Third Candidate Will Run for Northwest Side County Board Seat

Brandon Williford. Photo courtesy of the Williford campaign.

There will be at least one primary election for the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors in 2024.

Brandon Williford, a political organizer with Citizen Action of Wisconsin, has filed to run in District 18, currently represented by Sup. Deanna Alexander. The three-way primary will be between Williford, Alexander and John Martin “Marty” Hagedorn.

District 18, which was re-drawn as part of redistricting in 2021, includes Brown Deer and a large swath of the Northwest Side of the City of Milwaukee. The district runs up against the county’s border with Waukesha and Ozaukee Counties.

County supervisors are elected to a two-year term. The part-time, non-partisan position pays $25,924 annually. The county board is the legislative branch of county government. The primary election will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 20.

Williford is a lifelong Milwaukee resident and a graduate of Morse-Marshall High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree from UW-Milwaukee in 2021. Williford is a member of the Board of Directors for the Milwaukee Turners, and is the youngest board member, at 25, in Turner history.

“I want to see a Milwaukee County where every resident has the opportunity to lead a meaningful and fulfilling life,” Williford said. “And I believe when we achieve that is for the county board use their resources effectively.”

For Williford, effective use of resources means, “solid investment into our county parks, investment into transportation and into our senior centers.”

If elected, Williford is interested in digging into transit policy, telling Urban Milwaukee that he would like to see an expansion of transit service. There are employment opportunities in warehousing and manufacturing located on the northwest side, “and there’s not enough transportation to get folks to those areas,” he said.

When it comes to senior centers, Williford said he wants to ensure that the dining services provided through the senior centers remain available in the future.

As an organizer with Citizen Action of Wisconsin, Williford is focused on healthcare policy; specifically Medicaid expansion. He noted that many of the mental health services provided by the county’s Behavioral Health Services (BHS) are going to Medicaid recipients. Medicaid expansion would also mean an expansion of mental health resources in the county, he said.

While he wouldn’t have any authority related to Medicaid expansion as a supervisor, Williford said, “I do think it’s important that supervisors do raise awareness around certain issues that they might not have complete power over, or complete control over, but their voice can be really impactful when raising awareness.”

Williford said he believes in co-governance and working closely with community members and constituents, and pledged not to take donations from Super PACS or large corporations during this campaign.