A County Executive Election Primer

The primary election season has been relatively quiet, but one race that has been making some noise is for Milwaukee County executive.

Five candidates are seeking to replace current Gov. Scott Walker. Here's a brief look at all five:

Chris Abele: If you don't consider yourself a local politics junkie, but you are familiar with the county executive race, it's probably because of Abele. He has plugged the most money into the race by far - he is the only candidate running TV spots and his fliers have become a regular occurrence at many mailboxes.

Abele is CEO of the nonprofit Argosy Foundation, a private family foundation that supports a wide range of charitable investments. He has worked with several civic organizations, such as the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee, as well as government-related organizations including the Public Policy Forum and the Greater Milwaukee Committee Task Force. 

Ieshuh Griffin: Griffin is undoubtedly most known for trying to put "NOT the 'whiteman's bitch'" under her name on the ballot for state Assembly last year. That attempt made national headlines and even earned her an interview on the Daily Show. 

Griffin is a longtime Milwaukee community activist and a paralegal. 

Lee Holloway: As the chairman of the Milwaukee County Board, Holloway could be considered the "closest" to the county executive's spot. He briefly served as acting county executive (the first African-American to assume the county's top job) after Walker was sworn in as governor, before he an interim county executive to serve until April's general election.

Holloway was first elected to the county board in 1996. He is also a member of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Transit Authority, and before the County Board, was president of Milwaukee Comprehensive Community Health Inc.

Jeff Stone: Stone, from Greendale, is trying to follow the Walker path to the executive office: Walker served as a Republican in the state Legislature before winning a special election in 2002, and Stone has served in the Assembly as a Republican since 1998.

Prior to moving to Greendale, Stone lived in Greenfield for several years, serving on the Common Council, Lions Club and Partners of Parks while owning a small printing business.

Jim Sullivan: The Wauwatosa resident served in the state Senate from 2006 to 2010 before losing his re-election bid in November to Republican Leah Vukmir.

He has a background in health care law, earning his law degree from Marquette in 2001, and served in the Naval Reserve from 1998 to 2006. Prior to his tenure in the state Legislature, he was a member of the Wauwatosa Common Council.