Your County Clerk

JOSEPH J. CZARNEZKI Milwaukee County Clerk Joseph J. Czarnezki was elected Milwauke County Clerk on November 4, 2008 and took the oath of office on January 5, 2009.   Born and raised in Milwaukee, Joe Czarnezki has had a distinguished career in public service.  A graduate of Milwaukee John Marshall High School, he earned a bachelor's degree in economics and political science, and a master's degree in political science, with an emphasis in public administration, from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM).

 Joe was elected to the Wisconsin Assembly in 1980 and re-elected in 1982, where he served as co-chair of the Joint Audit Committee.

In a 1983 special election, Joe was elected to the Wisconsin Senate.  Re-elected in 1984 and 1988, Senator Czarnezki chaired the Senate Education Committee and served as a member of the Joint Committee on Finance.

In 1993, Joe became the Deputy Director of the City of Milwaukee Department of Administration.  In 1995, the Milwaukee Common Council confirmed Joe Czarnezki as Commissioner of Health for the City of Milwaukee, where he served until his appointment in 1996 as Intergovernmental Relations Director for the City.  Joe served as Executive Director of the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission from 1997 until 2003, when he was appointed Budget Director for the City of Milwaukee.

Joe Czarnezki has been a faculty member at Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) teaching State & Local Government, American National Government & Politics, and Applied Economics.  Joe has also served as an adjunct faculty member for the UWM Department of Governmental Affairs and has worked as a consultant to government and nonprofit organizations.  Joe was appointed by Governor Jim Doyle to serve as a public member of the Wisconsin Medical Mediation Panel in 2006.  He is also a member of the Milwaukee County Information Technology Committee.

Joe Czarnezki has published articles on state and local government in the American Review of Public Administration, Wisconsin Counties, Public Administration Times, and Marquette Law Review.

Joe and his wife, Mary Ann, are life-long residents of Milwaukee County, where they raised their son, Jason, a law professor, and their daughter, Jamie Marie, a television programming coordinator.