Marvin E. Pratt (born May 26, 1944 in Texas) is an American politician and served as acting mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 2004.

Early life

Pratt was born in Texas, the son of a sailor in the United States Navy and his wife, Joyce. Pratt's father died in a car accident in 1949. In 1959, he and his family moved to Milwaukee. He joined the United States Air Force straight out of high school. After serving for nearly four years, he was honorably discharged. He enrolled at Marquette University in 1968, and graduated in January 1972. He became an intern for mayor Henry Maier and then starting climbing a ladder of local government jobs.

Political life

Pratt ran for an aldermanic seat in 1984 and lost to the incumbent Roy B. Nabors. He ran for the same seat and won in a 1986 special election. Upon his election in 1986, Pratt was appointed to the Finance and Personnel Committee where he continuously served as member and eventually Chairman from 1996 to 2000. He became Common Council president in 2000. When mayor John Norquist stepped down in 2004 three months before his term expired, Pratt became acting mayor. He was the first African-American to serve as mayor of Milwaukee. Pratt ran in a primary election for the Mayoral seat and finished first from a field of thirteen candidates during the primary. He lost his bid to retain the job to Tom Barrett in the 2004 general election.

Family

Pratt married Dianne Sherrill in 1971. They have two children, Michael Pratt and Andrea Pratt-Ellzey. They have four grandchildren. One of his sons, Michael Pratt, was among those convicted of a felony and sentenced to six months in jail on April 27, 2006 for his role in the tire slashing of 25 Republican get-out-the-vote vans the night before the presidential election on November 2 2004.

Electoral history

• 2004 Race for Mayor (Milwaukee)
• Tom Barrett (D), 54%
• Marvin Pratt (D) (inc.), 46%

External links

• Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel biography

References