{image1}He's back.
Since placing third in the Milwaukee mayoral primary, Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. has admittedly been on something of a political hiatus -- although the sheriff known for his broadsides against the liberal Milwaukee political establishment prefers to describe it as moving temporarily from the dance floor to the balcony to get a better view of the landscape.
"I was rolling a rock uphill, running in back-to-back elections," Clarke said in an hour-long interview last week. "It was very difficult, especially for someone new. It was my first indoctrination into elected office."
After being elected sheriff, Clarke says he got "sucked in by the flattering things people were saying to me" -- namely that he should quickly run for mayor before the former police commander built the base of political and financial support he needed to win. "But in looking back, I'm glad I did it. It was an invaluable learning experience for me."
There are clear recent signs that Clarke is emerging from his year-long political hibernation. He's got a fundraiser today at Mo's Cucina planned with a broad-based host list of over 125 people at $250 each that includes both Democratic and Republican heavyweights -- from PR guru Evan Zeppos to business leader Ulice Payne to state Republican Party Chair Rick Graber.
He's up for re-election as sheriff in 2006, but that hasn't stopped some observers from again speculating about his political future -- everything from county executive in the event of a Scott Walker gubernatorial win to Congress. But not Clarke, who says he's focused on sheriff, adding, "I'm a career cop.''
He also re-emerged as a player in the public debate this month in a manner that is vintage Clarke. He became a lightning rod early in his tenure as sheriff for wading into thorny social issues more often the domain of governors and mayors than of county sheriffs. On May 3, he did it again, penning an op-ed piece that assailed welfare reform ("Kill W-2 And Every Other Welfare Program," read the headline), quickly drawing the wrath of at least one liberal columnist.
In the interview last week, Clarke agreed he's stepping back into the mix. He was candid and characteristically blunt -- "Why can't I be the Zell Miller of the Democratic Party?" asked the sheriff with conservative views who ran as a Democrat but was appointed by Republican Gov. Scott McCallum.
Because the Democratic Party, he says, won't have him, or politicians like him. "They can't have a black guy out there espousing conservative views because that hurts them." He hasn't joined either party and prefers to eschew labels, but says, "Even if I joined the Democratic Party, I'm persona non grata. They will not allow me to think independently -- especially a black guy doing it."
He reveals that he originally wanted to run for sheriff as a Republican but an aide to McCallum talked him into running as a Democrat, a necessary "strategy" to win in Milwaukee County, which hadn't had a Republican sheriff in 46 years. He had "no name recognition, no money" and he was going to run as a black Republican in Milwaukee County, a "sea of Democrats"? Not possible to win that way at that time, he says.
But he adds: "Why do people want to label me? I will always fight that. In law enforcement, I don't see it as a Democratic or Republican issue." He believes citizens know him now and most see beyond "all of this partisan stuff" and "say, 'I know who the guy is and I like his character and integrity.'"
Clarke's renaissance is a good thing. Whether you agree with him on the issues or not, he's always been an intriguing politician in a city that increasingly lacks them (even supporters would hardly label Mayor Tom Barrett or most of the city aldermen as intriguing).
As a black conservative, he injects a rarely heard but broadening perspective into the public debate. Many of the left's spinmeisters would disagree; they have often dished out particularly harsh invective against Clarke that usually is set aside for articulate minority conservatives. It's no surprise that Clarke mentioned both federal judge nominee Janice Rogers Brown and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last week. He sees an analogy.
Clarke challenges the offensive assumption that minorities must follow a certain political thought orthodoxy not expected from everyone else. And he's been continually underestimated by some of his opponents -- written off as shooting from the hip or a sell out -- when he simply has a political value system that doesn't match theirs. But he's given a lot of thought to his positions.
He says of his recent column: "Welfare became a lifestyle, a career, and it does de-motivate." The welfare state, he says, had "unintended consequences -- a culture of dependency" that he saw too often as a cop. "It's one of those things I deeply believe in and can back up with research so I put it on paper."
When I was a reporter covering Clarke as a cop, I felt that he was closed off and somewhat arrogant, but he's emerged as a far more complex persona now that he's running his own department.
The son of a letter carrier and military man who voted Democratic but gave his son traditional values ("If more black males were raised in this fashion what's the worst that could happen -- that they would turn out to be Republicans?" Clarke asks), Clarke is a self-taught politician and a well-read intellectual whose book shelves are packed with tomes on juvenile violence, leadership and the like. He recently returned from a three-week leadership program at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.
"Politics teaches you that you can't accomplish anything of significance alone," he says. Without enough partners, "when you're under attack they only have you to shoot at. When you have partners, they have to shoot at many targets ..and some of the targets may be aligned with some of the people who want to shoot at you."
Reading his fundraiser invitation host list, it becomes clear that Clarke is putting this lesson into action.
As for the mayoral race, he believes that he was not able to raise enough money to combat what he sees as the "lack of free media" (other than talk radio). He believes the nomination signature "snafu" that almost resulted in him not making it on the ballot was part of the reason for the loss, but would have been surmountable with enough money. The Democratic Party, he says, " cut us off" and he knew the "liberal establishment would try to paint me as a far-right conservative."
Some would argue his views and talk radio alliance do that on their own. He says he does "lean right of center" but adds he was surprised the Democratic Party didn't try to "court" him. "Values are not the sole province of the Republican Party."
But he's not bitter -- he's energized. And definitely back.
Jessica McBride, a former newspaper reporter, teaches journalism at UW-Milwaukee. She's married to Waukesha County DA Paul Bucher, who seeks the Republican nomination for State Attorney General.
The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of OnMilwaukee.com, its advertisers or editorial staff.
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