Posted on April 14, 2020
Turkish American Aycha (Sirvanci) Sawa won the runoff election for City Comptroller in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with over 50% of the vote in a tightly contested race. As the new Chief Financial Officer for a major American city, she becomes the 12th Turkish American to be elected to public office. The election was held on April 7, but the election results were not announced until April 13 because of the extension of absentee voting. The City Comptroller in Milwaukee is a nonpartisan position.
Sawa is a first-generation Turkish American born in the City of Milwaukee. As a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Certified Internal Auditor, she has served as Deputy Comptroller in Milwaukee for three years. She has an undergraduate degree in Accounting and Management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After graduation, Sawa worked as an auditor in the state of Wisconsin’s Department of Transportation and a CPA firm before joining Milwaukee’s Comptroller Office. At the University of Wisconsin, she was an officer in the Madison Association of Turkish Students and started a Turkish film festival in Madison. She also attended a semester at Bosphorus University as an exchange student. Sawa has been an active member of the Turkish American Association in Milwaukee. She is married to Drew Sawa, and they have one daughter.
For a list of the other members of the Turkish American community running for public office and past and current Turkish American officeholders, please click here.