AFSCME District Council 48 District 33 Election

Workers
Serving
Milwaukee

Sass, Fighting in GOP Stronghold,
Loses July 10 District 33 Senate Race
Union members know about uphill battles. Proof is Dawn Marie Sass, the Democratic candidate who faced a well-heeled Republican opponent in a traditional Republican stronghold. She was running for the 33rd Senate District seat left vacant when Margaret Farrow was appointed lieutenant governor.

Dawn Marie Sass

In the special election July 10, Sass lost to Brookfield's Theodore J. Kanavas, amid some Democratic Party protests about the behavior of some GOP poll-watchers.
Overall, though, the outcome was hardly unexpected, given the disparity of money being spent plus the organizational and traditional strength of the GOP in District 33, which is centered in Waukesha but meanders up to Lannon and Menomonee Falls, and also encompasses areas of Pewaukee, West Allis, New Berlin and even small areas of Milwaukee, where Sass lives. Early reports gave Kanavis 74% of the vote.

Map of District 33.

    Sass, treasurer of AFSCME District Council 48 Local 645, has considerable political experience as well as having served as a Milwaukee County human service worker for nearly 25 years. She threw a scare into the Republican incumbent in 1998 when she ran a close second in the race for Wisconsin State Treasurer, and last year she served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. She holds a bachelor's degree in history and political science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She was recruited to run knowing the odds.
    As of the end of May, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, family and friends had given Sass $2,407 to run her campaign.
    Her opponent, Kanavas, meanwhile, had raised more than $75,000 -- $25,000 of that his own money and more than half the remainder from outside the district. A former staff worker for James Sensenbrenner and Tommy Thompson, he also sits on the Elmbrook School Board and was listed last year as one of the top Waukesha County contributors to George Bush's campaign.
    Kanavas spent on TV ads and defeated six other Republicans in the June 12 primary to face Sass, who was the lone Democrat filing. A former top salesman for Harris Data, Kanavas now works for MindArrow Systems, an e-commerce email company.