Horwitz, World-Patterson Elected To Lead Fire & Police Commission

Miriam Horwitz, Dana World-Patterson. Photo provided and image from Milwaukee City Channel.

There are new leaders atop Milwaukee’s Fire & Police Commission (FPC) following the resignations of Chair Edward Fallone and Vice Chair Amanda Avalos.

Former deputy city attorney Miriam Horwitz is the new chair. In her brief opening remarks, she praised Fallone for bringing stability to the board that spent several years in turmoil following the botched demotion of police chief Alfonso Morales.

“I know personally that the transformation of this commission into a cohesive, functioning, civil, respectful, credible board was the direct result of his leadership as well as our executive director [Leon W. Todd, III],” said Horwitz at the July 20 meeting. “It’s been just a wonderful thing to see. It’s really moved the ball forward on so many things, including some very important policies that we certainly want to keep in place.”

Fallone and Avalos resigned in protest of Act 12, the state’s local revenue law that included a provision that stripped the commission’s policy-making authority. “We feel that, by continuing to serve on the Milwaukee Fire & Police Commission, our continued service might be construed as an indication that we accept the substantial restrictions on FPC authority contained in the recently enacted Act 12,” said the chairs in a July statement.

The other remaining commissioners, Lanelle Ramey, Fred Crouther, Dana World-Patterson, Bree Spencer and Ruben Burgos, all praised Fallone. Avalos was not present for the meeting.

“You were exactly what the commission needed when you came on board,” said Todd, the non-voting secretary and full-time head of the department. “[Fallone] has done this job with intelligence, honesty and integrity.”

World-Patterson was elected vice chair. Both new chairs were elected unanimously. The commission will meet under its new leadership for the first time on Sept. 7.

A third commissioner left alongside Fallone and Avalos, although for a different reason. Retired Milwaukee assistant fire chief and then-Menomonee Falls fire chief Gerard Washington resigned July 7 to relocate out of state. It was announced in early August that he had taken a new job as fire chief for Vista, CA. “Commissioner Washington served both the Milwaukee Fire Department and the FPC with dedication and excellence,” said Fallone before Horwitz was elected chair.

The citizen-led commission has long been viewed as one of the “most powerful” in the country, but Act 12 stripped its ability to set policies for the Milwaukee Police Department and Milwaukee Fire Department. The authority was transferred to the chief of each department, with the Common Council being given authority to overrule the chief on a two-thirds vote. The commission retains the authority to hire and fire the chiefs, as well as the hiring and discipline of public safety personnel.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson is expected to appoint new members to the commission, but Washington’s resignation creates a new statutory obligation for the firefighters union to be allowed to select one of the nominees. Starting in late 2022, the commission operated with a full complement of nine members for the first time in its history. It currently has six members. Commissioners serve in a part-time capacity, earning $6,600 per year for participating in regularly-scheduled, evening meetings. They are appointed for a five-year term.

Horwitz retired from city service in November 2020, entering private practice with Goldstein Law Group. She was appointed by Johnson in 2022. World-Patterson leads Foundations for Freedom, a nonprofit dedicated to combatting human trafficking. She was appointed in 2021 by outgoing mayor Tom Barrett. She also serves as a mayoral appointee on the Milwaukee Commission on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. World-Patterson is the chair of the Human Trafficking Task Force of Greater Milwaukee.

Horwitz played a role in the botched demotion of then-police chief Alfonso Morales in 2020, providing a written opinion to the commission, amongst other correspondence. An investigation by the city’s Inspector General found the commission acted against the guidance of the City Attorney’s Office and the city ultimately paid an approximately $600,000 settlement. Crouther is the only commissioner who remains from the demotion. Neither Fallone nor Avalos were on the commission at the time of the demotion.