Who Will Run For Open State Assembly Seat?

With the upcoming resignation of state Rep. Mark Honadel, the 21st Assembly district seat will be open for the first time in 10 years. 

And after the abrupt departure of Oak Creek Mayor Steve Scaffidi—who was an instant frontrunner after he told Patch he would seek the seat last week—the race is truly anyone's to win.


No candidates have publicly declared their intentions to run, though there is no shortage of speculation about who may enter the race. 

On the Republican side, County Supervisor Steve Taylor's name has been mentioned the most frequently. Taylor's home fell in the 21st Assembly district after the last round of redistricting added a small portion of Franklin.

Taylor said Tuesday he will consider running, but has been on his honeymoon for most of the period following Honadel's announcement and hasn't put much thought into it.

"There's a lot of work I want to accomplish on the County Board," Taylor said. "But I have to take a look at every option as they come on."

Potential Democratic candidates are a little easier to identify since they have had opportunities to run for the seat every two years. But two of Honadel's former opponents signaled they are unlikely to pursue the seat again. 

Al Foeckler, the former Oak Creek alderman and mayor who ran for the seat in 2003, didn't shut the door completely on another run but said it was "very unlikely." 

He cited time constraints with his young family and legal career. Foeckler is an attorney representing the estate of Jared Kellner, the boy killed in the 2010 O'Donnell Park collapse, and a five-week trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 14. That would make it impossible for him to campaign in a special election that will be held in late November or early December, he said. 

Honadel's most recent opponent, South Milwaukee resident Bill Kurtz, said he is waiting to see who enters the race but his "inclination is not to run again." Kurtz got 40 percent of the vote in the election last November. 

Meanwhile, Oak Creek Alderman Tom Michalski, who challenged Honadel in 2010, is staying mum. He declined to comment on whether he will run for the seat this year. 

The election could also see candidates making their first run for a political office. Honadel, for example, was a small business owner recruited by Republican leadership to run for the seat when it became open in 2003. 

But the clock is already ticking for whoever runs. With the election just a few months out, candidates will have a short timeframe to raise money and campaign. That the election figures to draw low voter turnout is another challenge. 

In addition, the winner of the seat will almost immediately begin campaigning again, as the term expires in November 2014.

Most observers—including Honadel—expect a primary, which would take just two or more candidates from either party. 

But so far, the names of those candidates are still unknown.