Milwaukee City Attorney Tearman Spencer loses re-election bid to Rep. Evan Goyke

Milwaukee voters on Tuesday denied embattled City Attorney Tearman Spencer a second term in office, instead electing state Rep. Evan Goyke to head the city government's legal office.

Spencer was elected in 2020, defeating longtime City Attorney Grant Langley. Goyke announced his plans to seek the seat in December 2022.

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Goyke (D-Milwaukee) defeated Spencer by 63% to 36% — a difference of more than 20,000 votes.

The race was one of the closest watched on Tuesday's ballot.

Goyke ahead of Tuesday's election said he had long considered a run for city attorney but decided to get into the race after watching the growing problems in the office during Spencer's tenure. The City Attorney's Office serves as the legal counsel and representative for city departments. 

Spencer came into office as a newcomer to city politics. His tenure has been defined by controversy and conflict.

He has overseen an exodus of staff, including his own appointees. Staffers cited allegations that he sexually harassed female staffers, attempted to retaliate against one accuser and created a hostile work environment. Spencer denied wrongdoing and blamed critical media coverage and poor pay for staff shortages. 

In late February, his top deputy resigned amid allegations he was doing private legal work on the taxpayers' dime. Last year, the city's inspector general recommended the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office bring criminal charges against Spencer and Deputy City Attorney Odalo Ohiku after concluding Ohiku was allowed to do work for his law firm while on the city clock.

Controversy has also swirled around Spencer over his initiation of a private talk with a judge ahead of a court hearing to say he disagreed with the arguments of his own assistant city attorney in the case and his apparent intervention in a code dispute at a Milwaukee property where his cars are stored.

In recent weeks, he falsely claimed at a forum that a policy change in his office ended police-involved deaths during his tenure as city attorney. Police, however, said they are unaware of any policy change. There have been police-involved deaths in the city since he was elected.

The city attorney will make an annual salary of $169,435.83 in the four-year term that begins April 16.

Goyke comes into the office with little administrative experience and a decade since he last worked as a defense attorney. Still, he said he uses his legal education as a member of the state Legislature and has learned a lot from Langley.

And while neither candidate has sought the media spotlight to reach voters, their campaign finance reports indicate significant support for Goyke among Milwaukee's political and legal communities. Among those giving to his campaign were many of the former staffers who fled the City Attorney's Office under Spencer's tenure.

The latest campaign finance reports, which Spencer filed late, showed Goyke heading into the election with about $123,000 cash on hand compared to Spencer's $2,390.

Where Goyke had 13 pages listing contributions from individuals on the latest report, Spencer had just seven total entries.

Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@jrn.com.

Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 313-6684 or dbice@jrn.com. Follow him on X at @DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice.