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Joel Brennan Joins Democratic Field
The Democratic race for governor in Wisconsin continues to grow.
Former Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan on Thursday jumped into the race.
“I’ll be a Governor who will stand up to Trump’s dysfunction and be laser focused on improving the lives of people across our state. With fair maps and a Democratic governor, we can stay true to our values and deliver real and lasting change," Brennan said in his campaign announcement.
Brennan ran the DOA for Gov. Tony Evers from Evers' first day as governor. He was appointed to the job in 2018, and stayed until he left in 2021.
In fact, Brennan was the only one of Evers' nominees for a secretary-level position to get unanimous support from Republicans in the Wisconsin Senate.
Before his time with the Evers Administration, Brennan was the CEO at Milwaukee's Discovery World. When he left state government, he went to a job at the Greater Milwaukee Committee.
It's that post that is betting Brennan blow-back from at least one other Democrat in next year's race.
State Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, said she continues to be upset that the Greater Milwaukee Committee opposed Milwaukee Public Schools' quarter-billion-dollar tax hike proposal.
"While I look forward to a spirited primary, I will not be able to overlook the fact that only one of the candidates in this race tried to defeat a desperately needed referendum to fund our biggest school district," Roys said Thursday.
Brennan, at the time of the tax hike vote, said he wanted "a broader community conversation" around the tax hike, and around the future of MPS.
Brennan didn't talk about that, or really any other state issues, during his campaign announcement video. Instead, he focused on President Trump.
“Thanks to Donald Trump’s chaos and incompetence, the numbers just aren’t adding up for Wisconsin families,” Brennan said.
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