Mahlon Mitchell (born February 24, 1977) is an American

firefighter A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

and current President of the Professional Fire Fighters of

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. Assuming the office on January 12, 2011, he became the youngest and first

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

president of the organization. In addition to serving as the President of the PFFW, Mitchell serves as president of the "Sable Flames," the

firefighters of the City of Madison Fire Department. Mitchell unsuccessfully ran in the Democratic primary for

Governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's Wisconsin Army National Guard, army and Wisconsin Air National Guard, air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, placing second.

Early life and career

Mitchell was born in Milwaukee and grew up in

Delavan, Wisconsin Delavan is a city in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 8,505 at the 2020 census. It is located southwest of Milwaukee. The city is located partially within the Delavan (town), Wisconsin, Town of Delavan, but the two ...

. Mitchell worked as a street outreach coordinator, linking at-risk youth with community services, and for six years as a

real estate agent Real estate agents and real estate brokers are people who represent sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and age ...

in the Madison area. Prior to his election as President of the Fire Fighter's Association, Mitchell served as a firefighter for more than fifteen years in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

. Mitchell has served as a counselor at the Wisconsin Alliance for

Fire Safety Fire safety is the set of practices intended to reduce destruction caused by fire. Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent wikt:ignition, the ignition of an uncontrolled fire and those that are used to limit the spread a ...

's Burn Camp, which he also directed for five years. This

summer camp A summer camp, also known as a sleepaway camp or residential camp, is a supervised overnight program for children conducted during the summer vacation from school in many countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer residential camps ...

worked with burn-injured youth to help them cope with their unique situation and build a network of support. Mitchell was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the Madison Fire Department in 2010. Mitchell worked to help pass two pieces of legislation that were seen as victories for fire fighters across the state, including the Infectious Disease Presumption Law to ensure that firefighters are covered if they contract a disease or disability on the job, and a law ensuring that families and spouses of fire fighters who die in the line of duty will have their

health insurance premium Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...

s covered. Mitchell was sought out by the national media as a critic of

Governor Scott Walker’s collective bargaining changes, which prompted weeks of demonstrations in Madison. In late October 2011, a movement to draft him to run against Walker for the office of

surfaced on the internet. In response, Mitchell stated he would consider running in a potential recall election. On March 19, 2012, Mitchell announced his candidacy for the office of

Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin The lieutenant governor of Wisconsin is the first person in the Gubernatorial lines of succession in the United States#Wisconsin, line of succession of Wisconsin's executive branch, thus serving as governor in the event of the death, resignation, ...

in a recall election against

Rebecca Kleefisch Rebecca Ann Kleefisch (née Reed; born August 7, 1975) is an American politician and former television reporter who served as the 44th Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republica ...

. While victorious in the Democratic Primary, Mitchell was defeated in the June 5, 2012 election with 1,156,520 votes to Kleefisch's 1,301,739. In 2013, Mitchell received an honorary degree from the

National Labor College The National Labor College was a college for union members and their families, union leaders and union staff in Silver Spring, Maryland. Established as a training center by the AFL–CIO in 1969 to strengthen union member education and organizin ...

Maritime Institute of Graduate Studies. In 2018, Mitchell sought the Democratic nomination for Governor, and came in second in the primary to

Tony Evers Anthony Steven Evers ( ; born November 5, 1951) is an American politician and educator serving since 2019 as the 46th governor of Wisconsin. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 2009 to 2019 as Wisconsin's 26th superintendent of p ...

Personal life

Mitchell is married with two children and lives in

.About Mahlon
MahlonMitchell.com; retrieved March 19, 2012.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor (2012)

Wisconsin Governor (2018)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Mahlon 1977 births Living people 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century American firefighters 21st-century American firefighters Mount Senario College alumni People from Delavan, Wisconsin People from Fitchburg, Wisconsin People from Madison, Wisconsin Wisconsin Democrats