Supreme Moore Omokunde (born August 22, 1979) is an American community organizer and Democratic politician from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has also been known by the names Sowande Ajumoke Omokunde and Supreme Solar Allah. He is a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Wisconsin's 17th Assembly district since 2021. He was also a member of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors from 2015 through 2020.
Supreme Moore Omokunde | |
---|---|
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 17th district | |
Assumed office January 4, 2021 | |
Preceded by | David Crowley |
Member of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors from the 10th district | |
In office April 2015 – December 18, 2020 | |
Preceded by | David Bowen |
Succeeded by | Priscilla Coggs-Jones |
Personal details | |
Born | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. | August 22, 1979
Political party | Democratic |
Relatives | Gwen Moore (mother) |
Education | Marquette University University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee |
He is the son of U.S. Representative Gwen Moore.
Biography
editSupreme 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
editFollowing 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
editSupreme 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
editMilwaukee County Board (2015)
editParty | 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)
editParty | 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)
editParty | 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
edit- ^ a b c d "Supervisor Supreme Moore Omokunde". Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
- ^ Behm, Don (December 29, 2014). "Special election set for vacant Milwaukee County Board seat". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
- ^ a b Bice, Daniel (January 13, 2015). "Gwen Moore's son - Supreme Solar Allah - running for County Board seat". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Beck, Molly; Johnson, Annysa (August 14, 2018). "Immigration attorney ousts Rep. Josh Zepnick following sexual misconduct allegations". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Dems' tire slashing trial set". The Capital Times. July 19, 2005. p. 4. Retrieved December 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Plea deals reached in tire slashing". The Post-Crescent. Milwaukee. January 21, 2006. p. B3. Retrieved December 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Obama campaign doesn't want help from '04 vandal". La Crosse Tribune. Milwaukee. Associated Press. October 15, 2008. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
- ^ Summary Statement of the Board of Canvassers (PDF) (Report). Milwaukee County Election Commission. April 16, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
- ^ Canvass Results for 2018 Partisan Primary - 8/14/2018 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. August 31, 2018. pp. 43–44. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
- ^ Canvass Results for 2020 Partisan Primary - 8/11/2020 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. August 26, 2020. p. 19. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
- ^ Canvass Results for 2020 General Election - 11/3/2020 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 18, 2020. p. 11. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
External links
edit- Profile at Vote Smart
- Supreme Moore Omokunde at Ballotpedia
- Official bio at Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors
- Campaign website
- Personal twitter
- Sherman Park Community Association