Earnell Lucas shares plans for Milwaukee County after winning Sheriff election

MILWAUKEE COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The next Sheriff of Milwaukee County will be Earnell Lucas, after he defeated Acting Sheriff Richard Schmidt in Tuesday’s primary election.

Lucas said Wednesday he’s already been on the phone with Schmidt and other county officials to map out the direction the Department will take in 2019 and beyond.

Lucas takes over in January.

“It’s not going to be time just sitting back wasting away,” Lucas said.

He says one of his biggest challenges will be improving the embattled Milwaukee County Jail.

“What we witnessed in the past was not acceptable to anyone. I’m hopeful that the acting sheriff and some of the things he’s accomplished, truly has made reforms and made change,” Lucas said.

Schmidt has pledged to support Lucas during the transition as he hands over a department he believes has seen positive change under his leadership.

“We made progress on the expressways, getting aggressive speeders down and drunk drivers. We’ll have done work to abolish the fentanyl and opioid overdoses,” Schmidt said Tuesday in a concession speech.

Lucas is returning to law enforcement after 16 years away from it as the security supervisor for Major League Baseball.

Schmidt said Tuesday he’s at peace with his loss and will pursue the ministry in his retirement.