Shawn Reilly easily defeats Scrima in Waukesha mayoral race

Published on: 4/1/2014

Waukesha has a new mayor.

Challenger Shawn Reilly easily defeated the incumbent Jeff Scrima in Tuesday's general election.

Reilly beat Scrima by about 62 percent of the vote. He garnered 5,899 votes, compared to Scrima's 3,642. 

The win comes after Reilly, who led an agressive campaign, won the primary in February.

Reilly is a longtime municipal attorney in downtown Waukesha and a former president of the downtown Waukesha Business Improvement District.

Scrima became mayor in 2010, and now like Larry Nelson (the person Scrima beat four years ago), he failed to win a second term as the mayor of Waukesha.

It's a turnaround for Scrima, who four years ago, easily won the mayoral seat with about 58 percent of the vote.

But 67 percent of the voters in the 2014 primary voted against him and in the lead-up to the general election a majority of the Common Council showed their support for his challenger by announcing their endorsement for Reilly.