John Tate II, the former Wisconsin Parole Commission chairman who resigned in 2022 after Gov. Tony Evers asked him to step down over the planned release of a convicted wife killer, announced Thursday that he will run for mayor of Racine.
Tate, a former Common Council president who now leads the city’s Department of Community Safety, said he will formally launch his campaign in December. The April 2027 contest is the city’s first open mayoral race since 2017, after Mayor Cory Mason said last week he will not seek a third full term.
“I grew up in Racine, and I’ve spent my career working to make it a better city for all of us,” Tate said. “I’m running for mayor because I know what Racine can be when we all work together.”
The announcement listed his work in social services and city government and noted that Evers appointed him to the parole commission in 2019. It did not mention how that job ended or a 2023 felony charge related to his initial hiring for a city violence-prevention job.
Evers appointed Tate, then a Racine alderman, as commission chair in 2019. In May 2022, the commission granted parole to Douglas Balsewicz of West Allis, who had served less than 25 years of an 80-year sentence for fatally stabbing his estranged wife, Johanna Balsewicz, more than 40 times in 1997. Their two young children were present, WISN 12 reported. Balsewicz was scheduled for release as soon as May 17, days before the 25th anniversary of the killing.
Johanna Balsewicz’s family said they did not receive official notice until late that week and pressed Evers to intervene. After meeting the family on May 13, Evers wrote Tate that he did not agree with the decision and lacked authority to overrule it, but had “considerable concerns regarding whether Johanna’s family was afforded sufficient opportunity to voice their memories, perspectives, and concerns.” He asked Tate to reconsider immediately.
Tate rescinded the parole that night. A Wisconsin Court of Appeals panel upheld the decision in December 2024. Evers then asked Tate to resign, and Tate stepped down June 10, 2022. In his resignation letter, he wrote that “no parole decision is easy and no decision can ever truly satisfy all interested parties,” WISN 12 reported.
The following year, Racine County District Attorney Tricia Hanson charged Tate with one felony count of having a private interest in a public contract. The complaint alleged that while council president, he voted to accept grant money used to create a violence-prevention job, then negotiated the terms of that job for himself, including a salary about $700 above the posted figure. Tate’s attorney, Patrick Cafferty, argued Tate’s official role was limited to voting on the grant, and city staff created the job and contract.
Racine County Circuit Judge Eugene Gasiorkiewicz dismissed the charge without prejudice on April 25, 2023, meaning prosecutors could bring it again. No refiled charge has been reported. The city reposted the job and named Tate violence prevention manager on July 31, 2023.
“A person who’s seeking a job, it’s always in their best interest to negotiate,” Tate told CBS 58 that summer. “So, no, I don’t regret negotiating.” Of the parole commission, he said, “I don’t regret my time serving as the chair of the parole commission because the positive impact that we’ve had on lives.”
Tate joins a field that has been taking shape for months. Racine police officer Gabby Hood entered the race in April and filed paperwork with the city clerk. Xavier Golden, an educational assistant, has been interviewed as a declared candidate. Isaiah Lambert, an outreach specialist in the department Tate leads, told the Racine County Eye in March that he planned to run.y begin circulating nomination papers December 1 and must file them by 5 p.m. January 5, 2027, according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission. If a primary is needed, it will be held February 16. The general election is April 6, 2027.
