MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Milwaukee County Board Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson-Bovell entered the race for Milwaukee County executive on Monday, Nov. 9, days after County Executive David Crowley was elected governor of Wisconsin.
Nicholson-Bovell, 38, first won a seat on the County Board in 2016 and has led the board as chair since 2020, the same year Crowley became county executive. She has pitched her campaign as a continuation of his work, saying he left her a strong base to build on and pledging to make life in the county more affordable without cutting services.
Crowley beat Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany in last week’s governor’s race. His move to Madison sets up a special election for the rest of his county term, which runs to April 2028. That vote is expected to line up with the regular spring election in April 2027.
Under state law, Nicholson-Bovell will take on the duties of acting county executive once Crowley resigns and will have 30 days to name an interim, subject to County Board approval. She has said she will not appoint herself and wants to win the job from voters.
She grew up on the city’s north side, and she has tied her interest in mental health and trauma to what she saw in her neighborhood as a child.
The next county executive will face tight budgets. County forecasts show red ink totaling about $169 million across five years, with a $51 million gap projected for 2027, and an accounting error disclosed Nov. 4 left a $4.56 million hole in the proposed 2027 budget.
State Sen. Chris Larson, who lost narrowly to Crowley in 2020, is seen as a possible rival.
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