October 05, 2015

Shawn Reilly ’89, a small city mayor, leaves the drama out of politics

Reprinted from the Milwaukie Wisconsin Journal Sentinal

This article, featuring Lewis & Clark law school alum, Shawn Reilly ’89, is reprinted from the Milwaukie Wisconsin Journal Sentinal, reported by Bill Glauber.

Waukesha — When Shawn Reilly decided to run for mayor of Waukesha a couple of years ago, he didn’t just have to sell himself to the voters.

He had to convince his mother, Peggy, who told him, “Oh, my God, Shawn, why do you want that job?”

She was concerned about all the headaches a mayor faces. But he told her he thought he could help residents of Wisconsin’s seventh-largest city.

Reilly, who was elected in April 2014, has settled into the mayor’s office and is eagerly tackling one of the toughest issues around — trying to persuade officials in Wisconsin and other Great Lakes states to let Waukesha tap into Lake Michigan water.

“I ran on no drama,” he said.

And no drama is what Reilly has tried to deliver.

Read the full story.