South Side Aldermanic Challenger Fined Over Campaign Literature

Milwaukee County Courthouse. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

For several years, Ryan Antczak has been trying to get into public office. So far, all he’s gotten into is legal trouble.

The conservative south sider has become a perennial candidate, running for the 8th aldermanic district on the Milwaukee Common Council twice, for state Assembly District 9 and Milwaukee County Board District 12.

During the 2024 spring election cycle, Antczak filed to run for both the County Board and the Common Council. By the time the election arrived on April 2, he had been booted from the ballot in the county race and committed a misdemeanor crime while running for the city office.

Antczak recently pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly making a false statement to affect the outcome of an election. The charge stemmed from literature he passed out while challenging JoCasta Zamarripa in the 8th Aldermanic District.

He was fined $250 plus court costs.

In the days leading up to the election, Antczak was distributing mailers that said Zamarripa “actively fired” former Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales, which is a false claim. As a member of the Common Council, Zamarripa does not have the power to fire a chief, only the Fire and Police Commission (FPC) can. What’s more, the FPC’s attempt to remove Morales was a widely publicized controversy that ended with the city paying the former chief a $627,000 settlement for violating his due process rights.

A complaint was filed with the District Attorney’s Office after the error in Antczak’s literature was discovered. But it was an interview Antczak gave to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that sealed his fate. On March 29, the newspaper published an interview with Antczak in which he admitted the literature was “a mistake.” The following day, he was recorded continuing to pass it out, demonstrating “Antczak knew the material was false and was continuing to publish false representations after knowing their falsehood.”

Two months before Antczak was circulating lies about his opponent, he was getting booted from the ballot in his bid to unseat Sup. Juan Miguel Martinez. He had circulated nomination signatures using the wrong paperwork and the Milwaukee Election Commission considered them invalid and removed him from the ballot.