Milwaukee Mayor's Messy Affair

Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist is struggling to contain the political fallout from an extramartial affair he had with a city employee.

In a full-page newspaper advertisement that appeared Tuesday, Norquist apologized for the affair with former aide Marilyn Figueroa and pledged to complete his term in office.

Norquist said he was sorry for the five-year affair, calling the relationship a "serious error in judgment."

The ad, paid for by Norquist's campaign fund, was published in Tuesday editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Norquist appeared on television in early December, with his wife Susan Mudd by his side, to acknowledge he'd had a consensual relationship with his former aide.

Three days later, Figueroa filed federal and state complaints against the city alleging sexual harassment and racial discrimination in the mayor's office. Figueroa was taken to a hospital after attempting suicide when Norquist released the detailed complaint the following week.

The news has since dominated TV, talk radio and local newspaper reports. The mayor has commented regularly to reporters, but the ad suggested he wouldn't discuss the matter any more.

"I believe most citizens of Milwaukee would say they have heard enough," Norquist said in the ad. "I have said all I intend to say outside of a court proceeding."

The ad cost about $8,000, said Bill Christofferson, a political adviser who ran the mayor's April re-election campaign.

"The mayor is going to focus on his job and moving ahead with his agenda for the city," Christofferson said. "He's still the mayor. He still has three more years left in his term."

Norquist, first elected in 1988, won his fourth straight term in April with 56 percent of the vote. He is the longest-serving mayor of any U.S. city with more than 500,000 people.

Christofferson said the mayor was traveling with his family for the holidays, and unavailable for comment.