Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson blends both change and tradition

Published

3 years ago

April 27, 2022

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson blends both change and tradition

The breakthrough lastly got here. After a long time of publicity to high-profile Black politicians, from Vel Phillips to Marvin Pratt, Milwaukee voters elected our first African-American mayor. In a metropolis that has been majority minority for the reason that Nineties, an individual of colour lastly holds the neighborhood’s highest workplace.

Cavalier Johnson’s landslide win within the April 5 mayoral race was certifiably historic, however not completely on racial grounds. It was additionally a victory for youth. At 35, Johnson is probably not the freshest face to occupy the mayor’s workplace, however he’s shut. Solely 4 of his elected predecessors had been youthful on the time they took the oath: James Cross (simply over 35 in 1855), Dan Hoan (barely 35 in 1916), Carl Zeidler (32 in 1940), and Sherburn Becker (29 in 1906). Becker was a one-term marvel who lives on in native lore because the “boy mayor.”

Editorial:Cavalier Johnson’s election is a mark of progress for all of Milwaukee. However pressing challenges are simply forward.

Carl F. Zeidler, Unaffiliated; 1940-1942.

Few politicians in any interval can declare a extra meteoric rise than Cavalier Johnson. He received his first elective workplace simply six years in the past, changing into the Second District’s alderman in 2016. Cobbling collectively a slim majority of votes, he turned the Frequent Council’s president in 2020, which put him in precisely the proper place on the good time. When Tom Barrett introduced his departure for Luxembourg final yr, Johnson turned appearing mayor and the moment front-runner to fill the rest of Barrett’s time period.

His character did the remainder. I served with Chevy Johnson on the Milwaukee Public Library Board shortly after he turned an alderman. I recall him as deliberate, articulate, and something however confrontational. These qualities shone by on the marketing campaign path. Johnson positioned himself as a peaceful presence in a time of bombast, a conciliatory determine in an age of division. If you’d like flashy, look elsewhere. Not in contrast to the town he now leads, the brand new mayor resembles a Chevy Cavalier way more than a Chevrolet Corvette.

In an extended view, Johnson’s win places at the very least a brief bookend on one of the extraordinary durations within the historical past of American municipal authorities. Milwaukee has a well-publicized penchant for mayoral tenures that appear like geological epochs, politically talking. The town has had solely eight elected chief executives within the final 106 years, and that features Johnson.

The elder statesman of the bunch was Henry Maier with 28 years in workplace (1960 to 1988), adopted by Daniel Hoan with 24 (1916 to 1940), Tom Barrett with almost 18 (2004 to 2021), John Norquist with nearly 16 (1988 to 2003), and Frank Zeidler with 12 (1948 to 1960). Stability is one in all Milwaukee’s enduring values. So long as the wheels of metropolis authorities flip with a minimal of friction, we’re inclined to stay with what we all know.

Extra:Why did Milwaukee elect its first Black mayor a long time after different cities?

A sample much less acquainted however simply as noteworthy is the predominance of open seats in our mayoral historical past. Dan Hoan was Milwaukee’s solely sitting chief govt to lose an election within the final 106 years; everybody else served for so long as he cared to after which retired or moved on to different pursuits.

Milwaukee Mayor Dan Hoan waves to the crowd from a touring car in this undated photo. Hoan was Milwaukee's mayor from 1916 to 1940.

Hoan’s defeat was one of many nice upsets in twentieth-century politics in Milwaukee. Throughout his 24 years as mayor, the Socialist warhorse had remodeled the town, which had an extended historical past of corruption in excessive locations, right into a mannequin of excellent authorities. Time Journal put Hoan on its cowl in 1936 and known as him “one of many nation’s ablest public servants.”

A challenger, nevertheless, emerged from inside Metropolis Corridor: Carl Zeidler, a charismatic younger assistant metropolis legal professional who mounted what many think about Milwaukee’s first trendy political marketing campaign. It was quick on substance however lengthy on type, emphasizing Zeidler’s blonde beauty, agreeable singing voice, and standing as the town’s most eligible bachelor.

On the uncommon events when he did focus on ideology, the candidate was not afraid to interact in redbaiting. When requested why he had entered the mayoral race, Carl Zeidler replied, “I needed to assist free the folks of Milwaukee from the shackles of Socialism…. So I turned a candidate, preventing in opposition to the implantation of overseas ‘isms’ and un-American ideas in america.”

Such statements should have created some stress in Carl’s household circle; his youthful brother, Frank, had already emerged as a frontrunner of the town’s fading Socialist motion.

Voters selected youth over expertise in 1940, handing Carl Zeidler a 53% to 47% victory. Dan Hoan, satisfied that the Socialist occasion had run its electoral course, went on to marketing campaign unsuccessfully for governor on the Democratic ticket in 1944 and 1946, and in time he turned one of many state occasion’s most outstanding figures.

Though Carl Zeidler had nice potential for larger workplace, his political profession ended after solely two years within the mayor’s chair. He went off to conflict in 1942 as commander of the gunnery crew on a U.S. service provider vessel and by no means got here again, the sufferer of a German submarine assault within the south Atlantic.

John Bohn, as Frequent Council president, accomplished the final half of Zeidler’s tenure and received a caretaker time period of his personal in 1944 earlier than retiring. Each mayor since then has competed for an open seat. All emerged from crowded fields with some high quality that set him aside from his rivals.

In 1948, Frank Zeidler had title recognition and a stable document on the Milwaukee College Board. (He additionally successfully combated the standard redbaiting. When one opponent charged that Zeidler would socialize each nook grocery retailer in Milwaukee, the candidate went out and acquired the endorsement of the Impartial Neighborhood Grocers Affiliation.)

Milwaukee Mayor Henry Maier and singer Dennis Day, one of the stars of Jack Benny's old radio show, join their voices in a German Christmas carol during the city's tree-lighting program on Dec. 1, 1968. Day, a frequent visitor to Milwaukee, was the guest performer on the program, held at the Milwaukee Arena. This photo was published in the Dec. 2, 1968, Milwaukee Journal.

In 1960, Henry Maier ran on his document as a state senator and one of many builders of the trendy Democratic Celebration. In 1988, John Norquist, one other state senator, was the standard-bearer of a youth motion. (He’s now 72.) In 2004, Tom Barrett was the seasoned hand, with expertise on each the state and nationwide ranges. And in 2022, Cavalier Johnson was the breakthrough candidate by advantage of each his race and his age.

For the primary time in 18 years, Milwaukee has a brand new chief govt. Will Johnson proceed the venerable native custom and turn into one other multi-term mayor? That, in fact, is a massively open query, however there is no such thing as a doubt that we now have entered new political territory. One facet impact of Milwaukee’s epic mayoral tenures is that each transition seems like a brand new starting. Chevy Johnson represents one other recent begin, however, for all of the emphasis on the historic nature of his win, he’s additionally the voice of custom.

Claiming victory on election night time, Johnson mentioned, “We wish our metropolis to be loving, nurturing, and steady. That’s why I ran for mayor.” Is there a single Milwaukeean who wouldn’t endorse these sentiments? They’ve been amongst our neighborhood’s core values for generations, with particular emphasis on “steady.”

As a brand new time period and a brand new day start, the challenges are apparent, however so are the alternatives. Better of luck, Chevy. Could the breadth of your political items and the depth of your dedication allow you to safeguard the very best of the previous Milwaukee and information us to the promise of the brand new.

John Gurda writes a column on native historical past for the Concepts Lab on the primary Sunday of each month. Electronic mail: mail@johngurda.com

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee ICE detention facility proposed for city's northwest side

Published

7 hours ago

January 15, 2025

Press Room

Milwaukee ICE detention facility proposed for city's northwest side

article

What we know:

MILWAUKEE – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has proposed to open an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Milwaukee, an alderwoman announced Tuesday, Jan. 14.

Ald. Larresa Taylor, who represents Milwaukee’s 9th District, said DHS requested modifications to a building located at 11925 W. Lake Park Dr. Those modifications include adding a sally port and a chain link fence with privacy slats. A sally port would be used to transport prisoners to and from the facility.

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“I want District 9, and the rest of the city, to know that we do not support the Department of Homeland Security in their decision to move into our district, and we definitely do not support any such modifications to any building in our district (as a location to house prisoners!),” Taylor said in a statement.

What’s next:

Taylor scheduled a news conference at 1 p.m. Wednesday outside the building. She invited all organizations that will be impacted to join her, noting “Milwaukee’s 9th Aldermanic District will no longer be Wisconsin’s dumping ground for detention facilities.”

The Source: Ald. Larresa Taylor provided information.

MilwaukeeNews

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Milwaukee, WI

Criminal justice advocates express high hopes for Milwaukee’s new district attorney | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Published

16 hours ago

January 14, 2025

Press Room

Criminal justice advocates express high hopes for Milwaukee’s new district attorney | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

In the Milwaukee County Safety Building at 821 W. State St., Kent Lovern discusses his past, present and future as a prosecutor within the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office. (Photo by Devin Blake)

District Attorney-elect Kent Lovern has made it a priority to listen to residents on the North and South sides of Milwaukee.

“What I have heard loudly and clearly is everyone wants to feel safe, and everyone wants that safety in their daily lives, and they want that for their children,” Lovern said.

At a ceremony on Thursday, Jan. 16, Lovern will be publicly recognized in his new role. With nearly 30 years of experience as a prosecutor, he’s recognized for his collaborative approach to systemic issues.

Lovern focuses on collaborations outside his office, in part, because he believes these collaborations are necessary to sustainably reduce violence and increase public safety in Milwaukee.

“I just feel like we need to better connect into one another and develop our own system of public safety – one that is really framed up as community development, economic development, educational development and the public safety comes with that,” he said.

Among Milwaukee’s large network of criminal justice advocates, many say they feel heard by Lovern.

“Kent has always been thoughtful and responsive to me,” said Emilio De Torre, executive director of Milwaukee Turners, which advocates for various criminal justice initiatives as well as those impacted by the criminal justice system.

Working together

“We can’t unring the bell of a crime, right? If somebody commits a crime, like myself, they need to be prosecuted,” said Adam Procell, who coordinates the monthly resource fair Home to Stay, for formerly incarcerated individuals reentering society. “But after that time period, when somebody gets out, he (Lovern) also understands that if we don’t provide the person with an opportunity to lead an optimal lifestyle, they’re going to have to prosecute them again for another crime.”

For Lovern, people reentering have a unique ability to lead others away from crime.

“People returning back to communities, looking to be proactive members of their community, looking for ways to help mentor young people and help instruct young people about the pitfalls and the mistakes they made – that’s a very powerful group,” he said.

Milwaukee County has the largest population of people on parole, probation or extended supervision in the state. At the end of October, nearly 13,000 people were under supervision, state correctional data show.

“On the whole, I have heard more interest in reentry across the board … than I have heard at any time in my career,” Lovern said.

Causes of crime

Lovern’s support of reentry is consistent with an overall preventive approach to crime.

He cites the relationship between drug addiction and crime as a good example.

“We’ve had a strong approach to this for some time, because right after John (Chisholm) was elected, 18 years ago, we created an early intervention unit, and that was immediately designed to offer opportunities for people to work through a criminal charge…and we’ve seen a lot of success with that.”

WISDOM, a statewide faith-based organization, wants Lovern to expand on this philosophy.

“There’s a lot of room for certainly expanding treatment alternatives to incarceration for people living with mental illness and with addiction issues, and there are many opportunities to divert more people from the system. I’m definitely optimistic that those types of programs will continue and will expand,” said Mark Rice, coordinator of WISDOM’s Wisconsin Transformational Justice Campaign.

Lovern is proud of Milwaukee’s mental health courts, which address cases involving mental health concerns, including assessments of competence and insanity pleas.

An intermediate goal the DA’s office is close to achieving, he said, is increasing the number of cases handled in these courts to 30 cases on an ongoing basis, compared to 10 cases previously.

“Somebody might come first through the police department or to the DA ‘s office, and we may be saying, ‘Look, this person isn’t really committing criminal behavior – the bigger concern here is the mental health piece,’” said Lovern.

Current crime and safety risks

Recent data from the Milwaukee Police Department show notable declines since 2023 in violent crimes, especially homicides and non-fatal shootings, and a reduction in most property crimes.

But certain violent crimes have increased since 2022, including robberies and carjackings.

“There’s no question that there is additional work that needs to be done to drive down the level of violent crime we see in this community,” Lovern said.

The problem, he added, is not evenly spread throughout the city.

A quarter of Milwaukee County homicides since 2023 occurred in only two ZIP codes.

“Everyone’s concerned about crime everywhere, but we know where the concentrations of violent crime exist,” said Lovern, adding that many residents in these neighborhoods tell him that we need “a strong response” to crime and that these “neighborhoods need to be valued.”

Limits of the office

Rice, of WISDOM, does not want fairness and justice to be lost, however.

“We still in Wisconsin incarcerate Black people at one of the highest rates in the nation,” he said. “There’s a lot of discretion up front when plea bargains are reached in terms of who gets diverted from the system and who goes in.”

Rice and others also worry about the systemic limitations of the DA’s office to address such problems.

“Jobs like the DA’s office, mayor’s office, police chief tend to be very difficult, with unforeseen pressures and inherent flaws in how they’ve been systemized over the years,” said De Torre, of Milwaukee Turners. “The real test is how a person acts and what they do within a flawed system.”

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee Bucks injury report: Khris Middleton out tonight vs. Kings. Starters, TV channel, odds

Published

23 hours ago

January 14, 2025

Press Room

Milwaukee Bucks injury report: Khris Middleton out tonight vs. Kings. Starters, TV channel, odds

The Milwaukee Bucks try to bounce back tonight vs. the Sacramento Kings following a disappointing 34-point loss to New York on Sunday.

The Bucks (20-17) have won three of four and are in a dogfight in the middle of the Eastern Conference as they begin the day two games behind the Knicks in the loss column for the No. 3 seed but are behind Orlando (23-18) and Indiana (22-18) in the playoff standings.

The Magic, led by Milwaukee native and head coach Jamahl Mosley, are in town tomorrow night.

Sacramento fired head coach Mike Brown on Dec. 27 when they were 13-18 and under interim head coach Doug Christie the Kings have seven in a row and are 20-19 overall.

Is Giannis playing?

He is probable to play vs. the Kings. He has been managing pain in his right knee since training camp but has yet to miss a game with the issue.

Khris Middleton ruled out of Kings game

First, Khris Middleton was pushed back to the bench and now the team is taking him out of back-to-back situations. Middleton played 12 straight games from Dec. 6-Jan. 4, including a back-to-back set on Dec. 20-21.

But on Jan. 8 he was moved to the bench because of his continued minute restriction and issues surrounding his complete return from offseason ankle surgeries.

And he was immediately ruled out of Tuesday night’s game against the Kings on Monday, presumably to make sure he’s ready to play in a more important Eastern Conference game against Orlando on Wednesday night.

In a Bucks win over the Magic on Jan. 10 in Florida, Middleton scored 11 points and had four assists in just under 23 minutes of play.

Bucks guard Andre Jackson Jr. hosts coat drive

Second-year Bucks guard Andre Jackson Jr. is hosting a coat drive outside Fiserv Forum prior to home games on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. New and gently used coats, hats, gloves and scarves will be accepted and donated to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee and the Greater Amsterdam School District. Cash donations are accepted online here: Andre Jackson Coats | Powered By GiveSmart

The 23-year-old guard is from Amsterdam, New York, and played collegiately at the University of Connecticut.

What channel is the Bucks game on?

The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast local on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin with Lisa Byington, Marques Johnson and Melanie Ricks on the call.