So it looks like Democratic State Rep. David Cullen might be considering a run in Milwaukee County’s 15th supervisory district, a seat currently held by retiring County Supervisor Lynne DeBruin. No doubt Cullen’s decision to consider a run for the County Board is due in large part to Republican redistricting that will make Rep. Cullen’s district much harder for Democrats to hold onto in 2012, but the fact that he’s considering a run adds an interesting wrinkle to a race that otherwise had the makings of becoming a Dan Cody cakewalk.
Needless to say Dan Cody, who’s believed by some as the frontrunner in the race to succeed Sup. DeBruin, is not the slightest bit happy about the possibility of David Cullen entering the race, attacking Cullen as a “career politician” while also seemingly taking shots at other “career politicians” seeking new positions, folks like Democratic State Sens. Spencer Coggs and Tim Carpenter, as well as current County Supervisor Johnny Thomas, all of whom have indicated their intentions to run for City of Milwaukee Treasurer and Comptroller.
However, the problems facing Milwaukee County right now need fresh ideas from new leaders, not a career politician who is suddenly interested in a new job as an Alderman, Comptroller, Treasurer or County Supervisor simply because he is worried about losing his Assembly seat in November of next year.
While I understand all too well why Dan Cody wants to dissuade anyone from running against him for a seat on the County Board, I think a contested race would be a heck of a lot of fun to watch, especially considering how negative Cody went after just one press release from David Cullen.
I actually wasn’t talking about Sen. Coggs or Carpenter, I was referring to the fact that Rep. Cullen was considering running for Alderman, then for Comptroller, maybe Treasurer, and now maybe Supervisor. Point being, he’s not actually interested in how he can best serve those positions, but what would be “easiest” for him to be elected to so he can keep a steady paycheck.
That’s not being negative, it’s just pointing out the obvious: if his district weren’t getting a little tougher for him to win, he wouldn’t have even considered leaving the Assembly.
Johnny Thomas, who’s running for comptroller, is far from a career politician. He’s in his first term on the county board.
The assessment of Cullen is pretty much dead on. He’s really never done anything in the Legislature — except run for the State Senate in 1993 — when he had nothing to lose. He lost that race in large part because he didn’t work hard enough during the campaign. Cullen has been “punching the clock” ever since in a safe seat for over two decades. I’ve watched his whole career. It’s sad how much of a leader he could have been from that seat over the years. Instead, he’s been hiding under his desk, collecting his paycheck.