Sean Lowe, who won re-election this week to the Wauwatosa Common Council representing the newly drawn District 6, said late April 10 in a social media announcement that he would resign his new seat at the end of the month.
The announcement did not say explicitly why he is choosing to resign so soon after his election, though he acknowledged publicly for the first time that he and his wife had recently purchased a house outside of his district, as Tosa Forward News had first reported on April 8.
David Paulsen
"My full intent was to absolutely serve out my term and live in my district while doing so," Lowe said. "The Wauwatosa housing market is competitive and while looking, my realtor found my beautiful wife and I a home that we couldn’t pass up outside the district but still in Wauwatosa. Legally, since I have not moved yet and fully plan to stay in Wauwatosa I could have served my term, which is important for you to know."
Lowe initially had declined to comment on the house when Tosa Forward News first asked him about it the day after the election, suggesting that those questions were missing the point. “The story should be first Black Alderman in Wauwatosa re-elected, yet you are focusing on something else apparently this morning," he said by email.
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But state and local regulations suggest that any Common Council member who moves out of the electing district could face challenges if attempting to remain in office. “An alderperson's office shall be deemed vacant upon … a change in the alderperson's residency from the aldermanic district in which they were elected to another aldermanic district within Wauwatosa," the city's municipal code says.