people have to get to their jobs, they have to get to appointments and transportation is not something that everybody has access to.”