Anna Hodges wins Milwaukee County clerk of circuit court after raucous race
Retired Milwaukee County Chief Deputy Clerk of Circuit Court Anna Hodges was elected clerk of circuit court Tuesday after an uncharacteristically rancorous race.
In doing so, she unseated her opponent, interim Clerk of Circuit Court George Christenson, to win the position long held by her former boss, John Barrett, the brother of former Mayor Tom Barrett.
On Tuesday night, she thanked voters for placing their confidence in her, saying, "I cannot wait to get back to work."
Her win also makes her the first woman and woman of color to hold the position in Milwaukee County and, she said, the first Afro-Latina to hold a clerk of court position in Wisconsin.
"For me, it's an achievement I'm quite proud of, not just for women but for women of color as well," she said.
Hodges received about 61% of the vote to Christenson's 39%, according to unofficial results.
After 9 p.m. Tuesday, Christenson said he did not see a likely path to victory and had called Hodges to congratulate her on her win. He said he was looking forward to working with her to ensure a smooth and positive transition of power.
The race was without an incumbent for the first time in more than two decades after Barrett announced in January that he planned to step down before the election.
With no Republicans in the race, the partisan primary decided which of the two Democrats would serve the four-year term leading the office that facilitates the operations of the Milwaukee County court system, including record-keeping.
That court system has been under immense strain since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
Hodges had expected to be named the interim clerk of circuit court after Barrett's departure, but a majority of the county's 47 judges instead appointed Christenson to serve the remainder of Barrett's term.
The normally low-profile race erupted in recent weeks with accusations by Christenson of mismanagement under Barrett's and Hodges' leadership and charges by Hodges that Christenson told her that if he did seek the post it would only be for the boost in pay from his job as county clerk.
Christenson denied that he said he was seeking the position to get a pay raise.
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More: Normally quiet Milwaukee County Clerk of Court race erupts with accusations ahead of election
Christenson simultaneously maintained his longtime post as county clerk, though he said he was taking only the $125,000 annual clerk of court salary. He has said that sum is about $33,000 higher than the salary he made as county clerk.
Hodges served as Barrett's top deputy for much of the last four years of his tenure and had been with the office for more than two decades when she retired earlier this year, according to her LinkedIn page.
In all, she worked for the county for nearly three decades. She has been drawing a pension of $52,950 annually, which she said she'd put on hold if elected.
Christenson was first elected county clerk in 2016 after having served as deputy county clerk.
Contact Alison Dirr at 414-224-2383 or adirr@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter @AlisonDirr.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Anna Hodges wins Milwaukee County clerk of circuit court election
