In Milwaukee city attorney race, Goyke questions Spencer omitting 'Tearman' from ballot

When Milwaukee voters look at their April general election ballot, they won't see the name of embattled City Attorney Tearman Spencer.

Instead, they will find "T. Spencer." His yard signs and mailer encourage people to "re-elect Spencer."

In his successful 2020 campaign, Spencer used his full first and last name on the spring and general election ballots when defeating longtime incumbent Grant Langley.

It's not clear why Spencer has decided to change his official name on the ballot. He did not return calls, text messages or emails.

But his opponent, state Rep. Evan Goyke (D-Milwaukee), accused the incumbent of trying to get voters to conflate him with longtime city Treasurer Spencer Coggs, a member of one of the city's most powerful political families.

"I've never seen anything like this before," Goyke said. "I believe he is trying to cause ballot confusion with Spencer Coggs."

Coggs, who is running unopposed for a fourth term as treasurer, did not return a request for comment. The popular 74-year-old politician previously spent three decades in the Legislature.

The city attorney will make an annual salary of $169,435.83 in the four-year term that begins after the April 2 election.

Candidates in high-profile Milwaukee city attorney race maintain low profile

Until now, despite being in perhaps the highest profile race on the Milwaukee ballot, the two candidates for city attorney have maintained an incredibly low profile.

Neither has raised the money to be on TV or radio. Nor have they had a single joint appearance.

Their social media and online presence is not much more active.

Until Thursday, the latest news on Goyke's campaign website was a Journal Sentinel story in December 2022 about his announcement that he would be running against Spencer. The latest news story on Spencer's campaign website is from November 2022.

Goyke has also remained mum as controversy has swirled around Spencer.

That includes the city attorney's apparent intervention in a code dispute at a Milwaukee property where his cars are stored and the resignation of Spencer's top deputy, Odalo Ohiku, amid allegations he was doing private legal work on the taxpayers' dime.

On Wednesday, the city Ethics Board voted unanimously to close its investigation into whether Ohiku had failed to report income from his private law practice on his financial disclosure form, concluding the panel lacks jurisdiction now that he has left his city job. The board could re-open the probe if Ohiku returns to a city job in the next three years.

Spencer has all but disappeared from the public eye so far this year.

But Goyke said the race doesn't seem so quiet to him.

"It's an interesting office to run for," said Goyke, who has served in the Assembly since 2013. "Half of what you have to do as a candidate for city attorney is explain what the city attorney does, and then the other half is to explain why you're the right candidate for the job.

"That is door to door, that is at community events, through media, and then the kind of traditional mechanics of a campaign. … I don't feel quiet because I've been working."

Goyke says he has long considered a run for Milwaukee city attorney

In a 30-minute interview with the Journal Sentinel, Goyke said he's been eyeing the city attorney's job even before Spencer won the post in April 2020. He highlighted a couple of instances in which he said he worked closely with the office to pass state legislation addressing local problems and "loved what they were doing."

"They were trying to solve a public safety challenge in my own backyard," he said, "and I thought, well, this is exactly why I went into law."

But the six-term Democrat said the time was not right for him to run for the post four years ago after he was named to a seat on the Legislature's powerful Joint Finance Committee.

Goyke said he even voted for Spencer in the 2020 race.

"I bought it hook, line and sinker," he said. "I joined the majority of Milwaukeeans that bought what he was selling. But I'm not gonna vote for him again."

Spencer's first term marred by controversy

Since taking office in 2020, Spencer has been at the center of numerous controversies and has overseen a mass exodus of staff that has hampered the office's ability to carry out its core duties. Former staffers have blamed him for creating a toxic work environment.

Spencer has blamed others for the problems in his office.

Earlier this month, the city settled a sexual harassment claim against Spencer for $40,000. Payment of an additional $67,500 in legal fees to an outside attorney that represented the city in the case received Common Council approval this week.

The city's inspector general has also called on the Milwaukee County district attorney to bring criminal charges against Spencer and his former top deputy for misconduct in office.

That investigation is ongoing.

Spencer, though has contended things are going well in his office.

The last two years have been "kind of tumultuous," but the office has managed to perform while "understaffed and in absence of positions," Spencer said at his office's budget presentation to the Common Council's finance committee in October.

"We've, I think, made major accomplishments, saving the city a great deal of money and bringing in revenue," he said.

Goyke said he watched all of these problems mount and decided he needed to run, even if incumbents are hard to beat.

"I really looked in the mirror and thought, you know, it's my responsibility to raise my hand and go for it," he said.

With limited administrative background, Goyke says he would seek to build out City Attorney's Office with experienced attorneys

Goyke would come to the office, which has nearly three dozen attorneys and more than 60 total employees, with little administrative experience.

He also hasn't been in court in a decade, when he gave up his criminal defense practice to take his position in the Assembly.

That stands in contrast to the two most recent city attorneys who preceded Spencer. Langley served as an assistant city attorney for 13 years before he was elected to the top post in 1984. Before him, James Brennan had served as an assistant district attorney, U.S. attorney and a state legislator before he was first elected city attorney in 1972, according to city records.

Goyke said he uses his law degree and legal education in his current post. He said he has also learned a lot from Langley, who has been advising him on what his responsibilities will be if he wins in April.

Langley has been silent throughout Spencer's tenure but endorsed Goyke for the office.

"What I'm telling you is, I'm excited and willing to be in traffic court dealing with parking tickets on Friday before Christmas if that's what it's going to take to rebuild (the office)," Goyke said. "When I talk about rebuilding culture and trust within the office, if the top leadership doesn't do that, it's a problem."

Goyke said he didn't want to focus on the issues that have dogged Spencer.

Among other things, he said he would like to use the office to reduce crime in the city, especially reckless driving, and enforce housing codes in a bid to increase the standards of living in Milwaukee.

But Goyke did speak out on some of the problems that have arisen under Spencer.

Goyke said he wants to bring more experienced lawyers into the City Attorney's Office, which was considered for years to be an attractive workplace for lawyers. He said he would invite those attorneys who fled the office under Spencer to consider returning to the agency.

He said he would have a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program in place to make sure the office represents the city that it serves.

He also said he was no fan of the controversial dress code that Spencer put in place. The dress code, which applies to men and women, includes bans on revealing or tight clothes, cleavage, dresses or skirts above the knee, bare backs, halter tops, open-toe shoes and fragrances.

"The dress code will be terminated on Day One," Goyke said. "Women that have made it through law school and have a career in the law, I trust them to dress appropriately without a 1950s-era dress code. That will be shredded immediately."

Goyke far outraises Spencer, gets backing from political, legal communities

Goyke has held fundraisers in Milwaukee and Madison, as evidenced by his Facebook page.

Spencer in December issued typo-laden Facebook post about a campaign kick-off fundraiser, but it's unclear what other events he might have held to raise money.

Goyke's campaign finance reports read like a who's who of Milwaukee's political and legal communities, including many of the former staffers who fled the City Attorney's Office during Spencer's tenure.

As of the January campaign finance filings, the largest donation to Goyke's campaign, at $6,000, came from Christian Thomas, an attorney who resigned from Spencer's office after saying he had been asked to write a retaliatory memo documenting the failings of his predecessor, who had accused Spencer of sexual harassment.

He told the Journal Sentinel it is important that the city have a "steady hand" in the City Attorney's Office heading into the November presidential election, when the city's vote is likely to again be the focus of controversy.

"It's equal parts that I admire Evan and am excited about what he could bring to that position but also that I am a bit afraid of what happens to the City of Milwaukee and to the election and what happens to the State of Wisconsin and the United States of America if Tearman Spencer continues to be the city attorney while we fend off attacks against our elections," Thomas told the Journal Sentinel.

Goyke's latest campaign finance report, filed in January, shows he had $91,410 cash on hand and had raised $41,315 in the period from July 1 through Dec. 31, 2023. He had spent $18,730 in that period.

In contrast, Spencer reported having $15,781 cash on hand and an outstanding loan balance of $110,500 on the latest report. He reported having raised $13,306 in the period and spent $332.

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.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: In Milwaukee city attorney race, there's no 'Tearman' in Spencer