tom amentMILWAUKEE – Former Milwaukee County Executive Tom Ament died this week.

A spokesperson for the Milwaukee County Board said Ament died Monday. He was 76 years old.

In 1968 Ament was elected to the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors where he was selected to be board chairman in 1976.  He went on to become county executive in 1992 and resigned in 2002 amidst a scandal over the county’s pension system.

Ament resigned from his position after the scandal broke. Nevertheless, after he resigned he was eligible for a $2 million payout and qualified for a six-figure annual pension.

Ament refused to take the lump sum payout.

County Supervisor Mark Borkowski said Ament should be remembered for more than the scandal that brought down his career.

“I think his legacy later will prove that he was an outstanding county executive. Right now, the whole pension thing is rather recent, and he’s been vilified for that,” Borkowski said.

Ament also played a role in the Calatrava addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum, the building of Miller Park and the Bradley Center.

Gov. Scott Walker said, “I wouldn’t have been county executive. I didn’t have interest in that. I ran at the time because I felt somebody needed to step up and do that,” Walker said. “I certainly send my sympathy out to his family on his passing.”