Kooyenga Will Take Over MMAC In 2024
Longtime leader Tim Sheehy will retire at year's end.
Tim Sheehy and Dale Kooyenga. File photos.
The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) will have its first new leader in more than 30 years.
On Jan. 2, Dale Kooyenga will formally become the head of the organization. Tim Sheehy is retiring, having led the organization since 1992.
The announcement, anticipated to come at some point following Kooyenga’s January hiring, was made at the organization’s all-member meeting Tuesday evening.
“After a deliberate search and a year-long transition, Dale is prepared to take over the reigns as president in 2024,” said board chair Austin Ramirez. “Dale brings a solid understanding of the business community, a passion for improving greater Milwaukee and the attitude of a servant leader to this role.”
Kooyenga was a Republican legislator in the Wisconsin State Legislature for 12 years, having represented Brookfield and other nearby communities. He rose from an assembly representative to state senator in 2018, but opted not to run for reelection after the latest redistricting process.
The former politician was hired to the newly-created MMAC position of “senior vice president” in January and has been a regular presence at events.
“Dale’s sound understanding of business, economic and community development, along with his experience in public policy will be a great addition to the MMAC team in service of our membership,” said Sheehy in a statement when Kooyenga was hired.
Kooyenga, 44, is a certified public accountant. Additionally, he is a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve and served a tour in Iraq in 2008.
Sheehy, 64, has spent decades with MMAC, starting as a lobbyist in 1983.
Early in his tenure as president, he was involved in the push to build Miller Park and now has been a key player in the push to secure a second round of public financing. The organization has successfully lobbied for several things, ranging from the creation of school vouchers to new city and county sales taxes.
“On behalf of the board and the entire membership, we are grateful for Tim’s dedication in making greater Milwaukee a better place to invest capital and create jobs,” said Cathy Jacobson, outgoing MMAC chair and Froedtert Health president and CEO, in a statement. ”From leading MMAC’s engagement in education reform and the expansion of parent choice to the building of Miller Park and the Fiserv Forum; from establishing M7, its regional economic development partner, to creating an initiative to grow Milwaukee as a Region of Choice for all, Tim gave us his best and left it all on the field.”
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Kooyenga was a Republican legislator in the Wisconsin State Legislature for 12 years, having represented Brookfield and other nearby communities and has a passion for improving greater Milwaukee.
Emphasis on “Republican”, “Brookfield”, and “greater” does not bode well for “Milwaukee”.
What is “greater Milwaukee?” It’s a meaningless term. A good analogy of the MMAC to the people of Milwaukee would be an 1850s Georgia plantation owner to his slaves.
Since Kooyenga is a politician with ties to the Wisconsin conservative money elite. MMAC will morph into an extension of the Republican Party and Wisconsin Manufacturing and Commerce. MMAC will be getting into the culture wars advocating for school choice, abortion restrictions, and anti-trans bills. Supporting economic development will be way down on the list of what they will advocate for. Sheehy over the years had become less conservative ideologically and was taking more positions which would benefit the community and not simply reflect Republican initiatives.