Council Members Asking RNC For $6 Million

The Common Council is delaying its approval of a contract framework with the Republican National Committee that would allow the city to potentially host the 2024 Republic National Convention.

An amendment from Alderwoman JoCasta Zamarripa requests that the RNC provide $6 million to the city as part of a community benefits agreement. Council members, led by Robert Bauman, had expressed concern that because of Wisconsin’s tax structure the City of Milwaukee would not see a benefit from hosting the convention. Liberal groups had called for the council to reject the deal entirely.

“I chose this number, $6 million, based on what has been historically left in other cities and my discussion with [Republican party liaison] Gerard Randall,” said Zamarripa Wednesday afternoon after the Steering & Rules Committee spent more than an hour and a half in closed session.

The committee adopted her amendment, then voted 7-1 to hold off considering approving the deal until a later date. The amendment was co-sponsored by Bauman and Marina Dimitrijevic.

“Based on what I’m being told that will kill the deal,” said Ald. Michael Murphy. He was the lone objection to the proposal.

The full council is scheduled to meet on June 1.

“We will continue our discussions with the Council members,” said a mayoral spokesperson after the vote. “This convention will bring financial benefits to hardworking Milwaukee residents, and we are hopeful the Council will act affirmatively.”

Wednesday’s meeting included the revelation of when the Republican National Committee is expected to pick the convention host, and a surprise deadline for the city.

“The RNC hopes to make a decision by the middle of June,” said Randall, the host committee’s secretary. But that includes the city fulfilling a deadline to approve its agreement by June 3, which was supposedly news to all of the council members and city employees in the room.

“I was not aware of a hard deadline, but that’s perhaps because I didn’t have all the pertinent information,” said assistant city attorney Andrea Fowler, the lead city employee negotiating the agreement, in response to a question from Bauman.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson‘s aide Arlisia McHenry said that Randall, the first vice chair of the state GOP, was serving as the liaison between the city and political party. She said she was not aware of the deadline.

Department of City Development Commissioner Lafayette Crump said even if the deadline was known, it wouldn’t have changed anything because things are progressing quickly. “It was clear to us that they want to make their decision quickly,” said Crump, who worked in a leadership role for the 2020 Democratic National Convention host committee.

VISIT Milwaukee CEO Peggy Williams-Smith confirmed that the city of Nashville was also preparing a similar agreement. The Tennessee capital is the only remaining competitor.

Both Crump and Williams-Smith pushed for the council to approve the contract framework.

“We are not desperate if we have this convention in Milwaukee. We are pragmatic and forward looking. This convention is going to happen somewhere,” said Crump. The commissioner said it would give Milwaukeeans who oppose the Republican policies a platform and national audience to object, unlike if the convention was held elsewhere. “This event that we’re talking about here today is what’s best for Milwaukee… It’s one of those rare cases where it’s best for virtually everyone in the city of Milwaukee.”

Both cited a study of the 2016 RNC in Cleveland that had an estimated $200 million economic impact. Randall said $75 million of the 2024 spending would be directly with the city, mostly for security costs and covered by a federal grant.

But Bauman hammered on the point that the tax structures of the two cities are different, with the city of Milwaukee bearing a burden but not receiving a tax windfall because it isn’t allowed a sales tax, hotel tax or income tax.

“It’s a business problem, we need cash out of this deal,” said Bauman. “Cleveland got something. We got nothing because of the tax structure here. We are on the verge of insolvency and we are talking about bringing this incredible burden down upon us.”

Milwaukee Police Department chief of staff Nick DeSiato said the department didn’t receive cash, but did receive training and equipment from the effectively-virtual 2020 convention. High-quality cameras capable of reading license plates that were purchased for convention use Downtown were able to be reused as part of Operation Greenlight on W. Villard Ave. DNC preparation work also leveraged in coordinating the Milwaukee Bucks championship parade.

“I’m glad you got extra training, but we need cash and not one dime of this $200 million comes into the pocket of the city that we can spend on services,” said Bauman. “The City of Milwaukee is on the verge of insolvency… it’s highly likely police sworn strength will decline.”

The amendment calls for the $6 million to be used to address housing, higher education and workforce development.

Only four members of the public testified during an open comment period. Randall and restaurant and former VISIT board chair Omar Shaikh said they are advocating for the city to get a sales tax, but that the council should approve the deal.

Shaikh said if the city doesn’t approve the convention that he doesn’t think the sales tax will ever be approved by the Wisconsin Legislature. “I also don’t think the DNC will come here again. I also don’t think any large scale convention will come here again.”

Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers Organization (MASH) leader Peter Rickman said he didn’t have an opinion on whether hosting the event was appropriate, but that claims about it being good for workers need to be honored. “It’s really about the community benefits. If this is going to happen we need to make sure the promises and representations made come true.”

City resident Travis Cox said Republicans support school shootings and refuse to do anything about them. “It’s time for for Milwaukee to stand up and say no, we do not support school shootings, get this out of our city,” he said.

No representatives of the five groups that asked the council to deny the agreement spoke. Voces de la Frontera Action, Power to the Polls WI, Milwaukee Area Labor Council, Never Again is Now and SEIU sent an open letter Tuesday attacking the idea of hosting the convention.

What’s In The Agreement?

The 2019 city-DNC agreement required Milwaukee to coordinate a number of security patrols and escorts, provide safes or other secured containers for storage, create a free speech protest area, provide a network for security cameras, maintain free streetcar service and broadcast the convention on the City Channel (online and on channel 25). It also prohibited the city from selling virtually all convention merchandise and indemnified the committee from the city (and vice versa).

The 2022 RNC agreement calls for many similar provisions, including the free streetcar rides. The city must also work to secure parking for no less than 350 buses and 2,500 vehicles during the convention.

When Milwaukee won the DNC on March 11, 2019, the council rushed to approve an agreement that day and almost couldn’t satisfy the quorum requirement to vote on the agreement. Approving the contract framework in advance of an award is intended to avoid any issues.