Ted Chisholm, the 25-year-old son of the Milwaukee County DA, announces run for treasurer

Two weeks after one member of the Chisholm family announced he would not seek re-election, another family member threw his hat in the ring for political office.

Ted Chisholm, 25, son of Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, announced Thursday he is running for the partisan seat of Milwaukee County treasurer in 2024. He will run as a Democrat.

Chisholm addressed head-on questions about his age and whether he's riding the coattails of his father's career, the county's top prosecutor since 2007.

"That's always gonna be a question and it was a question back when I was first appointed to serve in leadership at the county back in 2019 ... I've proven that someone's age, someone's name — those are not the things that that define the quality of someone's public service," he told the Journal Sentinel.

Chisholm acknowledged he lacks a college degree after he dropped out of Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., after he was hired to work for the county.

He will run against incumbent Democratic Treasurer David Cullen, 63, who was paid roughly $91,500 in 2022, if Cullen decides to seek reelection. He was elected in 2014.

"I'm never about attacking anybody who's dedicated their life to public service," Chisholm said of Cullen. "So, I'm running on my own merits and because I want to offer a new vision for how to lead the treasurer's office forward."

Cullen told the Journal Sentinel that he and his wife are "discussing whether or not I should run for another term for several weeks or months. We're still having those discussions."

He said Chisholm's entry into the race would have no bearing on his decision.

"I'm proud of my years of work and service to the people of Milwaukee County and I'll match my experience and credentials with Ted or any anybody else who wants to run for treasurer," Cullen said. "I really think this office needs someone with more experience and credentials than being a political operative without a college degree."

"I kind of always thought that my successor might be a minority candidate, or a woman candidate or at least a candidate that has some experience with the financial industry," Cullen said.

Cullen is an attorney and formerly a member of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, was chairman of the county finance committee and served in the state Assembly.

Chisholm currently works as a senior administrator for management, finance and strategy in the Milwaukee County Clerk of Circuit Court’s Office. In 2019, then-Milwaukee County Sheriff Earnell Lucas hired Chisholm for a $85,000-a-year chief of staff job. He also previously worked as campaign staff for Lucas.

The treasurer election will be Nov. 5 and a primary, if three or more candidates are running, would be held Aug. 13.

Contact Vanessa Swales at 414-308-5881 or at [email protected]. Follow her on X @Vanessa_Swales.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ted Chisholm, son of the Milwaukee County DA, to run for treasurer