DANIEL BICE

Bice: Sheriff Clarke begins raising money for 2018

Daniel Bice
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

This story was originally published on Oct. 27, 2016. 

Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. is jetting around the country, picking up sundry awards, giving pro-cop speeches and doing everything he can to get GOP nominee Donald Trump elected president.

Clarke is like a guy without a day job.

But he very clearly does have one and — it turns out — he wants to keep it.

Over this past weekend, Clarke's campaign sent out a fundraising appeal for his re-election bid, which doesn't happen until 2018. He has been elected four times since first being appointed 14 years ago.

"It's already starting!" Clarke wrote in his two-page letter to supporters. "With nearly two years before the next election, my detractors are setting up their Little Shop of Horrors."

The impetus for his note was Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge John Siefert's remarks to me that he is "90% sure" that he won't run for re-election and, instead, will challenge Clarke in the Democratic primary in two years. The lowest rated judge in the state in a recent survey of attorneys, Siefert, 67, has said he hopes to make a final decision by the end of December.

Local Democrats are said to be also trying to recruit an African-American cop to take on Clarke, who is black and runs as a Democrat despite his conservative credentials.

"My team and I believe we will need to start sooner in our defense for the next election," Clarke wrote in his fundraising letter. "Our opponents were overconfident because of the large sums they spent trying to buy Milwaukee votes last time. They will not make the same mistake again."

That's a reference to the six-figure sums that Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg dropped in the 2014 primary in an effort to knock off Clarke. He won by 52% to 48%.

So does the direct-mail piece mean Clarke has given up thoughts of landing a job in an increasingly unlikely Trump administration?

Clarke isn't saying. But he did send a handwritten note to my home address thanking me for the column on Siefert's possible candidacy.

"Your story served as a catalyst to kick-start my fundraising," Clarke wrote. "Being 2 years out from re-election makes it hard to get people to donate. A great motivator is to be able to show I have a specific opponent.

"Be generous in your donation!"

He signed the note, "The People's Sheriff."

Sachin Chheda, a Democratic political consultant who ran Milwaukee Police Lt. Chris Moews' last failed campaign against Clarke, said it's not terribly surprising that the sheriff is looking to raise money for himself even while still promoting Trump before the Nov. 8 election.

Clarke is better known than ever before, having spoken at the Republican National Convention, appearing regularly on national news shows and having picked up more than 313,000 followers on Twitter. A single incendiary tweet from the flame-throwing sheriff — like his one proclaiming it "pitchforks and torches time" — now makes international headlines.

"He wants to take advantage of this moment where he's tied to the Trump presidential campaign," he said.

In addition, Chheda said, Clarke has "monetized" the sheriff's position by collecting honorariums with his packed speaking schedule and securing a book deal for early next year. So he may have more money of his own to pour into a race. He already has $43,000 in his campaign account.

But just how serious is the 60-year-old sheriff about running for another term?

His last primary was the toughest of his political career. Wisconsin voters also don't take too fondly to officeholders who seem to lose interest in the job to which they were elected. Gov. Scott Walker is still recovering from his disastrous presidential bid.

Clarke has also yet to announce anything.

But that hasn't stopped him from sounding like a candidate eager to run one more time.

"We need to stay tough on crime, violence and disorder. Recent events like the riots in Milwaukee and the war on the American police officer will continue into my next re-election," Clarke wrote.

"Please join me once again and consider a donation to my campaign," he continued. "Let's continue the good work we have started and continue to send the message to the pro-criminal establishment, defenders of the status quo, and a government that does not trust its citizens in order to help make Milwaukee County and America safer places to live."

Sounds like a page from the Trump playbook.

Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 224-2135 or dbice@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter @ DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice.