MILWAUKEE (AP) - Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has easily won a fifth term.
Unofficial returns announced Monday show Barrett defeating fellow Democrat, state Sen. Lena Taylor, nearly 2-1.
The Journal Sentinel reports the coronavirus outbreak meant no in-person election-night parties Monday night. Instead, Barrett and Taylor spoke to reporters remotely to avoid gatherings that could spread the virus.
The election was held last Tuesday, but results weren’t allowed to be reported for nearly a week due to a quirk in a court battle over Wisconsin’s spring elections.
More than 18,800 Milwaukee residents, many wearing masks aimed at protecting their health, voted in-person on April 7 in the middle of the pandemic. More than 77,000 returned absentee ballots also were counted, according to the City of Milwaukee Election Commission.
Barrett was first elected mayor in 2004. He promised to focus his fifth term on creating more jobs, decreasing violent crime, boosting housing initiatives and improving early childhood education.
Taylor countered that Barrett has overseen “the tale of two cities” with stark racial inequalities, and that his administration has mismanaged the city’s problems.
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