DEBRASKA TO CHALLENGE WITKOWSKI FOR 13th DISTRICT SEAT

Special to the Readers of Milwaukeeworld.com

By Michael Horne

Bradley D. DeBraska, the Milwaukee Police Association head for 16 years until his 2005 retirement, plans to challenge another City of Milwaukee pensioner for a seat on the Common Council.
DeBraska filed a campaign registration statement with the City of Milwaukee Election Commission yesterday, Tuesday, December 18th, 2007, declaring his candidacy for alderman of the 13th District.
That seat is now held by Ald. Terry Witkowski, who has also announced plans to run for what would be his second term.
DeBraska's decision to enter the race puts him in a curious situation, since the police union endorsed challenger Chris Kuester before DeBraska entered the race. However, police union endorsements traditionally have been used by candidates to show they have passed muster with the police department. DeBraska does not have to prove any such thing, due to his long service on the force, and Kuester probably won't get much mileage out of that particular endorsement.
DeBraska could be a formidable candidate, and starts out with a higher name recognition than either of his opponents or practically anybody on the council for that matter.
The race in the 13th district, which was not even on the radar screen yesterday, now rivals those in the 6th district (where current alderman Michael McGee is in jail) and the 3rd district (where alderman Michael D'Amato has decided not to run) as the most interesting races on the council.