The sheriff's on the ballot.

Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke will be on the ballot in the 2004 Milwaukee mayoral race. This comes despite challenges by candidate Vince Bobot and a review of the signatures by the city Election Commission.

The race is pretty competitive at this point with a total of ten candidates on the primary ballot. Personally, I'm supporting former Congressman Tom Barrett for mayor. I also like Sandy Folaron and what she's done for neighborhood development in Milwaukee. Clarke, on the other hand, has been sheriff for only two years and is now running for mayor. He's made some progress and done some good things in that position and, if I have my way, he will continue to serve in that capacity.

The election will be better with Clarke in it so that his supporters have their say. The conventional wisdom is this negative press hurts him. However, all this publicity has made Clarke the focal point in the race. It still doesn't change the fact that he was barely able to collect enough signatures to get on the ballot which speaks to the quality of his campaign staff and the sheriff's inexperience in politics.