South Milwaukee has a new alderman.
The City Council on Monday night chose former Cudahy City Clerk-Treasurer Joe Bukowski as the new 3rd District alderman. He replaces Jim Shelenske, who was elected city clerk in April and resigned his seat on the council.
Six 3rd District residents applied for the job: Jon Spansail, Rich Raduenz, Tom Arend, Patrick Hintz, Rodney (Buck) Hillestad and Bukowski, who won the initial round of voting 5-1-1. Raduenz and Hillestad also received votes.
Bukowski, who has lived in the 3rd District for eight years, is no stranger to politics, and he easily had the most experience of the six candidates.
He was Cudahy clerk/controller/treasurer from 1990 to 1997, winning elections in 1992, 1994 and 1996 and serving as chairman of that city’s Community Development Authority and Fourth of July Committee. Bukowski was also involved in developing Cudahy’s tax incremental financing districts and economic development plan and managed major projects like the remodeling of City Hall.
Bukowski, who has a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, currently serves as vice president and branch manager for the Northwestern Mutual Credit Union in Franklin.
His community service experience is also extensive. Bukowski is active in Boy Scouts at Divine Mercy — where he is also on the FunFest Committee — and is the volunteer advisor and auditor to Cudahy’s Project Concern and Cudahy/St. Francis Interfaith. He also served for years on the Cudahy Historical Society and Cudahy Lions Club.
That experience was certainly a factor in him winning my vote. But I also liked what he had to say in response to a number of our interview questions. He was honest, forthright, and showed a sound vision for the city — one that he said includes the downtown opportunity brought by the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail line and its planned South Milwaukee stop.
Service, he said, is a part of his life, and serving on the City Council will be an extension of that.
Bukowski will officially be sworn in at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting. He will serve out the remainder of Shelenske’s term and face his first election next April. Please join me in welcoming him on board.
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