Bice: Ex-candidate Greg Gracz runs for office again 32 years after allegations he exposed himself

If you lose a race for Milwaukee mayor after being accused of sexual harassment and exposing yourself to someone, how long do you have to wait to run for citywide office again?

For Greg Gracz, the answer is 32 years.

Gracz, 76, is one of two candidates running for city comptroller, a job that will pay $125,607 annually. Incumbent Comptroller Aycha Sawa, who was elected in 2020, has decided not to run again.

Gracz last ran for citywide office in 1992, when he took on then-Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist in his first term. Gracz was then head of the Milwaukee Professional Firefighters Association.

But Gracz's campaign was thrown into disarray when a 27-year-old firefighter accused Gracz of harassing her and then exposing his penis during a 1990 firefighters convention in Racine. She even suggested he had a distinctive physical feature — a mole — on his nether regions.

Reached last week, Gracz said his position on the allegation hasn't changed.

"It's just as false now as it was then," he said.

Unfortunately, no independent investigation was conducted. The Journal Sentinel tried to reach the firefighter, who now lives in Florida, without success.

Gracz said last week that he wishes she had taken him to court, but that never happened.

In fact, it was Gracz who threatened back in 1992 to file a defamation lawsuit against the woman but never did. After the election, he said he didn't want his family to suffer the emotional strain that would come with litigation. He also said it would be too costly and time-consuming.

He also called for a John Doe investigation, which was a secret probe overseen by an elected judge, to get to the bottom of the situation. The firefighter's attorney said his client would be happy to participate, but the investigation never happened.

So if it was all fiction, who was behind the allegation?

Gracz won't say who he thinks might have leaked the allegations.

"I had my thoughts," he said, "but I don't know for sure who it was."

Gracz's opponent, Deputy Comptroller Bill Christianson, declined to comment on his opponent's past controversies.

The allegation has followed Gracz during his time in government.

In 2008, while working as a Milwaukee County labor relations negotiator, Gracz was a finalist to become the Milwaukee Area Technical College's associate vice president of human resources and labor relations, a job that would put him in charge of sexual harassment complaints.

Gracz withdrew his application at the last moment after women’s activist Ellen Bravo contacted a number of board members to express concern about Gracz’s appointment because of the sexual harassment charges. She said it would be "ludicrous" to put him in this position.

In 2011, then-Gov. Scott Walker named Gracz as the director of the Office of State Employment Relations.

In that post, he did not handle sexual harassment complaints but oversaw the state's human resources functions, including its Division of Affirmative Action and its work to ensure equal treatment of employees.

The appointment stirred criticism from those concerned about his past sexual harassment allegation and the fact that he was convicted of his third intoxicated driving incident in 1996.

Walker aides said at the time the harassment allegation was never proven or formally investigated and that Gracz had been sober for almost 15 years after struggles with alcoholism.

Gracz said he left government work six years ago. He now owns a house in Tucson, Arizona, as well as one in Milwaukee.

So why now does he want to work for the government again?

"I don't like the direction the city's going," Gracz said. "The comptroller should be an independent person that's looking at the finances of the city so decisions are made that are fiscally responsible for the benefit of the citizens of Milwaukee."

Gracz said he is confident that if tax revenues are spent for city residents, "the taxes will level off and that we'll be able to have a city in which people will want to live and raise their family."

He declined to criticize the mayor or the Common Council. But he emphasized that he has a business degree from Marquette University, was a union leader for 20 years, spent seven years on the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, did labor negotiations for the county and was head of employee relations for the state.

If he gets elected for the comptroller's post, he would be eligible for three government pensions — one from the state, county and city.

But Gracz said this shouldn't concern voters.

"You're going to have to pay somebody to do the job anyway," he said. "I mean it's not like you're saving the city any money by not electing me."

Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 313-6684 or dbice@jrn.com. Follow him on X at @DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice

THANK YOU: Subscribers' support makes this work possible. Help us share the knowledge by buying a gift subscription.

DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Gracz runs for office again 32 years after claim he exposed himself