If Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley wins the governorship over U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany on Nov. 3, two of Wisconsin’s biggest governments will get new leaders.
County Board Chair Marcelia Nicholson-Bovell would become acting county executive after Crowley resigns, then appoint an interim exec to serve through a special election to fill the remaining year of his term. And she tells Milwaukee Magazine; she would run in that election, the only candidate who is committing to a race at this point.
That would be the third time Milwaukee County has filled a vacancy in its top job, after Tom Ament resigned in a 2002 pension scandal and Scott Walker was elected governor in 2010. And it would be the third southeastern Wisconsin county exec vacancy in three years, after the deaths of Racine County’s Jonathan Delagrave in 2024 and Waukesha County’s Paul Farrow in July.
Celebrate this year’s winners of the Betty Awards!
Crowley’s departure would initiate a three-stage succession process, with Nicholson-Bovell playing a major role in all three stages.
First, she would automatically become acting county exec as soon as he leaves. That was how it worked for her predecessors Karen Ordinans in 2002 and Lee Holloway in 2010, as well as for Racine County Board Chair Tom Kramer in 2024 and Waukesha County Board Chair Jim Heinrich in July.
Within 30 days, state law would require Nicholson-Bovell to nominate an interim exec, subject to County Board confirmation, to serve until the special election winner is sworn in. She said she would be “prepared to act quickly” but didn’t want to speculate about who she might choose.
Two other board chairs who acted quickly to pick an interim exec were Ordinans, who was acting exec for just two days in 2002, and Kenosha County’s Terry Rose, who was in charge for less than a week in 2008 after former County Exec Allan Kehl quit in the face of corruption charges.
In selecting an interim exec, Nicholson-Bovell said by text, “My priority would be ensuring continuity in county government and selecting someone capable of managing the administration effectively during the transition,” as well as “maintaining a fair and orderly special election process.”
Ordinans named former Supreme Court Justice Janine Geske as interim exec, while Holloway picked former Milwaukee Acting Mayor Marvin Pratt. Other board chairs have similarly turned to respected elder figures like retired Waukesha County Corporation Counsel Tom Farley, now interim exec until a December special election, and former Racine County Board Chair Thomas Roanhouse, who was interim exec until current County Exec Ralph Malicki was sworn in.
Legally, Nicholson-Bovell could nominate herself, as Racine County’s Peter Hansen did after former County Exec Jim Ladwig’s 2014 resignation. But Hansen wasn’t a candidate in the 2015 special election that Delagrave won. In the eight southeastern Wisconsin county exec vacancies to date, starting with the 1982 resignation of Racine County’s Gilbert Berthelsen, no interim exec has run in a special election.
When Holloway and Waukesha County’s Jim Dwyer were special election candidates, both named someone else as interim exec, with Dwyer turning to former insurance executive Tom Hefty. Holloway finished fourth in the five-way 2011 primary to replace Walker. Dwyer lost to then-state Rep. Dan Vrakas in the 2005 special election to replace Dan Finley, who quit to lead the Milwaukee Public Museum.
This time, County Clerk George Christensen says, a special election to replace Crowley could coincide with the scheduled February primary and April general election if he resigns by Dec. 29, less than a week ahead of the Jan. 4, 2027, gubernatorial inauguration. Walker met a similar deadline in 2010 to avoid the cost of a separate election.
With no incumbent running, it could be a crowded race. From the first Milwaukee County exec election in 1960, every wide-open contest has drawn four to six primary candidates.
So far, only Nicholson-Bovell is saying she would enter the race. She would be the first woman elected to the office and the first of Hispanic descent, as well as the second Black person after Crowley. At least six other Wisconsin counties have already elected women as leaders, including Kenosha County Executive Samantha Kerkman, Dane County Executive Melissa Agard and former Racine County Executive Jean Jacobson.
Among Other Potential Candidates:
Supervisor Steve Taylor, chair of the County Board’s Finance Committee, says he would think about running after his panel concludes its October consideration of the 2027 budget that Crowley will introduce later this month. Taylor, who lost a 2014 race for Franklin mayor, says he might be able to consolidate conservative support while other candidates split the progressive vote, at least in the primary. But he said his friendship with Nicholson-Bovell would be a factor in his decision.
State Sen. Chris Larson says he’s not planning a third race for the office that has twice eluded him. Larson, a former supervisor, narrowly led the four-way 2016 primary before an unprecedented $3.5 million spending spree by then-incumbent County Exec Chris Abele buried him in the general election. Four years later, Larson again led a four-way primary, but lost the 2020 general election to Crowley by less than one percentage point, in the closest county exec race ever.
Former board chair Theo Lipscomb also says he doesn’t plan to run. Lipscomb placed third, behind Larson and Crowley, in the 2020 primary.
Glendale Mayor Bryan Kennedy says he considered a campaign but decided against it. He has previously announced that he doesn’t plan to run for a fifth term as mayor when his current term expires next spring. Because of issues with his nominating petitions, the County Elections Commission disqualified Kennedy from the 2020 exec race that Crowley won. Kennedy also lost bids for Congress in 2004 and 2006.
Milwaukee Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic, another former County Board chair, did not respond to emails seeking comment. She finished fourth in the seven-way special 2022 mayoral primary that led to Mayor Cavalier Johnson’s election.
Others could jump in as well. In past years, nearly every serious Milwaukee County exec candidate has been a current or former county, state or municipal official.
Of the 23 individuals elected as county execs in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine, Kenosha and Washington counties, 15 have been current or former county officials, including the first four Milwaukee County execs and Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann. Walker’s 2002 victory started a trend of electing state lawmakers, including Crowley, Kerkman, Vrakas, Farrow and former Kenosha County Executive Jim Kreuser. Both candidates who have so far announced bids to replace Farrow are also legislators: State Sen. Chris Kapenga and state Rep. Adam Neylon.
Only Abele and Malicki came from the private sector with no experience in government.
However, those trends can change. Johnson’s win ended a 62-year streak of former state senators holding the Milwaukee mayor’s office — although in a city with notably long-serving mayors, that was just three guys. However, as this year’s chaotic Democratic gubernatorial primary showed, anything can happen in a wide-open contest for county executive.
