Supreme Moore Omokunde (born August 22, 1979) is an American politician and

community organizer Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other or share some common problem come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest. Unlike those who promote more-consensual community bui ...

. He has also been known by the names Sowande Ajumoke Omokunde and Supreme Solar Allah. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, he is a member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

, representing Assembly District 17. He was also a member of the

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County is 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, and the 45th most populous coun ...

Board of Supervisors A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agenc ...

from 2015 through 2020. He is the son of Congresswoman

Gwen Moore Gwendolynne Sophia Moore (born April 18, 1951) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2005. In 2016, Moore was elected to serve as caucus whip of the Congressional Black Caucus for the 115th United States Congres ...

Biography

Supreme Moore Omokunde was born and raised in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. He has worked as an organizer for several Milwaukee organizations, most recently working as community organizer for the Sherman Park Community Association. He was elected to 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 ...

in a 2015 special election to replace David Bowen, who had been elected to the

. Moore Omokunde was re-elected in 2016 and 2018. During his time on the County Board, he was chair of the Health and Human Needs Committee and a member of the Finance and Audit Committee. Moore Omokunde made his first attempt at election to the

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. In May, Moore Omokunde informed incumbent

Leon Young Leon D. Young (born July 4, 1967) is a police officer and former Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the 16th Assembly District from 1992 until 2018. Gaining office In 1992, his aunt, incumbent Marcia P. Coggs ( ...

that he planned to make a

primary challenge In U.S. politics, a primary challenge is when an incumbent holding elective office is challenged by a member of their own political party in a primary election. Such events, known informally as "being primaried," are noteworthy and not frequent ...

in the fall for his 16th assembly district seat. Young, who was in his 13th term in the Assembly, announced instead that he would not run for re-election. The announcement of an open seat resulted in a five-person primary field. Moore Omokunde earned the endorsement of the Wisconsin Working Families Party, but ultimately finished 245 votes short in the Democratic primary, losing to

Kalan Haywood Kalan Haywood II (born June 5, 1999) is an American politician serving as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. He represents Wisconsin's 16th Assembly district, comprising areas of downtown Milwaukee. Born in 1999, Haywood is the youngest ...

, who went on to become the youngest state legislator in Wisconsin history. In 2020, following the resignation of Assemblyman David Crowley, who had been elected

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 ...

, Moore Omokunde announced his candidacy for the Assembly in Crowley's vacated 17th district seat. He won the Democratic

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

with 48% of the vote, and soundly defeated Republican Abie Eisenbach in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. Following his election, Moore Omokunde announced he would resign his seat on the County Board effective December 18, 2020.

2004 campaign vandalism incident

Following the heated 2004 presidential election, Moore Omokunde (then known as "Sowande Ajumoke Omokunde") was one of five young volunteers for the John Kerry campaign charged with

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

destruction of property Property damage (or cf. criminal damage in England and Wales) is damage or destruction of real or tangible personal property, caused by negligence, willful destruction, or act of nature. It is similar to vandalism and arson (destroying propert ...

in connection with an incident in the early morning hours of election day, November 2, 2004. Also charged was Michael Pratt, the son of former Milwaukee City Council President and one-time acting-Mayor

Marvin Pratt Marvin E. Pratt (born May 26, 1944) is an American politician who served as acting mayor of Milwaukee in 2004 and as interim Milwaukee County Executive in 2011. He was the first African-American to serve as mayor of Milwaukee. Early life Pratt ...

. The five were accused of slashing the tires of 25 cars and vans owned or rented by the Republican Party of Wisconsin in the parking lot of the party's offices in Milwaukee. Four of the five, including Omokunde, eventually pleaded

no contest ' is a legal term that comes from the Latin phrase for "I do not wish to contend". It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. In criminal Trial (law), trials in certain United States jurisdictions, it is a plea where the def ...

to a lesser charge of

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...

damage to property. The fifth defendant refused the deal and was acquitted by the jury. According to the terms of their plea deal, the

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

recommended each receive probation and a

fine Fine may refer to: Characters * Sylvia Fine (''The Nanny''), Fran's mother on ''The Nanny'' * Officer Fine, a character in ''Tales from the Crypt'', played by Vincent Spano Legal terms * Fine (penalty), money to be paid as punishment for an offe ...

of $5,317. Judge Michael B. Brennan, however, rejected the sentencing recommendation and instead sentenced the four men to six months in

jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

. Moore Omokunde ultimately served four months and paid a $1,000 fine. The incident, trial, and sentencing provoked intense emotion throughout the state on both sides of the issue, and was brought up again in the

2008 election This electoral calendar 2008 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2008 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, even though they are not elections. By-elections are no ...

, forcing the Obama campaign to publicly disavow Omokunde.

Personal life and family

Supreme Moore Omokunde is the son of

, Milwaukee's representative in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

since 2005. He is a member of the

Milwaukee Public Museum The Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM) is a natural and human history museum in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The museum was chartered in 1882 and opened to the public in 1884; it is a not-for-profit organization operated by the Milwaukee Public Mus ...

Board of Directors and a former Commissioner on the Milwaukee County Human Rights Commission.

Electoral history

Milwaukee County Board (2015)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 8, 2015

Wisconsin Assembly (2018)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Democratic Primary, August 14, 2018

Wisconsin Assembly (2020)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Democratic Primary, August 11, 2020 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 3, 2020

References

External links

* *
Official bio
at Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors
Campaign website

Personal twitter

Sherman Park Community Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore Omokunde, Supreme Living people 1979 births African-American state legislators in Wisconsin County supervisors in Wisconsin Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Wisconsin politicians convicted of crimes 21st-century American politicians Politicians from Milwaukee 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people