Twas a poetic comment thread. Council President Mark Clear, poking fun at Paul Soglin's candidacy for mayor, mused:
I presume this means Jonathan Barry is running for Exec. Paging Pat Lucey!
A little while later, Emily Mills responded:
Hey Mark? Barry's running.
As Clear later pointed out, the word had been out for a while that Barry was considering a bid. His entry to the race means there is at least one solid conservative in the field. Whether conservative activists are behind his decision or not, his candidacy will fill the void on the right created by Jon Hochhammer's recent withdrawal from the race. Cap Times:
In a county that leans to the left, Barry, who served in the Assembly as a Democrat, now calls himself a Republican. He added he is not a Scott Walker Republican, though.
But that did not prevent him from introducing Walker to the Dane County Republicans in February.
Former Dane County Executive Jonathan Barry introduced Walker and said he has been successful at working in a very challenging environment. During Walker's eight years as county executive, he did not raise property taxes and lowered the number of county employees, Barry added.
"We need a good leader, we need a good management, ... we also need someone that can get elected," Barry said.
In light of the Soglin announcement, it's looking like Madisonians will have two very exciting races this spring for two top government posts in the area. Lukas Diaz believes any of the county executive candidates are contenders.
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