Waukesha's mayor said he had become an independent. Now he's endorsing Democrat Harris

WAUKESHA - For those who know Shawn Reilly, the news that he had endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in this year's presidential election likely didn't come as a surprise.

Waukesha's mayor, once an upfront Republican, had publicly stated since the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol that he now considered himself an independent, free to support candidates on a basis other than by party affiliation. And he made it clear in previous conversations that he had little respect for Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump even before the incident.

"My friends and people who know me well had heard me say I can't vote for Trump, he shouldn't have been president and sure as hell shouldn't be president again," Reilly said in an interview Thursday with the Journal Sentinel.

But it was news to regional and national outlets, including the New York Times, who interviewed Reilly on Wednesday. So it brought new and broader attention to Reilly, 63, who has served as mayor since 2014.

Harris appearance brought out Reilly's public endorsement of her

It was Harris' campaign and Reilly's presence at the Harris campaign event in Brookfield with Republican former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney on Oct. 21 that caught the attention of media outlets. A campaign news release sent out Wednesday included a statement by Reilly that firmly spelled out his take on the current presidential race and his concerns about Trump.

"It would be easier for me to stay quiet and vote my conscience privately, but the stakes of this election are so important that I feel compelled to share publicly that I am voting for Vice President Kamala Harris and I encourage other Wisconsinites who care about our country to do the same," Reilly said in that statement. "Donald Trump poses a unique danger to American democracy — even his own advisers have said that he's unfit to be President of the United States. A second term would be even more dangerous than the first because there would be no guardrails. We can’t allow him to sit in the Oval Office again."

In a phone interview Thursday, Reilly stood by that statement, but punctuated it with his deepened concerns about the outcome of the election, given how close the race is between Harris and Trump.

"If I thought Donald Trump wouldn't have a good chance of winning, I wouldn't have said anything," he said. "Like I say, it would make my life a lot easier if I wasn't coming out publicly saying who I'm voting for."

Harris commented on the Reilly endorsement and another from Republican U.S. Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan when asked by reporters on the campaign trail Thursday.

"This continues to be, I think, evidence of the fact that people who have been leaders in our country — regardless of their political party — understand what's at stake," Harris said according to a media pool report. "They are weighing in, courageously in many cases, in support of what we need to have, which is a president of the United States who understands the obligation to uphold the Constitution of the United States and our democracy.

The resulting attention has been national in nature

But Reilly did, and the result has been a buzzing phone since then, even as he tried to keep his focus on the League of Wisconsin Municipalities conference he was attending in Madison on Thursday.

"I'm getting lots of emails, phone calls and texts asking me to speak to national media. So far, I have one tomorrow by Zoom, but I haven't done much else. I'm in no rush to be on those. The one on Zoom, I'm not even sure for who it is. I probably should look," he said, laughing.

His decision to attend the Harris rally, which also featured the once-prominent Republican Liz Cheney, added to the attention he has inadvertently drawn. But the fact that Cheney, like some other Republicans, have stepped forward to oppose Trump, reinforces the idea that people are paying attention to concerns of previous party supporters.

"He had a lot of guardrails in his first time (in office). Those guardrails are gone, and in fact many of his top advisers who were his guardrails for 2016 and 2020 are saying he cannot be our next president, because he is not fit to be our president," Reilly said.

Reilly calls Harris 'easily the least damaging choice'

His personal concerns about Trump predated the 2021 attack that some have termed an insurrection. Reilly didn't vote for Trump in 2016, nor did he vote for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Neither candidate measured up to his idea of presidential timbre. (The name of the Libertarian candidate he did vote for escaped his memory, for the moment.)

It was Trump's four years in office, from 2016 to 2020, that sealed Reilly's fear about what Trump represented in terms of both personality and his divisive place on the world stage, putting his own priorities ahead of the country's. Reilly didn't have time to dive into every detail, but he added his concern in 2024 brings even greater anxiety.

"I'm coming out in support of Harris, because that's easily the least damaging choice," he said. "With Donald Trump, I'm worried about the United States in regards to democracy, the rule of law and our Constitution. I'm also worried about our economy with Donald Trump, and I'm worried about the entire world stage with Donald Trump. There will be enormous problems with every one of those aspects."

A request for a statement by the Republican Party of Waukesha County about Reilly's endorsement was not immediately returned Thursday afternoon.

Reilly has used his freedom as an independent voter to voice other election-related concerns. He spoke out against a political action group's television ad supporting a U.S. Senate candidate citing the Waukesha Christmas Parade tragedy, and the release of convicted killer Darryl Brooks Jr. by Milwaukee County courts prior to the 2021 incident, as inappropriate, given that it tried to tie U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin to Brooks' release. Reilly said it was inappropriate and hurtful for those struggling with the parade tragedy three years later and called on Baldwin's opponent, Eric Hovde, to set the record straight.

Contact reporter Jim Riccioli at  [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly endorses Kamala Harris for president