In the first mayoral election since 2004 without an incumbent, and only the fourth in 62 years, Milwaukee mayoral candidates gathered Wednesday night for the Milwaukee Mayoral Forum at the Turner Hall Ballroom in downtown Milwaukee. Among the key issues debated were reckless driving and population decline.
Former Mayor Barrett announced earlier this year that he was resigning to fill the spot of U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg, leaving the city’s top spot up for grabs. Cavalier Johnson, who is the Common Council President, assumed the position of Acting Mayor after Former Mayor Barrett’s resignation and is vying to fill the spot long-term.
The candidates were asked Wednesday night how they plan on reducing crime, specifically reckless driving and auto theft. According to Milwaukee Police Data, 66 people died last year as a result of a car crash and more than 1000 cars have been reported stolen in 2022. Additionally, almost half of Milwaukee’s car thefts in 2021 were committed by individuals under the age of 18.
Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic said the fact that these crimes are being committed by so many children reflects a societal issue that needs to be addressed. Dimitrijevic said she would implement free drivers education in all public schools and invest in safer road infrastructure.
“I think about a child that would get in a car, perhaps a stolen car, and crash into anyone or anything,” Dimitrijevic said. “That’s a failure of the city and society, and we need to look in the mirror and make sure we’re providing support and resources.”
Dimitrijevic also said that more immediate steps can be taken to make the roads safer.
“There are infrastructure improvements that we can make, from speed bumps to roundabouts to making the roads skinnier, I’m willing to do what it takes to stop and slow people down,” Dimitrijevic said.
State Sen. Lena Taylor said reckless driving and car theft is an issue with deep roots, and the solution lies more in giving young people more opportunities.
“Those young people need to be provided some other opportunities,” Taylor said. “I want to connect them to the classic car clubs and motor clubs because I want to turn that energy and that desire that young people have to do something different into something positive.”
Taylor also said she plans on making Kia and Hyundai, the most commonly stolen car brands in Milwaukee in 2021, more accountable for how seemingly easy they are to steal.
“It’s my understanding that Kia and Hyundai are asking people not to park their cars inside because they can easily catch on fire,” Taylor said. “So they not only can steal them easy, they can catch on fire. I’m going to go to Kia and Hyundai to pay up because this is costing us a lot of money.”
Businessman Michael Sampson supported the idea of reinstating universal drivers education in Milwaukee public schools but advocated focusing on specific areas and red light cameras.
“Red light cameras are the answer,” Sampson said. “They will slow people down, they will send people tickets in the mail, and they’ll stop speeding around the city.”
Sampson also said he’d like to see more sheriff patrols in areas leading to the highway.
“I’d love to see more sheriff patrols on Hampton, on Silver Spring. We need more help out there and that’s the area of the city that we need to focus on right now.”
Former Ald. Bob Donovan took a harsher stance than the other candidates, saying an atmosphere of “lawlessness” has taken over large parts of Milwaukee. Donovan said that he supports increased law enforcement in the city.
“There apparently seems to be no consequences for people’s criminal behavior, and that needs to change,” Donovan said. “There needs to be stepped up enforcement and that is simply not possible to the level needed at this point because of the manpower shortages within MPD.”
Community activist Iesha Griffin said reckless driving is not just about the youth, but that the number one reason for reckless driving is drunk drivers. Griffin also said that she would personally talk to the children committing car thefts.
“I have a solution where if we talk to them about what’s going on, we can prevent them from being punished and ignored,” Griffin said.
Milwaukee County Sherriff Earnell Lucas said that the State Patrol needs to play a bigger role and that he would invest in education, infrastructure, and law enforcement to reduce reckless driving and car theft.
“Milwaukee County is the only county in the state of Wisconsin in which the State Patrol has no primary enforcement authority, so we’ve got to do all we can to get the State Patrol here to help us mitigate the problem of reckless driving,” Lucas said.
Lucas also said that he would ask automotive manufacturers to do more with the designs of their cars to prevent reckless driving.
“This is our 1960’s seatbelt problem,” Lucas said. “Until we get all of the entities in the city working together to bring pressure to the automakers, we won’t see an immediate remedy in Washington in helping us deal with this issue.”
Acting Mayor Cavalier Johnson agreed that universal drivers education should be implemented in Milwaukee public schools, citing his past support of a program as a Common Council member and cited his plan Stand for Safer Streets which stresses neighborhood engagement and redesigning safer streets.
“As a member of the Common Council previously I supported $50,000 a year over a number of years to support universal drivers education back in Milwaukee public schools,” Johnson said.
Candidates also debated the issue of Milwaukee’s population decline and how to attract more people to the city.
Community activist Iesha Griffin said people are leaving the city because of lack of equality and discrimination.
“If we talk to the people of Milwaukee and put the needs of the people first, I think we change the landscape of Milwaukee,” Griffin said. “We have water in Milwaukee with lead in it and a foster system that’s horrible. If we had equality and eradicate discrimination, Milwaukee would be a top tier city.”
Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic noted that although Milwaukee’s population has decreased over the past 10 years, the Latino population has been steadily increasing.
“This is a city of immigrants, built on the backs of immigrants, and I think it’s important to really raise up that hardworking Latino community that has moved our city forward,” Dimitrijevic said. “We should double down and make sure we’re specifically helping that population continue to grow.”
State Sen. Lena Taylor said segregation is what is driving people out of Milwaukee.
“We are getting white flight and black flight for different reasons,” Taylor said. “Young professionals who are African American leave. People have to get living wage jobs that are in the city, and that’s not what has been happening.”
Former Ald. Bob Donovan said people are leaving Milwaukee because Milwaukee is neglecting it’s neighborhoods and not prioritizing safe streets.
“Young families I have spoken with will have a starter home in Milwaukee, but the minute their kids become school age, they leave,” Donovan said. “Those are the concerns of local government and I don’t think local government in Milwaukee has been working effectively in quite some time.”
The Candidates also debated how the unused land at the Century City Business Park should be used, as the location has caused Milwaukee millions of dollars in lost property tax revenue after failing to attract businesses. State Sen. Lena Taylor proposed growing hemp at the location, mentioning the building potentials of hempcrete.
“Hempcrete is 20 times stronger than steal,” Taylor said. “And I don’t know if you can use hempcrete for potholes and street repairs, but I’m all willing to try, because we’ve got both of those problems.”
Taylor also mentioned how she wants to see the Century City location be a hub for urban agriculture and has talked before about the environmental and economic benefits she thinks urban agriculture would have in Milwaukee.
Businessman Michael Sampson said he would bring more businesses to Century City Business Park and would attract employees by enacting a $15 minimum wage in Milwaukee.
“We need to work with business such as WE Energies and Milwaukee Tool to get on board with a $15 minimum wage so we can say ‘the city of Milwaukee has a minimum wage of $15’, that’s gonna attract more people to the city of Milwaukee, which is going to help everyone.”
Among the other issues debated Wednesday night were school funding, pension challenges, and the housing crisis. You can watch the full debate on Youtube.
The Milwaukee Spring Primary election is Tuesday, Feb. 15. The ballot will include Milwaukee mayoral candidates as well as Milwaukee County Supervisory districts 1, 3 and 12. Click here to register to vote, apply for mail-in voting, or find your voting site.