Westmoreland, Winter Advance in 5th District

Lamont Westmoreland and Bruce Winter. Campaign photos.

Incumbent Lamont Westmoreland will face challenger Bruce Winter in an April 2 election for a full term on the Milwaukee Common Council.

Westmoreland secured 83.2% (2,672 votes) of the vote to Winter’s 9% (289). Stacy Smiter finished third with 7.2% (231 votes).

Last spring, Westmoreland won a seven-way special election to serve the remainder of Nikiya Dodd‘s term for 5th District council seat. That race included Winter, who was running for the seat for the second time and finished sixth in the 2023 race. Winter was motivated to run because he feels Dodd and other city officials treated neighbors unfairly during the approval process for Western Building Products headquarters. Winter’s family has lived adjacent to the now-completed facility on N. 115th Street for many decades. Mayor Cavalier Johnson is scheduled to give his State of the City address at the facility in March.

The 5th District covers the lower portion of the Northwest Side. The generally rectangular 5th District is located on the city’s northwest side along the western border. It runs from N. Bradley Road south to W. Center Street. Its eastern border, south of W. Hampton Avenue, is N. 76th Street before following N. Appleton Avenue north. A winding western border is shared with Wauwatosa, before a straight line at N. 124th Street divides it, and the city, from Waukesha County. It includes the Timmerman West, Mount Mary, Nash Park, Kops Park, Golden Valley, Lindsay Park, Grantosa and Arlington Gardens neighborhoods. Mount Mary University and Timmerman Airport are located in the district.

Westmoreland has a background working for nonprofits, but launched his own painting company in 2020. He is also a long-time high school basketball referee and a devoted Milwaukee Bucks fan. The first-time alderman has been active participant during his time on the council, most recently as the council’s leader in demanding changes to city and private-provider ambulance practices after a 911 caller was found dead in a preventable situation. He also has been outspoken about reckless driving concerns.

Smiter is the president and managing broker of Dream Investment Holdings. He is a founding member of the Greater Milwaukee Board of Realtist, a professional association for African American real estate agents. His campaign website says he previously worked for 17 years in manufacturing jobs.

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

A Legislative Reference Bureau report says 44.3% of the district’s voting-age residents identify as white, 42.8% Black, 5.6% Asian and 4.8% Hispanic.