Category Archive: Interviews

May 20 2012

Interview with Assembly Candidate Mike Glabere

Mike Glabere

Mike Glabere

Mike Glabere, a Milwaukee activist, was the treasurer for Ed McDonald’s mayoral campaign this spring. He is now running for State Assembly District 18. This district is currently represented by Rep. Tamara Grigsby. She is resigning at the end of the current term due to health issues.

Glabere is running in the Democratic Party primary this August 14th. He has 7 primary challengers including: Lisa Erin Brown (who we recently interviewed as well), Jarett Fields (no campaign website thus far), James Dieter, Evan Goyke, Ty Jackson, Andrew Parker, and Lashawndra Vernon.

You can learn more about Glabere at his campaign website.
———————————————————————————————————

WI4US: Tell us a little about your background.

MG: I’m a 23-year resident of the 18th Assembly District. I’ve been a community organizer with various organizations. I also organized one union, the UWM graduate students union when I was a graduate student. I’m a progressive. I’ve always voted Democratic, now I’m running Democratic. I truly am a family man. I raised two kids.They both graduated from Milwaukee Public Schools. One has graduated from UWM in Biology, the other is still there. I’m happy that I raised two more activists. My daughter was part of Occupy the Student Union for 6 or 7 days.

 

WI4US: Could you name some of the community organizations you’ve worked with?

MG: East Side Housing Action Committee (ESHAC), Harambee Ombudsman Project, Sherman Park Community Association, Midtown Neighborhood Association, Cooperative Westside Association (which isn’t around anymore), Federation for Civic Action, Citizen Action, and Milwaukee United for Better Housing. Those are they grassroots organizations I’ve worked with. I worked with the Social Development Commission. I worked with the Private Industry Council, which is a public-private partnership. I also worked at Wisconsin Community Services. That’s a sampling. I served on the Board of Highland Community School, where my kids attended. I also taught at Highland Community School, I was a teacher in MPS. I did some contract schools with MPS, Wings Academy, Spotted Eagle High School. You can get all this from my resume. When I first moved to Wisconsin I came here as a canvass director for what was then Wisconsin Citizen Action, which became Wisconsin Action Coalition.

 

WI4US: Why are you running for Assembly?

MG: I’m running for Assembly because I think I can be a voice for real progressive change in Wisconsin. Because the opportunity was there with an open seat. Rep. Tamara Grigsby was doing an incredible job and I wouldn’t have even considered running against her. She was an outspoken voice for human rights, civil rights, and the progressive agenda. With her stepping out, I decided that I could do a good job keeping her agenda going and pushing it even further. I’m well qualified. I also think that I have the age and wisdom to deal with the stupidity that is Madison right now as far as the ideological camps that don’t know how to negotiate or how to compromise. The left side comes in and gives a compromise position to start so then they get pushed even farther away from that and they get far less than any ever wants to have. You have to not be afraid to actually ask for the world you want to live in. If you want social justice, you want economic justice, you want significant changes in the way things are done, say it.

 

WI4US: How do you think that, if you were elected, you could benefit the people inside your district directly?

MG: I think that it falls in two big categories. One is paying attention to jobs. The entire district is in the city of Milwaukee, with 50% black male unemployment. You just can’t build community like that. And every other racial and gender characteristic, high unemployment. I think you bring back resources is one way you create jobs. You also change the rules. An example of some of the rules that need to be changed: the city of Milwaukee needs to be allowed to discriminate and hire city residents first. They’re not allowed to do that now because of the changes that Walker made. The city of Milwaukee needs to be able to do procurement with city-based employers. They’re not allowed to do that under the new rules coming out of Madison. Community benefits need to be part of all investments. Anytime you are subsidizing the private sector, there needs to be a community benefit in writing that means jobs, that means hiring, that is attached to that. No more eating at the pig trough. There’s no more free lunch for the corporate world. So jobs is one big thing. Paying attention to jobs, creating jobs in the district, and bringing back resources so jobs can be created in the district.

The second place is education. Education from kindergarten through college. Several things need to be done. First of all, eliminate state funding of private education and eliminate vouchers. The flawed thinking that market mechanisms are going to make education better has been shown to be false all across the county and all across the world. Let’s stop experimenting with our kids. Secondly, fund MPS and eliminate public school charters that MPS may have. That’s roughly 50% of their expenses. It’s been declining over time. We need a goal of having class sizes no higher than 25. No matter what the quality of the teacher, if you reduce class size, they just get better. College needs to be affordable. We need to put more money into the UW system, both technical colleges and 4-year colleges. The way to do that is by promising graduates of public schools in Milwaukee and across Wisconsin that they’re going to get to go. The other way we do that is by increasing the sales tax in the state. Increase it from 5% to 6%. That would make us equivalent with what’s happening in the surrounding states for the most part. Most people won’t even see it. I’d also raise taxes on the top wage earners in the state. I’d also revoke the giveaways that were just done in the last legislature. If they’re not revoked, they need to be rewritten so there’s a community benefit for them getting a tax break and they have to create jobs here, not someplace else.

 

WI4US: What issues do you could work with members from both major parties to create positive legislation on?

MG: I think we can get agreement on education. I also think we can get agreement on job creation. The third area where it’d be hard to disagree is the concept of looking at bills from a human rights perspective. This falls into three categories: respecting human rights, protecting those human rights from the state and anyone else, and fulfilling them. You have a right to a job and a decent wage. You have the right to arts and culture. You have the right to religion. You have the right to a political voice. Those are all parts of the state’s responsibility. I think that looking at community-driven accountability in those places is something both parties can look at. Looking at local control. I think that Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) would be very happy to say “local control is better, big government is bad.” So why don’t we give the city of Milwaukee and every other municipality the power to have a human rights commission? Why don’t we give the city of Milwaukee the power and authority to have different rules that regulate landlords and tenants than the state? If that local community wants to have stronger rules, so be it. If that local community wants to hire its own residents first, so be it. So I think that those are some of the areas that I could find areas of agreement with people from a different ideological viewpoint.

I also think it’s a process. In negotiations, you don’t come in with your weakest hand. You don’t throw away all your strong cards. You need to come in and say “this is my ideal,” or “these are the things I won’t give up, but the rest of this we can negotiate.” You have to come in with that mindset. There are different needs across the state. My biggest focus is going to be the city of Milwaukee because the entire district is in the city of Milwaukee. So I’ll bring some resources and some strength to the city of Milwaukee.

From a human rights perspective, the city of Milwaukee benefits when small farms are preserved. The city of Milwaukee benefits from parkland and clean waterway. That requires a regional perspective. We need a regional transit authority, not just in the city of Milwaukee, but that wouldn’t benefit the city of Milwaukee. Those are places I would look for consensus. Look for ways to incrementally implement what I’m trying to do.

 

WI4US: This is a crowded primary with 8 candidates running to represent the Democratic Party. What distinguishes you from your opponents?

MG: Besides from Andy Parker, I’m the only other long-term resident of the district. Another thing that distinguishes me from my opponents, and I don’t know all of their platforms yet, is that I’m unabashedly left. I have a long experience working with private sector, public sector, negotiating agreements, writing legislation. I’ve done that and I’m out here in the community. I’ve worked throughout the district. No other candidate has done that. I’ve worked from the north side of the district to the south side of the district either as a paid staff, or as a volunteer, or as a parent. I think that this perspective and this experience gives me a handle on what the district’s needs are and also how to organize the district so their voice is powerful. By myself, I can’t get much done. A thousand people showing up at the Capitol, because I let them know something was going on, that makes a difference. I have no fear of, in fact, I want, a mobilized, organized, and informed district both holding me accountable and being a partner, pushing reforms and changes in the legislature.

 

WI4US: Speaking of accountability, how will you be accessible to constituents outside of answering phone calls and emails?

MG: I would set up an office in the district and staff it at least 5 days a week. Also electronically. I would also still live in the district, spending at least a day or two every week going into the community and talking to people. I would set up monthly meetings where people from the district can come ask me whatever they want. It’s old-fashioned knocking on doors type of work. It’s more than just answering the phone. Phone calls don’t get answered very well, people take messages that don’t get responded to. I think being visible in the district and the manners I talked about.

 

WI4US: The last year, the Assembly has been sort of a circus, with 72 hour long session, etc. How would you seek to return a sense of sanity to the Assembly?

MG: I can only do my little part, being one out of a hundred [the Assembly has 99 members]. We need to make sure there is transparency in the process. Give people room to disagree, even 180 degree disagreement, but not be belittled. That’s an important part of the process. People got cornered into “you’re a Nazi” or “you’re a communist.” No. Everybody is there trying to do their best and you have to work from that assumption. I still think the Assembly will be pretty toxic if it doesn’t turn over. But if the Assembly were to turn over and be controlled by the Democrats, I think that you start by really cultivating an atmosphere that it’s not payback time – it’s time to be adults and talk like adults.

 

WI4US: How would you seek to balance the state budget?

MG: The Institute for Wisconsin’s Future has a number of budgets they put together. Sen. Kathleen Vinehout’s alternative budget is actually quite good. Again, I’m going to come from a human rights perspective. I think that we need to raise sales tax. I think that we need to raise taxes on corporations and get rid of loopholes and giveaways. And I think that we need to raise taxes on the top earners in the state, probably making over $250,000 per year. That has to be put down in dollars and cents in order to make investments in education and jobs that are necessary to move the state forward and preserve our infrastructure. I would balance it by both raising taxes and cutting tax breaks. I’m not afraid to say that. But it’s raising specific taxes. I would actually prefer not to raise sales tax, if I can get away with it. While it’s not felt a lot going from 5% to 6%, it’s still a regressive tax in comparison to using an income tax, which really taxes people based on their ability to pay. What I want to get away from is things being based on property tax, which is probably the most regressive tax in terms of really hurting the poor either when their rent goes up or their property becomes unaffordable.

 

WI4US: A couple years ago, Milwaukee County had a referendum to raise the sales tax by 1% but Gov. Doyle vetoed it. Would you be in favor of increasing the tax levy in Milwaukee County so we could have a dedicated funding source for public transit?

MG: I would be in favor of establishing a regional transportation authority and then having that regional transit authority have a dedicated tax base in the 7 county region to fund transportation. Rather than Milwaukee County having to pay for transportation which then gets used to access the suburbs. I would also be in favor of local control. If people of Milwaukee County want to raise their taxes, they should have the right to do it. If the people voted for it, the state shouldn’t say no.

 

WI4US: What methods to we have to restore funding to public education in the upcoming budget?

MG: Shifting all of the money away from the voucher system. Changing the funding formula for MPS so it’s not screwed. Eliminating Chapter 220, which essentially just drains money to the suburbs while MPS loses funding. And raising the sales tax and dedicating that raise to education.

 

WI4US: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

MG: There is another piece on human rights that is a big focus which is civil liberty. Women’s rights need to be respected. The state shouldn’t be passing laws getting between a woman’s conversations with her doctor. The state shouldn’t be dictating one religious viewpoint over any other religious viewpoint. That’s one of the reasons I’m against vouchers. I don’t believe that the state should be funding religious institutions. I also think we need to give voting rights back to every felon in the state. Mostly because of the racist application of the laws. A grand majority of people who are incarcerated are felons are racial minorities. In the city of Milwaukee, a huge portion of people just don’t have the right to vote. To me this is simply 21st century Jim Crow laws. You take away people’s rights and make them a felon. Now you discriminate against them in the workplace and they can’t work and then in the end, you’re just locking them back up again. It’s the reason we have a prison industry. I would say that we have to pay attention to civil rights in this state.

Leave comment

May 17 2012

Interview with US Senate Candidate Nimrod Allen III

Nimrod Allen III

Nimrod Allen III

Nimrod Allen III, a former US Marine, who is running for US Senate as an independent asked us for an interview. We met with Allen at a coffeeshop in Milwaukee to discuss his candidacy which has, thus far, gone largely unnoticed by mainstream media outlets.

Allen is running against Democrat Tammy Baldwin as well as the candidate that wins the Republican primary on August 14th. Republican candidates include Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald (stepping down from the Assembly to run for Senate), former Governor Tommy Thompson, former Congressman Mark Neumann, and businessman Eric Hovde. There are a number of other citizens who have declared candidacy for this race, although none are well-known. You can find a full listing of candidates on the Wisconsin GAB website (please note that Nimrod Allen’s name does not appear on the GAB website as of writing this post).

You can learn more about Allen and his platform by visiting his website or his Facebook page.

————————————————————————————————————————-

WI4US: Tell us a little about your background.

NA: I’m a former United States Marines Corp Staff Sergeant. I was in the Corp for 9 years. I left in November 2011 in order to run for United States Senate. I don’t have any political background whatsoever, but I feel that’s a selling point for me as a candidate, because right now I don’t have any experience when it comes to doing anything negative with the deficit. I honestly feel like career politicians are not something that we need. A little about my military background: I served in Iraq and Afghanistan. I also served in Hawaii.

 

WI4US: What did you do before you joined the Marines?

NA: Before joining the Marine Corp, I was a student. I was going to MATC, and transferred to UW-Milwaukee. Then 9/11 happened and it just rocked me. I knew I had to join. I had side jobs here and there, but mostly I was a student.

 

WI4US: Why are you running for US Senate?

NA: I’m too young to be President. That’s the honest truth. But US Senate is one of the offices where you can make the most change, and have the most impact. I meet the age requirements and I feel like I’m a leader. I have a strong, solid background. I have an outstanding track record.

 

WI4US: Why are you qualified to serve in the Senate?

NA: Right now what we need in the US Senate is a leader who embodies the characteristics of Wisconsin and I feel I have that. I have a solid record. I’m dependable, loyal, and I’m here to serve the people of Wisconsin, not my own personal interests. That something I feel Wisconsin elections need right now and that’s why I feel that I’m the best candidate for this position.

 

WI4US: The Democratic challenger will be Rep. Tammy Baldwin. The Republicans are in the middle of a primary. You’re running as an Independent. Why should people support you as opposed to partisan candidates?

NA: The answer is simple: party-line politics is dead. Party time is over. The two-party system is over. You have to ask yourself “why are they here.” And they’re leaving us with the bill. Having that independent atmosphere where you can actually choose in an unbiased situation where you can benefit yourself and the state, economically and socially. That’s why you have to look at Independent candidates instead of one party or another.

 

WI4US: If you get elected, would you vote to pass the Paul Ryan budget? Why or why not?

NA: I would have to further review the Paul Ryan budget. I can’t say whether I would directly pass or not pass it. What I can say is that, if the legislation is actually effective for the state of Wisconsin, I will support it.

 

WI4US: How would you seek to balance the federal budget?

NA: First of all, utilizing HR 2188, the “Less Government Act.” That’s something we already have in place [This bill is stalled in the House of Representatives and has not been signed into law]. Enforcing that regulation that we actually use Lean Six Sigma practices, which are practices that are used in an extreme line of the federal financial process. Also, we want to look at taxes, providing federal tax alternatives rather than income tax and business tax, which would provide for a flat, across the board taxation of all Americans. That right there would eliminate the need for double taxation for international companies. We have to eliminate the fact that people are paying 10%, 15%, or 40% of their income on taxes. We say that the rich aren’t paying, the poor are. This would eliminate that.

Aside from that, it’s going to take a lot of real teamwork. Listening to both sides of the aisle, listening to views from both sides, and having that fundamental baseline that we can resonate with together. Balancing the budget is not going to be a single act by myself. It’s something that’s going to really take teamwork. Aside from everything that I would bring to the table, listening to what everyone has to say, coming up with a uniform plan that we all can work with.

 

WI4US: If you’re elected, what are your top 3 priorities for the Senate?

NA: Education, agriculture, and technology. The way I would actually instill that is through something I like to call “easy as PIE.” Provide funding, improve legislation, and enhance quality of life. At the federal level, providing funding to the state so we can actually upgrade things in our educational and agricultural background.

We need to do things like improving our technological base by bringing fiber optics to the state, as well as data centers and things of that nature. What we can do with that technological base is build an architecture for our educational system to flourish. Right now we’re not utilizing technology in the most effective way possible when it comes to education. We’re behind the curve, actually. We have opportunities for online education, job placement programs, and things of that nature, where we can use technology to supplement people or benefit people who don’t have the opportunities to actually go out into the workforce. We have the technology so people can do things like work from home or learn from home that could actually benefit people financially and benefit the state financially as well.

Education, agriculture, and technology. Agriculture is the baseline of Wisconsin. That’s one of our founding characteristics. We can take land in urban areas that has become destitute and do things like implementing green buildings in that area, taking that dead land and turn it into farmland that we can use. We can start growing produce that we can use to feed our state. Implementing technological advances through the agricultural process would supplement that as well.

When it comes to legislation, that is something we do not understand as a state. Improving legislation starts with educating the people that are supposed to vote. We can bring back training in the classrooms where we actually look at the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and understand what it means to be a US Senator or a State Senator or a Governor. Bringing it back to the high school atmosphere so people understand what their rights are and how the legislative process works. Then we can move forward together.

 

WI4US: The first part of “easy as PIE” is to provide funding. Where will that funding come from?

NA: Mostly federal funding, including looking at the federal funding we get now. For example, we have a $1.1 billion federal funded initiative going on right now to supplement food, the SNAP program [SNAP is a $75 Billion program nationwide with a slightly over $1 billion spent in Wisconsin in 2010]. Right now it is ineffectively utilized; we give away that money away without any type of guidelines. If we were to use that opportunity and use it to benefit the state and its people simultaneously, that would be an effective way to use those funds.

Federal funding for unemployment has been extended again. Using that opportunity instead of just giving people checks, we can restructure that money to pay people who are underemployed. Using that to encourage them to be underemployed and take that job that maybe won’t pay them what they’re used to, but paying to keep them current and working.

 

WI4US: On what initiatives do you think you could realistically work with Senators from both major parties to pass positive legislation?

NA: Federal income tax. I feel that if we actually sit down and talk about the various opportunities and alternatives that we have, we can come up with a sound, structured federal income tax system that would benefit the entire state and the nation simultaneously. Right now, we’re looking at an arcane system that’s been around for many years that we need to upgrade to meet the technology today. If we were to put real effort into our tax system, that’s something I feel that we can actually pass legislation on. An updated tax system.

 

WI4US: Ideally, what would that tax system look like?

NA: I’ll be giving that information closer to August, but what it’d be doing is it would look more along the lines of interstate commerce as opposed to individual’s income taxes.

 

WI4US: Would you eliminate personal income taxes or lower them?

NA: We would look to lower them by a lot. It would be a progressive thing. We would progressively lower the personal income tax and increase the commerce tax and implement a flat rate tax across the nation. We can keep progressively doing that until the income tax is eliminated and we’re just doing one flat commerce tax across the board.

 

WI4US: How and when do you think we should end the war in Afghanistan?

NA: We should have already ended the war in Afghanistan. That’s something we should have done a long time ago. It was over before it started and that’s all I want to say about it.

 

WI4US: How do you think that we can get out of there without creating a nastier situation?

NA: We have to bite the bullet and realize that we have to leave. We have to go. Right now it’s between a bad and a worse situation. We played our hand and we did everything we could for the nation over there. We served our purpose for the last 10 years while we were there and now it’s time for us to come back to the US and start building home.

 

WI4US: How can we work to improve foreign perceptions of the United States?

NA: Stop bickering. Right now, on a national level, we’re bickering like school children. If we were to stop bickering and start working together, start understanding that our differences do not mean that we can’t have a fundamental goal for the United States and Wisconsin. I’m looking forward and I hope that everyone else is looking forward with me. I understand that my views may not be the same as yours, but we have a common goal that we’re working towards. And that is to better Wisconsin and provide opportunities for the state and the nation.

 

WI4US: Over the past year, Wisconsin politics has largely revolved around Governor Walker. Do you think that he should be recalled? Why or why not?

NA: I believe we should have a Governor in office who will do what they say they’re going to do. Whether that’s Governor Walker or anybody else, I can’t really say. What I can say is that our Governors should say what they’re going to do and follow up on it.

 

WI4US: Would you say that Governor Walker has done that so far?

NA: I can’t say whether he’s done that. That’s up to the people.

 

WI4US: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

NA: Wisconsin is in need of someone who will actually stand for the people with honor, integrity, and principle. In the Marine Corp, we have a 230+ year legacy that solidifies Marines with those 3 sensible characteristics. In the Corp, we called it honor, courage, and commitment. Honor within yourself for what you’re doing. Courage on the battlefield and at home. Commitment to God and country. Marines are a 9-1-1 fighting force. When the nation is in trouble, they send in the Marines and the situation is well as hand. My name is Nimrod Allen and I thank you for your time.

Leave comment

May 02 2012

Interview with Assembly Candidate Lisa Erin Brown

Lisa Erin Brown

Lisa Erin Brown

We had a chance to speak with Lisa Erin Brown, a candidate for Assembly District 18. District 18 is currently represented by Rep. Tamara Grigsby, who is stepping down at the end of her term due to health reasons.

Brown’s Democratic Party challengers are Jarett Fields (who doesn’t currently have a campaign website), Michael Glabere (who we have also interviewed), Evan Goyke, Ty Jackson, Lashawndra Vernon, Andrew Parker, and James Dieter

There are not currently any Republican candidates in this race. We will update if one declares.

You can learn more about Lisa Erin Brown by visiting her campaign website or her campaign Facebook account.

————————————————————————————————————

WI4US: Why are you running for office?

LEB: I have a background in wanting to give back to my community. My father was the treasurer of the 13th Aldermanic District when I was younger. I attended a lot of meetings. I was interested in the way that people came together, organized, and tried to figure out what was best for the community. When I got to college, I was the Chair of the College Democrats at UWM (see editorial note at the bottom of this post) and I did campaign work over the last year. It is something that interests me but it’s not something that I want to do for me. My goal is not to become the ultimate politician. I want to stay close to the community and I think State Assembly is a good way to do that because you’re representing your community at the state level, which is very important, but you get to still live in that community and talk to them on a daily basis.

 

WI4US: Tell us a little about your background.

LEB: I graduated from Ronald Reagan High School. Then I went to MATC. I had a $48,000 scholarship to go to Cardinal Stritch, but I determined that private school was not for me. I had a life-changing experience that kind of threw me into the medical field, but I discovered that if you’re a licensed EMT at 18, people don’t take you seriously, regardless of being licensed. So I decided to go back to school at UWM. I was planning to do pre-med but took a class in Jewish Studies and fell in love with it.

I took last year off of school because I went to Madison and I relocated there temporarily to work on a budget campaign with Advancing Wisconsin. We were based out of Madison and we drove to a different city every day, canvassed the public, and educated them on the state budget and how it affected them. We were the encouragement for them to contact their legislators, trying to bridge the gap between constituents and legislators. I worked on that until the state budget was signed and then I got a job in Baraboo working for Fred Clark’s State Senate recall campaign.

 

WI4US: What interests you about Jewish Studies?

LEB: I haven’t quite gotten the answer for myself yet. I just really enjoy it. I’m not Jewish, which is usually the follow-up question.

 

WI4US: You don’t currently live in District 18, why are you moving there?

LEB: Let me preface that. Legally, you don’t have to live in the district until 31 days before the primary. I currently live in the neighboring district. I am familiar with the west side of Milwaukee and in the past I’ve been familiar with Washington Heights. I’m now becoming more familiar with it. That’s where I go almost every day and that’s where I’m headed after this interview. I will be moving to the district obviously, so I can run in that district because it’s a part of Milwaukee that I’m familiar with. It’s also unique because there’s a drastic difference between the west side of Milwaukee and Washington Heights. It shouldn’t be like that. There shouldn’t be that tension. One of the things I’d like to see is bridging the gap between those two communities.

 

WI4US: District 18 is current represented by Rep. Tamara Grigsby, but she is stepping down for health reasons. Tell us a little about your opinion of Rep. Grigsby.

LEB: I love her. In addition to just my general interest, part of my job was to sit in on Joint Finance Committee meetings. I spent many hours in the legislative galleries and she was one of the most powerful speakers to hear, especially on the Joint Finance Committee. She cares about the community she serves, but she doesn’t care what other politicians think of her. She’s a very strong speaker. She, Mark Pocan, Gordon Hintz, and Peter Barca are my Assembly idols. Especially since she’s a woman. She can educate you and get you riled up at the same time. That’s powerful.

Once at the Capitol I was watching the Joint Finance Committee. I was really upset that day as I considered how this budget affects my community, how it affects the people I go to school with, how it affects children at MPS. Rep. Grigsby walked out with Sen. Lena Taylor and I got to meet both of them at the same time. I walked up to Grigsby, and this was right after I had been laid off, I was unemployed. I was borderline homeless and living off a can of refried beans a day. I asked her what could I do? I was busting my butt, I didn’t have any student loans, I was working so hard with nothing coming back. I have an autistic brother who receives services through MPS. I told her about him. My mom is a single mom and she can’t pay for services for him. Grigsby gave me a motivational speech and told me not to give up. That was the first time I ever spoke with a legislator and they showed true compassion.

 

WI4US: Why are you qualified to serve in the Assembly?

LEB: Can I preface this with my age? I will be 21 before the primary election, I’m 20 now. But I have the educational experience. I go to UWM, but beyond that I take it upon myself to study, anything, everything. I watch WisconsinEye more than any other 20-year old probably does. As I said, I sat in the Assembly regularly. It kind of became a fad in February and March, but in June and July I was the youngest person and the only female. Everyone else was in business suits. I have that experience. I understand state law. I understand the process in which it gets made. I understand how it’s approached on the floor. I understand the pattern of the State Assembly and how it progressed over the last year because I followed it so closely. I have professional experience working with nonprofits and I understand how to reach out to people. I think that once you have those general skills than everything else you encounter as a representative is a learning experience for anyone.

 

WI4US: What are your top 3 priorities if elected, and how will you achieve them?

LEB: One is MPS. Everyone I’ve talked to so far is in agreeance that MPS is in trouble. I went to a very good high school, I had a great MPS education, but my fear is that others won’t have that same opportunity. The gifted and talented middle school I went to closed down and was consolidated with another school. The gifted and talented program ended then. If we keep combining schools and increasing class sizes and changing the programming, how are these students getting the same education that other people are able to get? How do we strengthen MPS?

I listen to school board meetings whenever they are on. Recently when I was listening to a school board meeting they were talking about whether or not they should require students to learn about voter registration. This is something that, for whatever reason, MPS is pushing away. I would like to implement this on a statewide level to ensure that schools have that in the curriculum. I think that we need to have a higher level work with MPS to teach students about state government. They need to know who their legislators are. Not only students but adults don’t even know what district they live in. It’s very important to understand state government and understand that process.

A lot of MPS schools, and even private schools in Milwaukee, don’t have counselors or advisors. When you’re in high school, trying to figure out if you’re going to college afterwards, not many schools have advisors to help you with that. Information about scholarships and grants isn’t communicated properly. Many people don’t have families that are strong behind them, supporting them through college, so when they are looking for scholarships or financial aid, they are on their own. I know this because I was one of them. The first time I sat down and did my financial aid form it was a difficult process. If you’re not educated about scholarships and grants you can get, aside from loans, then it’s an intimidating experience and some people feel like they, financially, can’t go to school. There is no reason someone shouldn’t achieve higher education because of concern about finances.

I want to have a program in Milwaukee that runs like a nonprofit similar to job centers, like an education center. We want to work to see more counselors in schools, but since that seems to be far in the future, we need an immediate “band-aid” plan. We need a place where people who are trained and have done recruiting can sit down with students and help them find scholarships and teach them how to apply for financial aid, so it’s easier for them to see how to get into school financially.

The second thing is the segregation in Milwaukee and particularly in District 18. There is a great Milwaukee nonprofit that I served on the Board of, named MICAH, and I think that would be an organization that has taken steps in the right direction of breaking down segregation. In District 18, you have people who won’t cross the bridge where Miller-Coors is, because it’s a divide between one area and another. If they have to go downtown they won’t take North Ave. because they don’t want to see North Ave. I’m not sure what the plan is yet, but there needs to be more community involvement in doing that because it’s something that the community needs to want to do in order to make it happen. We can’t just take everyone and mix them up and say “ok, we’re good now.” How do you make communities feel comfortable going into the neighboring community across the street? What do we need to do to make people feel more comfortable talking to each other? It sounds like something we shouldn’t be talking about in 2012, but apparently we need to.

The third project is more community gardening, and using that to assist in poverty. We need to find empty lots, and there are many, that the city is willing to use for community gardening. We can partner with Sweet Water Organics and Growing Power, which do trainings. We bring people in the community that are interested in being leaders and train them. Now we have a community garden every couple blocks that helps sustain the community. This is something that can happen easily, we just need a facilitator that can make it happen.

 

WI4US: Having observed the Assembly over the past year, I’m sure you’ve noticed it’s become a circus. How will you return civility to the Assembly?

LEB: Returning civility happens through representation. Being able to talk with the other side of the aisle, as they like to say. I’m registered as a Democrat because that is where I normally lie ideologically, but I don’t have an issue talking to people. I would rather have someone sit down and tell me for an hour why they think I’m wrong than just say “no, you’re wrong.” Something I would like to see is talking to each other when we’re not just on the floor arguing. A lot gets lost during the argument because people are so fueled, but if more people sat down informally and just talked to each other, and try to really understand, we could grow.

 

WI4US: On what specific issues do you think you could work with the Assembly Republicans to push forward positive legislation?

LEB: I would like to see some funding restored to MPS. Public education is an important issue for me. Wisconsin lost $648 per student this past year, the worst state cuts in the country. Given my age, I’m glad I graduated when I did because every class after me is going to have a harder time. Things are looking down.

When it arises, we need more thought into the preservation of the environment. For example, the mining bill, which thankfully, because of one Republican [Sen. Dale Schultz] didn’t pass. In the future, that is something I would like to work with. If we have free range for development, we are going to use all of our land except for those small state forests. I would like to work with Republicans to think of preservation of land in development.

I’m also big on historic preservation. I like urban redevelopment. In Milwaukee, we have a lot of historic buildings that sit there untouched. Luckily we have groups like Historic Milwaukee that have been working on preserving them, but when we develop, we just take up another piece of land. We need to work more on urban redevelopment and revamping historic buildings that we want to keep. It just makes sense.

 

WI4US: You have 5 Democratic Party challengers. No one has declared candidacy for the Republicans. What sets you apart from the other challengers?

LEB: My age. In a positive manner. I think that my age brings a perspective that the Assembly has been lacking for a while. The youngest person in the Assembly right now is Rep. JoCasta Zamarrimpa, and she and I have a big age difference. I know that some people might feel a little uncomfortable about having someone so young, but you have to look at the advantages of it. I have students in my district that attend UWM. How often are Assembly members talking to college students? I know in my three years of going to school, I’ve never seen an Assembly member on campus. How often are they actually visiting the schools in their district? I’m still so closely tied with my education that I want to do that.

The amount of energy I have sets me apart. I’m working 45 hours a week, I’m taking full-time credits, and I’m managing a campaign all by myself. I’ve met and talked with many people. That’s not just something I’d do in my campaign, but something that I would do once elected as well. I want to do all of this. I can take in a lot. I’m very good at multitasking and handling a multitude of stress. I enjoy it because it all is positive energy.

 

WI4US: How will you be accessible to constituents and communicate with them?

LEB: One thing that impressed me about my alderman when I was growing up is that you could just show up at his house and he wouldn’t care. I would like to mirror that kind of openness. With the heat of politics lately, not having been in that situation before, I don’t know how possible it is. Recently, someone [Sen. Lena Taylor] got sent poop at the Capitol. People are scary right now, but I’d like to be as open as possible.

I would want to answer all the emails I got personally. This is reflective of my time in Madison. Because of my brother, I wanted to talk to my legislator and I wanted to talk to his. I called the offices of both my Representative and Senator and his Representative and Senator. In May I asked if they had time to see me for 5-10 minutes to hear my brother’s story. Because they should. He is a constituent of theirs and he can’t speak for himself, so I speak for him. I heard back from my representative, but not from his. I went to the office a week before the budget passed and his staff said he’d get back to me. I’m still waiting for that phone call.

Even if you think you’re too busy to meet with someone, once you let them go without any sort of contact, you’re letting them go. Not only is it important because you want to respond to everyone but I think it’s important because someone is contacting me because they want me to hear about it. If it goes to the two secretaries who usually respond and they don’t relay the message to me, then it gets lost. It’s really important to me. I’m the only one circulating my nomination papers. Everyone who signs has spoken to me and they have already had the opportunity to ask me questions personally and get to know me. They aren’t seeing my face on a flyer, they are seeing me and talking to me. That is no different once you are a representative because you represent them. They should be able to get a hold of you and say what they need to say.

 

WI4US: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

LEB: It’s remarkable that I’m doing this campaign on my own. I don’t have any gain out of this other than the honor to represent people. There is nothing professionally I’m trying to gain by this. My intentions truly are that I enjoy talking to people. It’s what I do best. I want to hear the stories of everyone. I want to understand everyone. I think that’s something that many legislators are lacking. I’m willing to look beyond my own morals and values because if there is something that my constituents overwhelmingly agree with, even if I don’t, I represent my constituents.

—————————————————————————————————

Editorial Note: After a comment raising doubts about this claim, we contacted Lisa Erin Brown. Brown responded with this comment “I served on the executive committee-events organizer. I was never the chair… I stated I served with the chair, but perhaps I had mis-spoke or was not clear.“

We listened to the interview over again, and she did claim during the interview to have been the Chair of the UWM Dems. For this reason, we have kept the original wording but have included this editorial note for readers. We apologize for the confusion.

5 comments

Apr 19 2012

Interview with Assembly Candidate Mandela Barnes

Mandela Barnes

Assembly Candidate Mandela Barnes

Wisconsin For Us got an interview with Mandela Barnes, a community organizer in Milwaukee. Barnes is running for State Assembly in District 11 against incumbent Jason Fields.

You can learn more about Barnes and his campaign at his campaign website.
You can learn more about Fields at his state website.

You can view a map of the new Assembly District 11 here.
————————————————————————————————————–

WI4US: Why are you running for office?

MB: I’m running for office because of my work as an organizer. People are disappointed. I’m disappointed, myself. A lot of things are going on in the community. I live in the inner city and I see what is going on in Milwaukee everyday. We’re disappointed, especially with what goes on at the state level. We need leaders that are willing to stand up and say “no, we’re not going to let this happen.” We need leaders that are bold enough to not be afraid to challenge the governor and not afraid to challenge the powers that be. There needs to be an unconventional form of governance. Especially in Milwaukee. We’re #4 in poverty and have 55% black male unemployment. It’s time for leaders to stand up.

 

WI4US: What is your background?

MB: I’m from Milwaukee, born and raised. I went to Alabama A&M. I would say my profession is community organizing. My first job out of college I was an organizer for a political campaign. I worked in the minority communities, low-income areas, organizing people and getting them to vote. My job was to generate new voters, whether that was students or people who hadn’t participated in the electoral process before. I came back to Milwaukee in 2009. After that experience, I worked in the mayor’s office a little while. I also worked at the Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board for a while as a youth and program specialist.

Most recently, I was the Director for MICAH, the Milwaukee Inner-city Congregation Allied for Hope. It is an interfaith social justice community organization, comprised of over 35 congregations, mainly inner-city but there are some outside the city, in Mequon and Wauwatosa. MICAH is made up of synagogues, mosques, and churches that all come together to organize around social justice issues. “To do what is just” is the motto of the organization, same as the prophet. Michah 6:8 says “God has shown you, o mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord ask of you? To do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.” So that is the entire basis of the organization. It’s not an organization that pushes it’s faith on people, it is just a body of people who are united by their common faith and believe in justice.

 

WI4US:  How does your background qualify you for public office?

MB: For one, I’ve only been amongst the people, in every capacity. Whether that is working at the mayor’s office or my job as an organizer, seeing the issues first hand, even living the issues as a resident of the city, knowing what goes on, working in the mayor’s office, knowing how government can play a role in shaping and framing the situation. Working firsthand in those capacities has shown me what has been done right, what has been done wrong. I’ve also had the opportunity to go to a number of places, travel, and work with other leaders of community organizations. I’ve been a part of the Milwaukee Jobs Act coalition. We’re working for an investment to put people back to work. I’ve had the chance to work with officials on every level of government, city, county, state, and federal on different issues. I’ve gone to Washington DC to meet with our representatives and try to push them on certain issues regarding public transportation. I’ve worked with the County and one of the issues we worked on was to “ban the box.” That was an effort to get the convictions box eliminated from employment applications, because that’s a barrier to getting a job. I’ve been able to study and learn how government works and what it can do along with my experience as a community organizer. I’ve been able to successfully navigate City Hall, the Courthouse, the Capitol, Washington. I feel that I’ve had a lot of experience working in government.

 

WI4US: What are your top three priorities if elected?

MB: Job creation is number one, of course. I will keep working for the Milwaukee Jobs Act. I’ve had a chance to really work with that coalition. And I would like to work on a Wisconsin Jobs Act, so we can put Wisconsin people back to work. The money is there, it’s just how we spend it. We have to spend our dollars from Wisconsin wisely. Especially at a time like this, we don’t have time to use local investment to make other people wealthy, who don’t even live here. Not being #4 in poverty, not with 55% black unemployment. Something has to be done differently. Local hiring is something I’ve always pushed. I would like to work on a Wisconsin Jobs Plan.

My second issue is that we need to refund education. There is no way we can build a strong society without a good public education system. Public education teaches any and every child. I say this and I will repeat this: no one is going to bring jobs to an area that continues to close schools. In my district there are a number of schools that have been closed. I don’t know the likelihood of them being reopened before being purchased by another entity. Property values decline when schools close. Anybody who wants to hire people is going to look at long-term sustainability. If there is no education, what is the point of investing in this area with no long-term future?

Third is criminal justice reform, how we incarcerate people, which is another issue that I’ve had the opportunity to work on. There are too many people in the prison system. We spend way too much more on incarceration. We spend about $1.5 Billion on incarceration in Wisconsin [$1.3 Billion allotted in the current budget]. Compare that to Minnesota which spends about $500 Million [$460 Million allotted in current budget]. So we’re spending almost 3 times as much as they are in Minnesota. And it has taken a hit on our state budget. We talk about everything else which is a strain on our state budget, I mean we’re taking federal foreclosure settlement money to patch gaps in our state budget. But the money is there. We spend too much money putting people in jail who may not even belong in jail. We haven’t expanded our treatment programs, we have programs in place but it’s not enough. We can do way more. It costs less to treat someone and it’s better for our community when you treat people. A lot of people who go to jail have underlying issues that don’t get addressed. So when they get out they still have those issues, but their mindset is even more distorted because they’ve been locked in a box with either a substance abuse issue or mental illness. They come out with those issues, so clearly they’re going to recidivate, because the issue hasn’t been addressed.

 

WI4US: What would a Wisconsin Jobs Act look like?

MB: It would mirror the American Jobs Act which unfortunately didn’t go anywhere in Congress. It would call for us to use the resources that we have and spend our money wisely. We need to spend all of our money in Wisconsin. We need to use all our resources in the state to help regenerate the economy. We need to buy local and sell global.

 

WI4US: How will you preserve the services we have while seeking to raise local investment?

MB: That’s really the easiest part. If there are budget constraints and we spend money here, then those people are going to be paying taxes. That money is going to put itself back into our economy. People are going to be able to pay their taxes if they’re making money. Consumer spending will go up because people will have the money to go out and spend it.

 

WI4US: How will you work to improve your district?

MB: Well, one thing specifically is the Westlawn redevelopment. Westlawn was the largest Housing Authority project in the city. What they’ve done is they’ve taken it down to redevelop it into a mixed income residential area. It is a $600 Million investment [our research found that the project actually costs roughly $220 Million. We have asked the Barnes campaign to offer a source for the figure of $600 Million. We will update when they provide a source]. That’s $600 Million that could be well spent to put people to work in that area. We saw that as a location that did not meet the hiring standards whether they are related to HUD Section 3 or the MORE Ordinance [Milwaukee Opportunities Restoring Employment], even though the MORE Ordinance is voided now because the Governor nixed that out of the budget. MORE required that 40% of the work hours on public works projects to be completed by minority, underemployed, and unemployed residents of the city. Even though that was removed from the governor’s budget, we expect that our leaders to adhere to a standard such as the MORE Ordinance to put people back to work, to restore employment in the city. That is a huge opportunity. This $600 Million could create a surge to our local economy if we were to wisely spend that $600 Million.

 

WI4US: How will you be accessible to constituents?

MB: I will be completely accessible. I plan to go out into the district. I’ll still act like a community organizer. As an elected official I still want to go out into the community, including regularly scheduled town hall meetings. I will make sure to get back to constituents within 24 hours. That’s a commitment I’m willing to make. I don’t want to lose my connection with the community, or else I won’t be effective as a legislator. The State Assembly is the lower house. It’s the People’s House and it needs to be in touch with the people.

 

WI4US: Why are you running against an incumbent, Jason Fields?

MB: It goes back to the whole disappointment thing. It isn’t me running against Jason Fields, it’s running from a point of disappointment. Black male unemployment wasn’t addressed in the state legislature until the governor was being recalled. That’s not okay. This was an issue that existed before Scott Walker. This is an issue that Tim John [a Democratic candidate for Governor in 2010] ran on. But no one listened to Tim John when he talked about black, male unemployment. Now people are starting to take notice, people are moving on the issues. We need leaders who are going to stand up for our community, people who won’t side with special interests.

If I’m elected, hopefully Scott Walker won’t be the Governor anymore. However, we’re still going to need leaders in the state Capitol. There are still going to be people who think that Scott Walker had good ideas. There are going to be people who think that and try to push legislation that resonate with Walker’s base. There are still people that think we need to eliminate social services and safety nets. We need leaders who aren’t going to let that happen in Madison. We need people who have proven they will stand up on issues.

Voter ID could potentially disenfranchise many people in this city. I had the opportunity to educate people and help them get their ideas. At MICAH, we had our congregations take a moment to have people pull out their IDs during service one day to make sure people were able to participate, make sure they have a say.

 

WI4US: If the state faces a big budget deficit, as it has in recent years, how would you seek to balance that budget?

MB: I’ll go back to criminal justice reform. That’s a huge opportunity to both save money and do the right thing. It won’t be like we’re letting violent criminals free. That’s not what the program does. We’re looking to expand treatment programs to have a greater benefit on the state in terms of budget and a greater benefit to the community because people will have their issues addressed. Many studies prove that treatment programs work. That is a prime opportunity to save money instead of cutting resources for people who are already in poverty who don’t have any other way. We should have social services that transition people out of poverty. People need to get a hand up. There are a lot of job training programs, but they don’t necessarily place people.

 

WI4US: How will you work to improve public transportation options for your constituents?

MB: Milwaukee County Transit System needs a dedicated funding source. But they can’t do that unless there is legislation in Madison to make that possible. Another thing that can make public transportation more accessible is creating a Regional Transit Authority (RTA). But again, we need the legislation in Madison to make RTAs a possibility. It was actually Gov. Doyle who vetoed legislation to create RTA for Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha [Doyle didn't veto the RTA, but vetoed a 0.65% sales tax increase in Milwaukee County which would have funded the RTA].

 

WI4US: How will you work to improve public education?

MB: Public education is a priority. I graduated from a public high school and look at what a mess I turned into – I’m running for office! We have to realize that public education is an investment. You really can’t put too much money into public education. We do need to consider how those dollars have been spent, but the public education cuts have to be restored. We can’t keep laying off teachers. Outside of the city, public education cuts didn’t necessarily hit them as hard, because they have higher property values. We’re living in poverty here in Milwaukee. That money has to come back. We give tax breaks to people who don’t even live here. We continue to take from people who don’t have and continue giving to people who have. And that’s a problem across the entire nation.

 

WI4US: What is your opinion on charter schools in Milwaukee and statewide?

MB: The problem with charter schools is who is educated. Public schools teach every child without discrimination including children with behavioral issues or mental health issues. Public schools have to educate all children. Charter school systems don’t play by the same rules. They may appear to be more successful than public schools but you have to take a look at the children who get into the school. It all comes down to parental involvement. When parents are active in their child’s education, it is a benefit to that child and to the entire school. We have a lot of children in schools who don’t have parental involvement and then the children don’t perform well. It affects not just that student, but all the students in the school. Charter schools need to be more strictly regulated.

 

WI4US: What is your opinion on the current political tension in Madison and the upcoming recall elections?

MB: It’s ridiculous. There is almost visible hate. There was always discourse, it’s going to be that way in partisan politics, but the games that are being played are just dirty right now. It’s a zoo. It’s never been like this. People disagreed before but now there is disdain. It is so partisan and so divided right now it’s crazy. But I 100% support the recall of Scott Walker. He has been a polarizing figure and people are not able to get anything done because everything is seen as a partisan issue. People were able to work together in the past. Scott Walker has to go. His way of governing is refusing to negotiate. He cancelled high-speed rail. He ended collective bargaining for workers even when the concessions were agreed upon. That is a heartless maneuver, it’s a power grab.

 

WI4US: What issues do you think you can work with Republicans in the Assembly on?

MB: Again, criminal justice reform. There are a lot of “tough on crime” Republicans, but there is a huge budgetary benefit. Even the state of Alabama has treatment programs. When a state that still celebrates Confederate Memorial Day as a state holiday can see that this is the right thing to do, Wisconsin can do it.

Leave comment

Mar 30 2012

Interview with County Supervisor Willie Johnson, Jr.

Sup. Willie Johnson, Jr.

Sup. Willie Johnson, Jr.

Wisconsin For Us interviewed Milwaukee County Supervisor Willie Johnson, Jr. (District 13) on his reelection campaign. Sup. Johnson is up for reelection next Tuesday, April 3rd. His opponent is Bria Grant, whom we interviewed earlier this week. 

You can find out more about Johnson at his County Board profile and you can find out more about Bria Grant at her campaign website.

—————————————————————————————————

WI4US: Tell us a little about yourself.

WJJ: I became a county employee in November 1987, so I’ve been a county employee for more than 24 years. I worked as a county social worker for 11 ½ years, performing protective service responsibilities until I was elected in 2000. Since 2000, I have served on the Economic and Community Development Committee for 11 years, the Finance and Audit Committee for 8 years, and have been Chairman of the Judiciary, Safety and General Services Committee for the last 5 years. I have sat on these committees for a long period of time. Therefore, I have learned a lot and tried to contribute along the way.

WI4US: What accomplishments have you made in your 12 years as County Supervisor that you are most proud of?

WJJ: In 2010, the County Board had decided to take advantage of Build America bonds and other opportunities. The Board decided to take advantage of low interest rates, so we bonded for 2 years worth of bonding during a 1 year period.

In 2010, after we reached the cap for bonding for 2011 and 2012, I introduced a budget amendment to get $5 Million for the refurbishment of Moody Pool, which was still in my district until a couple weeks ago. The Board tends to look at capital improvement recommendations from the various departments and then we pretty much follow those recommendations and then do the bonding for a particular year. Well, Moody Pool was not included in the recommendation from the Parks Department for bonding. So I convinced my colleagues to bond for this project.

I was also the author of the Park East Redevelopment Compact, which provides minority and woman-owned firms the opportunity to participate as construction contractors and subcontractors. Also, with disadvantaged laborers who might work on those projects, they would have the opportunity to get paid premium wages for their work on those contracts.

Besides, over the years I’ve worked hard to restore positions that the former County Executive, Scott Walker, tried to eliminate through the budgetary process.

WI4US: Why are you running for reelection?

WJJ: I’m running for reelection to continue the work that I’ve started. I mentioned the Park East Redevelopment Compact Resolution and a lot of development hasn’t occurred there because of the economy. As we know, it’s very hard for developers to come up with a financing package to be used for development.

Back in 1986, I volunteered with the Milwaukee Minority Chamber of Commerce to help developers become certified so that they can have some opportunities to obtain contracts with businesses. Since I’ve been on the County Board, I have welcomed the opportunity to work on behalf of women and minority businesses and workers to get them opportunities so that they can work on projects.

I was additionally honored for my advocacy of disadvantaged firms and workers by the Milwaukee County Community Development Business Partners as a small business champion. In 2008, I was awarded the Civil Rights Partnership award from the Federal Highway Administration. We met a goal for 27% of the $800 million cost for the design and construction of the Marquette Interchange to go to disadvantaged businesses. This is the type of work I want to continue to do.

WI4US: If reelected what are your top 3 priorities for the upcoming term?

WJJ: If reelected, I want to continue my work on the Milwaukee County Criminal Justice Council (MCCJC), which began 5 years ago. The Council seeks to coordinate criminal justice resources in Milwaukee County. The MCCJC has an evidence-based decision-making policy team which is working to implement reforms for the system. Those reforms include intervention crisis team training for law enforcement, universal screening, deferred prosecution agreement/diversion services, and business-based sentencing to reduce the number of inmates in local facilities and reduce costs.

I would like to continue to call for the creation of a County Finance Commission. What I’ve learned is that departments and divisions will report to the committee and the County Board that they are experiencing deficits. Some of that is due to internal structure. Once we receive audit reports, which points to shortcomings then it is something that we try to work with the department so that they can become more efficient in dealing with their finances.

The third thing would be that I want to make sure that whatever County workers here feel valued and remain at their job. When he was in office, County Executive Walker tried to lay off personnel, particularly union personnel. County Executive Walker only had one year when we faced deficit. Every other year there was a surplus. We need to retain County workers and make sure they feel valued.

WI4US: Since you have been in office, how have you helped improve District 13?

WJJ: One of the things that happens is that developers come to supervisors, particularly in the inner city, searching for WHEDA low-income tax credits. They ask the supervisors to support them in securing the credits. We also have Community Development Block Grant funds that are given for public service and capital improvement projects. Since I’ve been in office, a number of nonprofits in my district have received those funds.

The other part is affordable housing. Affordable housing services are available through economic development funds that can be accessed by developers and nonprofits. It’s a good amount of money that can help complete their financing packages.

WI4US: What improvements still need to be made in the district, and how will you help implement those improvements?

WJJ: There is a great amount of poverty in the district. People need jobs. One of the ways that Milwaukee County has made a commitment to providing jobs in through the $2 million that the Biddle-Lipscomb amendment called for. $1 million of that goes to small businesses and the other million is allocated to help train workers so they can become employable. People in my district will benefit from this.

WI4US: You mentioned in a candidate forum that you support rebuilding the Estabrook Dam, whereas many believe that the dam should be permanently removed. Why do you support this project?

WJJ: I support the project because I have worked to listen to the residents in northern Milwaukee and Glendale. They believe that the dam must be repaired so that their houses cannot be flooded or disease allowed to spread to their homes. If the dam were removed, this would affect many people’s properties.

WI4US: Why should voters support you over your opponent in this election?

WJJ: I have 24 years of experience. I know how County government works. I have the experience to know that various departments have their own priorities. I understand the means and methods by which things get done. I also understand how the decision-making process works. I believe that when people call me, I listen and my legislative assistant listens. If we can’t provide a solution for them, then we refer them to individuals who are able to provide solutions.

WI4US: Cuts to public transit are a major issue to many Milwaukee County residents, yet the state government is extremely unlikely to approve an increased sales tax levy as a form of dedicated funding. How will you ensure that transit continues to serve the community?

WJJ: One of the things that we could do is impose a wheel tax. The state legislature has told us that this is a tool we can use. In this legislative environment, the Republican legislature won’t let us pass another initiative for a sales tax increase for transit, parks, or emergency medical services. We are two of the major 50 metropolitan areas in the US that still don’t have a dedicated funding source. The County Board would not have to go to the state legislature to get special permission in order to implement a wheel tax. It could happen now.

WI4US: If the County is faced with a budget deficit in this next term, how will you balance the budget?

WJJ: We have to look at both revenues and expenses. Particularly in this economy, I do not like to eliminate jobs. What could be done is that departments can look at what they can do to trim their budgets and get rid of excess.

WI4US: In what ways are you accessible to your constituents?

WJJ: I believe my service record has been a very good one. I try to participate in neighborhood groups and listen and contribute and answer questions posed to me. I try to make myself available and respond to calls.

WI4US: The local media often portrays the County Board as being a dysfunctional body. What steps can the Board take to gain greater public trust?

WJJ: That stems from the fact that in 2000, the County Board passed a pension enhancement, which allowed people to take large sums of money. Since then, the press has been very critical of the County Board and its activities. Not much attention is paid to the Milwaukee Common Council, although the Common Council deals with people’s property and zoning. The city has actually not only increased taxes, but raised fees recently. The County Board tends to keep the tax levy lower than the other taxing entities in the area including Milwaukee, Milwaukee Public Schools, and the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District. We tend to have the lowest tax increases, but get the most press coverage because of what happened in 2000. Some of my colleagues were recalled and we got a new County Executive at the time. Since then, Milwaukee County has been a source of attention for the media. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has now won 3 Pulitzer Prizes by covering the County Board. We tend to be the government of interest at this particular time.

WI4US: Thank you very much for your time.Is there anything else you would like to add?

WJJ: I hope that residents of the 13th District reelect me. I hope that the residents believe that I did a good enough job for me to return to office.

Leave comment

Older posts «

Sharing Buttons by Linksku