South Milwaukee Mayor Tom Zepecki has endorsed Jess Ripp, the Republican candidate vying to replace Jeff Plale in the state Senate’s 7th District.
You can read the release here. From it:
“With his background in small business and law, Jess is the perfect candidate to represent this district,” Zepecki said. “Our citizens have real concerns about rising government spending, tax increases, and vanishing jobs. Jess has the same concerns and understands what it will take to repair our economy and keep jobs in Wisconsin.”
For Ripp, an attorney and relative unknown politically, this endorsement is a nice win.
For Larson, a Milwaukee County supervisor, this will only further hurt his chances in South Milwaukee … although his prospects here seemed pretty bleak anyway. Keep in mind that voters backed Plale nearly two to one in South Milwaukee in the September primary, even as Larson rolled to victory elsewhere, winning 60 percent to 40 percent overall. This endorsement certainly won’t help turn those numbers around.
Still, a local endorsement in this race surprises me some because neither candidate, to my knowledge, has campaigned much in South Milwaukee.
I know I’ve never met either one of them, and I hope that changes. I want to feel confident that both candidates will stand up for our city in Madison come January … and alleviate the real concerns locally that South Milwaukee will be a forgotten part of the 7th District after the election.
Here is Ripp’s campaign website. Here is Larson’s.
South Milwaukee Blog 