Jackson, Currie Advance In Race To Replace Khalif Rainey

DiAndre Jackson and Jessica Currie. Campaign photos.

DiAndre Jackson and Jessica Currie will face off on April 2 for a seat on the Milwaukee Common Council. And the race is as wide open as any city election has been in many years.

The two emerged as winners from Tuesday’s four-way primary for the 7th District seat, with every candidate in the race earning at least 20% of the vote. Jackson earned 31.3% (742 votes) of the vote, Currie received 25.7% (611), Randy Jones finished third with 21.7% (514) and Kenneth Hughes finished fourth with 21% (499).

The seat is open following Khalif Rainey‘s announcement that he was not seeking reelection.

The seventh district includes Century City and the Sherman Park, Old North Milwaukee, Franklin Heights, Roosevelt Grove, Sunset Heights, Saint Joseph, Lincoln Creek, Wahl Park and Hampton Heights neighborhoods.

Rainey has represented the district since 2016. He waited until Dec. 21, well into the campaign filing period, to file a declaration of noncandidacy, but a robust field of candidates had already emerged.

Jackson is a former Master Lock employee and was active with the company’s UAW-affiliated union until the plant began its closure last year. He introduced President Barack Obama when he visited the facility in 2012. Jackson said the plant closure spurred him to run and his vision is to establish Milwaukee as the number one place for apprenticeships and family-supporting careers. His campaign is backed by the Milwaukee Area Labor Council.

Currie has gone from a homeless teen mom and high school dropout to the founder of the Missionary Currie for Women and Children, a nonprofit organization which provides emergency shelter and supportive services to women and children. She is also a real estate agent. “I am giving a voice to the voiceless,” she said at a recent community forum in describing why she is running.

Jones previously ran for the seat in 2016. He is a current member of the city’s Safety & Civic Commission. His campaign material says he works as a handyman contractor, real estate agent and leads an organization called Invisible Reality Ministries. Jones also is the founder of nonprofit Staying On Track, which aims to help teenagers and adults reach their potential. He has also worked on community campaigns as a member of Common Ground Southeastern Wisconsin.

Hughes is a pastor at Faith Harvest Outreach and the owner of Dawg City, a hot dog restaurant with locations at the 3rd Street Market Hall and North Avenue Market. Neither are in the district, but Hughes lives in the district. If elected, Hughes pledged to donate $10,000 of his salary to “help facilitate growth and improve the district.” He also renovates and sells homes in the city.

Council members are elected on a nonpartisan basis to a four-year term and paid a base salary of $84,205.

Rainey has pledged that he won’t disappear. “In May of 2024, I will no longer be on the Common Council. I can tell you this, though: I’m not going anywhere. We all have work to do in our community and I have a promise to keep,” said Rainey in a December statement.

A Legislative Reference Bureau report says 83.9% of the district’s voting-age residents identify as Black, 8.3% white, 4% Hispanic and 1.7% Asian. A district map highlights the specific boundaries.