Marvin E. Pratt (born May 26, 1944) is an American politician who served as acting

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

in 2004 and as interim

Milwaukee County Executive The Milwaukee County executive serves as the chief executive officer of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. Vested with veto power and appointing authority over department heads, the county executive oversees the administrative functions of county gov ...

in 2011. He was the first

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

to act as mayor of Milwaukee.

Early life

Pratt was born on May 26, 1944, to Leon Pratt Sr., a United States Naval officer, and Mildred Joyce Pratt in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. While living in Dallas, he attended a local Catholic school with his twin sister, Marielle, until his family moved to

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, in 1959, following the death of his father in a car accident in 1949. He has two sisters, Gwen and Reba, and a brother, Leon Jr.. Pratt graduated from North Division High School in 1962 and immediately joined the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. He was stationed in the

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during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

and was honorably discharged in the mid 60s. When he returned to Milwaukee after his service, he enrolled in Marquette University and gained a degree in political science in 1972. Pratt became an intern for mayor

Henry Maier Henry Walter Maier (February 7, 1918 – July 17, 1994) was an American politician and the longest-serving mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, holding office from 1960 to 1988. A Democrat, Maier was a powerful and controversial figure, presiding ove ...

and began climbing a ladder of local government jobs.

Political life

Pratt ran for an aldermanic seat in 1984, a tense time for race relations in the city. During this year, there was a racial divide over whether or not to rename what was then known as North 3rd Street to Dr. Martin Luther King Drive. Despite his loss to Roy B. Nabors in 1984, he ran for the same seat and won in a 1986 special election. Upon his election in 1986, Pratt was appointed to the Finance and Personnel Committee, where he continuously served as member and eventually chairman from 1996 to 2000. One of his notable victories while serving on the Common Council was the creation of the Resident's Preference Program in 1991, as described on the official website of the City of Milwaukee: This program is still in effect today, and has been expanded to include private businesses. In 2000, Pratt was elected the president of the Common Council: "...he was motivated to run after seeing so many vacant boarded up houses never changing in Milwaukee neighborhoods. The city was divided and the city workforce and federal departments didn't represent Milwaukee's population." When mayor

John Norquist John Olof Norquist (born October 22, 1949) is a retired American politician, urbanist consultant, and author. He served as the 43rd mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, winning four terms (1988–2004). He previously represented Milwaukee's south ...

stepped down in 2004 three months before his term expired, Pratt became acting mayor. He was the first African-American to act as mayor of Milwaukee. Pratt ran in a primary election for the mayoral seat and finished first from a field of thirteen candidates during the primary. He lost his bid to Tom Barrett in the 2004 general election. On February 4, 2011, Pratt was sworn in as interim Milwaukee County Executive. Appointed by County Board Chairman

Lee Holloway Lee Holloway (December 4, 1946 - March 14, 2018) was an American social worker and politician who served two terms as chairman of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors. From December 28, 2010 to February 4, 2011, Lee Holloway served as Actin ...

, he filled the unexpired term of former

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, containing about 1 ...

Executive Scott Walker, who was elected governor 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 ...

, until the special Spring Election held on April 5, 2011. Upon being sworn in, Pratt became the first person to have acted as both

Milwaukee Mayor This is a list of mayors of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Following the election of Socialist Emil Seidel as mayor of Milwaukee in 1910, Wisconsin legislators passed a bill in 1912 to declare most local offices across the state as officially non-parti ...

and

. On April 5, 2011,

Chris Abele Christopher Seton Abele (born January 28, 1967) is an American businessman and Democratic Party politician. He served as the 6th Milwaukee County Executive from 2011 to 2020. Abele is the son of American businessman John Abele, the co-founder o ...

defeated Republican challenger Jeff Stone, capturing over 61% of the vote and succeeded Pratt to serve out the remainder of then-County Executive Scott Walker's original term.Schultze, Steve (April 6, 2011). Abele defeats Stone for Milwaukee County executive. Journal Sentinel, April 6, 2011. Retrieved from http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/119299589.html .

Personal life

In October 2015, the Milwaukee Public School Board passed a resolution to rename Silver Spring Elementary after Pratt. On July 15, 2016, the school was officially renamed Marvin E. Pratt Elementary School.

Electoral history

*2004 Race for Mayor (Milwaukee) ** Tom Barrett (D), 54% **Marvin Pratt (D) (inc.), 46%

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, Marvin 1944 births 20th-century Wisconsin politicians 21st-century mayors of places in Wisconsin African-American mayors in Wisconsin Living people Marquette University alumni Mayors of Milwaukee Military personnel from Dallas Military personnel from Wisconsin Milwaukee Common Council members Milwaukee County executives North Division High School (Milwaukee) alumni Politicians from Dallas Wisconsin Democrats 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians