Francis Thomas Ament (November 17, 1937 - March 10, 2014) was the fourth

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 gover ...

, serving from 1992 until his resignation in 2002 amid a county pension scandal. Ament had served as chairman of the

Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors is the legislative branch of the government of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. Supervisors are elected to the board in nonpartisan elections. There are 18 supervisors. The county board has sev ...

from 1976 to 1992.

Life

He graduated from Marquette University High School in 1955, earned his bachelor's degree from Marquette University in 1959 and his law degree from the Marquette University Law School in 1962. He was elected to the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors. He was selected as board chairman in 1976, and stayed on the board until he defeated

Joseph Czarnezki Joseph J. Czarnezki (born September 27, 1954) is an American politician and public administrator from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is a member of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, appointed by Governor Tony Evers in 2023. He previously served t ...

to become county executive in 1992, replacing one-term legislator Dave Schultz. After a scandal over pensions for county employees, an effort was mounted by conservative special interest group Citizens for Responsible Government in early 2002 to recall Ament. The group collected over 100,000 petition signatures to force a recall election. On February 21, 2002, Ament announced his retirement effective February 26 at a Milwaukee County Board meeting. By retiring instead of resigning, Ament remained eligible to claim his own pension. He was replaced by former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice

Janine Geske Janine P. Geske (born May 12, 1949) is an American jurist and law professor who served as a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court from 1993 to 1998 and as interim Milwaukee County Executive in 2002.

on an interim basis and by state Representative Scott Walker, a Republican, following a special election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ament, Tom 1937 births 2014 deaths County supervisors in Wisconsin Marquette University alumni Marquette University Law School alumni Milwaukee County Executives Politicians from Milwaukee Wisconsin Democrats