Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett speaks for the first time since attack - story with pics

[Kadie]

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett holds a news conference in front of his home Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009, in Milwaukee. Barrett was attacked Saturday while leaving state fair park as he tried to stop a domestic violence dispute in a nearby parking lot.
(AP Photo/Darren Hauck)


Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett holds a news conference in front of his home Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009, in Milwaukee. Mayor Barrett was attacked Saturday while leaving state fair park as he tried to stop a domestic violence dispute in a nearby parking lot.
(AP Photo/Darren Hauck)


Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett speaks during a news conference Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009, in Milwaukee. Barrett said Wednesday he was doing what any good citizen should have done when he tried to help a woman screaming for help — even if it led him being beaten by a man.
(AP Photo/Darren Hauck)



Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett speaks for the first time since attack
Barrett says, "I'm still standing."

WITI-TV, MILWAUKEE - A battered and emotional Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett says he only did what any good citizen should do even though it led to his beating by a man after answering a grandmother's cries for help. The mayor says he's extremely appreciative of the outpouring of support he's received from people in southeast Wisconsin and around the world.

The 55-year-old mayor spoke Wednesday for the first time about the attack by the man as he tried to help the woman and her 1-year-old granddaughter near the Wisconsin State Fair on Saturday. The mayor suffered a shattered hand, missing teeth and gashes on his face and back of his head. He says he's been meeting regularly with doctors and had nothing but praise for the doctors and staff at Froedtert Hospital who treated him.

Speaking from his home where he has been recuperating since he left the hospital on Monday, Barrett said his trip to the Wisconsin State Fair with his family was part of an effort to get out of making dinner. The evening became an impromptu family reunion.

Mayor Barrett and his family left the State Fair around 10 p.m. and that's when he came across a situation he thought was a woman asking for help because a child was in need. He initially thought something was wrong with the baby before quickly realizing the 20-year-old man was agitated.

more and video at link...
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/witi-090819-mayor-barrett-latest,0,6244714.story?track=rss

[PeaceNikki]

1. Mayor Barrett is awesome.

He attends all local events, will polka with anyone in reach and greets everyone with a smile and a kind word. What happened to him makes us all terribly sad.

[Liberal_in_LA]

4. He's got a ready made campaign ad - "the mayor that's not afraid to stand up to crime"

[PeaceNikki]

6. He won the last mayoral race with the largest percentage a Mayoral candidate has received in 40 yrs.

He was reelected in 2008 with 79% of the vote.

[Liberal_in_LA]

9. He'll win 99% of the vote next round!

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. Loved the comments as well

I hope the mayor's attacker serves time and during incarceration has to take anger management classes. To think that 20-year-old thought if the mayor hadn't intervened and if the grandmother had just let him have the baby everything would be fine! There's no way he'll be able to see that child for a long, long, time.

[NaturalHigh]

3. I've never heard of Tom Barrett before...

but kudos to him for his actions and his courage.

[WI_DEM]

5. there is speculation he will run for governor of WI, too, now that Doyle has announced he isn't

I hope so, I like Barrett.

[PeaceNikki]

7. Full video of press conference here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GllGG6q3k_k

[Liberal In Texas]

8. I lived in West Allis (where the state fair is) once.

More than once some local "tough guy" tried to pick a fight with me for no particular reason. One guy walked up and hit me in the face with absolutely no provocation, or spoken words, anything. There sure are some yobbos living there with real anger management issues. Maybe it's the water or something.