Name Marvin Pratt Preceded by John Norquist Role American Politician | Preceded by John Kalwitz Party Democratic Party Political party Democratic Succeeded by Chris Abele | |
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Born May 26, 1944 (age 79)
Dallas, Texas ( 1944-05-26 ) | ||
Preceded by Lee Holloway (acting) | ||
Marvin E. Pratt (born May 26, 1944 in Dallas, Texas) is an American politician who served as acting mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 2004 and as interim Milwaukee County Executive in 2011.
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Early life
Pratt was born in Texas, the son of a sailor in the United States Navy and his wife, Joyce. Pratt's father died in a car accident in 1949. In 1959, he and his family moved to Milwaukee. He joined the United States Air Force straight out of high school. After serving for nearly four years, he was honorably discharged. He enrolled at Marquette University in 1968, and graduated in January 1972. He became an intern for mayor Henry Maier and then starting climbing a ladder of local government jobs.
Political life
Pratt ran for an aldermanic seat in 1984 and lost to the incumbent Roy B. Nabors. He ran for the same seat and won in a 1986 special election. Upon his election in 1986, Pratt was appointed to the Finance and Personnel Committee, where he continuously served as member and eventually chairman from 1996 to 2000. He became Common Council president in 2000. When mayor John Norquist stepped down in 2004 three months before his term expired, Pratt became acting mayor. He was the first African-American to serve as mayor of Milwaukee. Pratt ran in a primary election for the Mayoral seat and finished first from a field of thirteen candidates during the primary. He lost his bid to retain the job to Tom Barrett in the 2004 general election.
On February 4, 2011, Pratt was sworn in as interim Milwaukee County Executive. Appointed by County Board Chairman Lee Holloway, he filled the unexpired term of former Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, who was elected governor of Wisconsin, until the special Spring Election held on April 5, 2011. Upon swearing in, Pratt became the first person to serve as both Milwaukee Mayor and Milwaukee County Executive. On April 5, 2011, Chris Abele defeated Republican challenger Jeff Stone, capturing over 61% of the vote and succeeded Pratt to serve out the remainder of then-County Executive Scott Walker's original term.
Family
Pratt married Dianne Sherrill in 1971. They have two children, Michael Pratt and Andrea Pratt. They have five grandchildren.