Aug 19 2009
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett speaks for first time since attack
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett spoke for the first time Wednesday since intervening in a domestic dispute on Saturday night. The popular 55-year-old mayor suffered gashes on his face and a broken hand after jumping in between a man and a woman with her one-year-old granddaughter.
Barrett said that he originally thought something was wrong with the child when he approached the confrontation.
“I think it’s fair to say things got very, very ugly, very, very quickly,” Barrett said, speaking to reporters in front of his home.
Over 100 friends, fans and family members of the mayor showed up to applaud him as he stepped out of his house with his wife and 20-year-old niece. The mayor also reportedly received a phone call from President Barack Obama.
“We’re on the mend, everything’s heading in the right direction, and I just wanted to let you know I’m still standing,” said Barrett.
Barrett was first elected mayor of Milwaukee in 2004 and won re-election last year with nearly 80 percent of the vote. He also served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1992 to 2002 and is a rumored Democratic candidate for governor in 2010.
The attacker, who has been arrested, was identified by the grandmother as the 1-year-old child’s birth father.
