Supreme Moore Omokunde
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the 17th district
Assumed office
January 4, 2021
Preceded byDavid Crowley
Member of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors from the 10th district
In office
April 2015 – December 18, 2020
Preceded byDavid Bowen
Succeeded byPriscilla E. Coggs-Jones
Personal details
Born (1979-08-22) August 22, 1979
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Parents
Residence(s)Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Occupationpolitician, organizer
Website

Supreme Moore Omokunde (born August 22, 1979) is an American politician and community organizer. He has also been known by the names Sowande Ajumoke Omokunde and Supreme Solar Allah. A Democrat, he is a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Assembly District 17. He was also a member of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors from 2015 through 2020.

He is the son of Congresswoman Gwen Moore.

Biography

Supreme Moore Omokunde was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[1] He has worked as an organizer for several Milwaukee organizations, most recently working as community organizer for the Sherman Park Community Association.[1]

He was elected to the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors in a 2015 special election to replace David Bowen, who had been elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly.[2][3][4] Moore Omokunde was re-elected in 2016 and 2018. During his time on the County Board, he was chair of the Health and Human Needs Committee and a member of the Finance and Audit Committee.[1]

Moore Omokunde made his first attempt at election to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 2018. In May, Moore Omokunde informed incumbent Leon Young that he planned to make a primary challenge in the fall for his 16th assembly district seat. Young, who was in his 13th term in the Assembly, announced instead that he would not run for re-election.[5][6] The announcement of an open seat resulted in a five-person primary field. Moore Omokunde earned the endorsement of the Wisconsin Working Families Party, but ultimately finished 245 votes short in the Democratic primary, losing to Kalan Haywood, who went on to become the youngest state legislator in Wisconsin history.[7][8]

In 2020, following the resignation of Assemblyman David Crowley, who had been elected Milwaukee County Executive, Moore Omokunde announced his candidacy for the Assembly in Crowley's vacated 17th district seat. He won the Democratic primary with 48% of the vote, and soundly defeated Republican Abie Eisenbach in the general election. Following his election, Moore Omokunde announced he would resign his seat on the County Board effective December 18, 2020.[9]

2004 campaign vandalism incident

Following the heated 2004 presidential election, Moore Omokunde (then known as "Sowande Ajumoke Omokunde") was one of five young volunteers for the John Kerry campaign charged with felony destruction of property in connection with an incident in the early morning hours of election day, November 2, 2004. Also charged was Michael Pratt, the son of former Milwaukee City Council President and one-time acting-Mayor Marvin Pratt.[10] The five were accused of slashing the tires of 25 cars and vans owned or rented by the Republican Party of Wisconsin in the parking lot of the party's offices in Milwaukee.

Four of the five, including Omokunde, eventually pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of misdemeanor damage to property. The fifth defendant refused the deal and was acquitted by the jury.[11] According to the terms of their plea deal, the district attorney recommended each receive probation and a fine of $5,317. Judge Michael B. Brennan, however, rejected the sentencing recommendation and instead sentenced the four men to six months in jail.[12] Moore Omokunde ultimately served four months and paid a $1,000 fine.[3] The incident, trial, and sentencing provoked intense emotion throughout the state on both sides of the issue, and was brought up again in the 2008 election, forcing the Obama campaign to publicly disavow Omokunde.[13]

Personal life and family

Supreme Moore Omokunde is the son of Gwen Moore, Milwaukee's representative in the United States House of Representatives since 2005. He is a member of the Milwaukee Public Museum Board of Directors and a former Commissioner on the Milwaukee County Human Rights Commission.[1]

Electoral history

Milwaukee County Board (2015)

Milwaukee County Board, 10th District Special Election, 2015[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, April 8, 2015
Nonpartisan Supreme Moore Omokunde 1,190 56.00%
Nonpartisan Solana Patterson-Ramos 904 42.54%
Scattering 31 1.46%
Plurality 286 13.46%
Total votes 2,125 100.0%

Wisconsin Assembly (2018)

Wisconsin Assembly, 16th District Election, 2018[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Primary, August 14, 2018
Democratic Kalan Haywood 2,324 37.35%
Democratic Supreme Moore Omokunde 2,079 33.41%
Democratic Rick Banks 977 15.70%
Democratic Danielle McClendon-Williams 454 7.30%
Democratic Brandy Bond 367 5.90%
Scattering 21 0.34%
Plurality 245 3.94%
Total votes 6,222 100.0%

Wisconsin Assembly (2020)

Wisconsin Assembly, 17th District Election, 2020[16][17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Primary, August 11, 2020
Democratic Supreme Moore Omokunde 3,457 48.15%
Democratic Chris Walton 2,553 35.56%
Democratic Mike Brox 1,157 16.11%
Scattering 13 0.18%
Plurality 904 12.59%
Total votes 7,180 100.0%
General Election, November 3, 2020
Democratic Supreme Moore Omokunde 22,418 85.93% -13.11%
Republican Abie Eisenbach 3,638 13.94%
Scattering 33 0.13% -0.83%
Plurality 18,780 71.98%
Total votes 26,089 100.0% +24.11%
Democratic hold

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Supervisor Supreme Moore Omokunde". Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  2. ↑ Behm, Don (December 29, 2014). "Special election set for vacant Milwaukee County Board seat". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  3. 1 2 Bice, Daniel (January 13, 2015). "Gwen Moore's son - Supreme Solar Allah - running for County Board seat". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  4. ↑ Crouse, Tiffany (April 11, 2015). "Son of Gwen Moore and Son of David Cullen Win County Board Supervisor Positions". Milwaukee Courier. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  5. ↑ Marley, Patrick (May 23, 2018). "Supreme Moore Omokunde to run for Wisconsin Legislature; Rep. Leon Young stepping down". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  6. ↑ "State Rep. Leon Young from Milwaukee calls it quits, plans to return to job as police officer". FOX 6 Milwaukee. Associated Press. May 23, 2018. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  7. ↑ "WI Working Families Party endorses Milwaukee County slate for state legislature". Wisconsin Working Families Party (Press release). Milwaukee. July 11, 2018. Retrieved December 10, 2020 – via Urban Milwaukee.
  8. ↑ Beck, Molly; Johnson, Annysa (August 14, 2018). "Immigration attorney ousts Rep. Josh Zepnick following sexual misconduct allegations". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Supervisor Supreme Moore Omokunde to Resign County Board Seat December 18". Supervisor Supreme Moore Omokunde (Press release). November 9, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020 – via Urban Milwaukee.
  10. ↑ "Dems' tire slashing trial set". The Capital Times. July 19, 2005. p. 4. Retrieved December 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Plea deals reached in tire slashing". The Post-Crescent. Milwaukee. January 21, 2006. p. B3. Retrieved December 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ McNally, Joel (May 6, 2006). "Judge should face voters' wrath for 'tire slash' ruling". The Capital Times. p. A8. Retrieved December 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Obama campaign doesn't want help from '04 vandal". La Crosse Tribune. Milwaukee. Associated Press. October 15, 2008. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  14. ↑ Summary Statement of the Board of Canvassers (PDF) (Report). Milwaukee County Election Commission. April 16, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  15. ↑ Canvass Results for 2018 Partisan Primary - 8/14/2018 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. August 31, 2018. pp. 43–44. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  16. ↑ Canvass Results for 2020 Partisan Primary - 8/11/2020 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. August 26, 2020. p. 19. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  17. ↑ Canvass Results for 2020 General Election - 11/3/2020 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 18, 2020. p. 11. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
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