David Cullen (politician)

David A. Cullen (born February 1, 1960) is an American lawyer and Democratic politician from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is the current treasurer of Milwaukee County. Prior to his election as treasurer in 2014, he served 13 years as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly (1990–2013), two years on the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors (2012–2014), and 7 years on the Milwaukee Public Schools Board of Education (1983–1990).

Early life and education
David Cullen was born on February 1, 1960, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His father died of a heart attack a when he was an infant. He graduated from Milwaukee's John Marshall High School, and went on to attend the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he earned his bachelor's degree in secondary education in 1981. He continued his education at Marquette University Law School, and obtained his J.D. in 1984.

School board
While still attending law school, Cullen was elected to his first public office. He was elected to the Milwaukee Public Schools board of education and served continuously on the board until 1990. The year after his election to the school board, Cullen made his first run for Wisconsin State Assembly, seeking the Democratic Party nomination in what was then the 15th Assembly district. The 1984 election was the first election on new legislative maps, and there was no incumbent living in the new district, comprising precincts of Milwaukee's northwest. The Democratic primary ultimately attracted three other contenders. Cullen came in a respectable second behind Shirley Krug, who went on to win the seat.

In 1987, Cullen was chosen as president of the Milwaukee school board. His most significant contribution in this role came in the settlement of a years-old lawsuit, in which the Milwaukee school board had sued the state over racial segregation of Milwaukee-area schools. As school board president, Cullen participated in negotiations with then-governor Tommy Thompson, then-state superintendent Herbert J. Grover, and then-NAACP general counsel Grover Hankins. They reached a settlement with cooperation from the state and surrounding school districts, where minority students from Milwaukee would gain access to schools in Milwaukee's suburbs, as well as increased state financial assistance to Milwaukee schools.

State Assembly
In the fall of 1989, Cullen's state representative, Tom Barrett, was elected to the Wisconsin Senate, creating a vacancy in what was then the 14th Assembly district. Cullen entered the special election to fill the vacancy. As in 1984, the Democratic primary attracted several other candidates, but Cullen prevailed this time, receiving 47% of the vote over his three opponents. He went on to win the May 1, 1990, special election with 58% of the vote. Cullen took office two weeks later and won a full term in the Assembly that fall.

In 1992, a federal court conducted Wisconsin's legislative redistricting, and Cullen's district was significantly impacted. Under the new plan, he resided in the 13th Assembly district, a district that contained roughly the western half of his old district, plus more northwestern precincts of Milwaukee. Politically, the district was still safely Democratic, and Cullen easily won a second full term in 1992.

In the 1992 election, Tom Barrett was elected to the United States House of Representatives and vacated his state senate seat. Cullen decided to jump into another special election to try to succeed Barrett again, this time in the 5th Senate district. Cullen narrowly defeated fellow incumbent state representative Jeannette Bell in the Democratic primary, but fell short of Republican state representative Peggy Rosenzweig in the April 1993 special election, receiving 46% of the vote. Cullen was subsequently elected to four more terms in the Assembly on the 1992 maps.

Another redistricting occurred by federal court in 2002, and again radically transformed Cullen's district. The northern areas added in 1992 were all removed, the district instead stretched south through the eastern precincts of Wauwatosa, into the Bluemound Heights area and incorporating all of the territory of West Milwaukee. On the new map, Cullen won one of his closest elections of his career in 2002, when he defeated Republican Steve Adamczyk by just 517 votes. He increased his margin 2004, defeating newcomer Matt Adamczyk with 57% of the vote. He won handily in 2006 and 2010 and was unopposed in 2008.

County government
After the 2010 election, Republicans won full control of state government and implemented one of the most dramatic gerrymanders in the country. Cullen's district was eviscerated. Under the new map, he resided in the 14th Assembly district again, but nearly all of the Milwaukee wards had been removed, the district instead contained half of Wauwatosa and stretched west into the city of Brookfield, in Waukesha County. Cullen opted not to run in the new district, and instead ran for a seat on the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors in the Sprin 2012 election. He was elected with 58% of the vote.

In April 2014, Milwaukee County treasurer Daniel J. Diliberti announced he would retire effective May 12. His retirement necessitated a special election to fill the remaining years of his term. Cullen entered the race and faced former state treasurer Dawn Marie Sass in the Democratic Party primary election. Cullen narrowly prevailed with 53% of the vote, and faced no opponent in the general election. Cullen was sworn in shortly after the election, as the office was already vacant, and was subsequently elected to a full term in 2016, and re-elected in 2020, without facing opposition.

Personal life and family
David Cullen is one of six children born to Charles Edwin Cullen and his wife Beatrice June ( Chrisien).

Heart disease runs in the Cullen family, resulting in the deaths of Cullen's father and three brothers at relatively young ages. His father, Charles Cullen, died at age 40, in 1961. His older brother, Steve Cullen, was a member of the Milwaukee City Council from 1980 to 1992, and died at age 40 in 1995. Two other brothers, Paul G. Cullen, 53, and Timothy C. Cullen, 51, died on back-to-back days in December 2002.

David Cullen married Julie Kamerling; they reside in Milwaukee and have two adult children, Katie and Eddie. Eddie Cullen was elected to the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, serving from 2015 to 2022, and now works as a spokesman for the board.