Bernie Sanders to Host Private Brunch in Milwaukee

UPDATE: After publication, Souls to the Polls reached out to Urban Milwaukee to say the event is not open to the public. The event, as initially listed, has been canceled.

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) will host a “Brunch with Bernie!” at a downtown hotel on Thursday, June 27.

Souls to the Polls and League of Progressive Seniors are sponsoring the free event, which will be held in the hotel’s Juneau Room.

“Please come so we can talk about this critical election,” Sanders is quoted above his signature in a flyer obtained by Urban Milwaukee. “SURPRISE!!,” it exclaims.

The flier portrays Sanders as offering messages to old and young voters. However, after publication, a representative of Wisconsin Working Families Party, which is working to host Sanders, said the flier was put together by a volunteer without authorization of Sanders or his staff. The messages reflect chunks of different interviews or language on Sanders’ Senate website, and not a statement offered in whole.

To Senior Citizens:

There is no freedom without economic security. Republicans are still working to defund and destroy Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. … But we have some bad news for them. We’re not going to cut these benefits. We’re going to expand them.

To Young People:

It is critical that we listen to our young people. They are the future leaders of our nation. Their voices deserve to be heard. We can be extremely upset at [Joe Biden] about the Israel and Gaza policy. But, I would hope that most of the young people and protestors do not want to see Donald Trump, who is a racist, a sexist, and a homophobe who doesn’t admit the reality of climate change, be elected President of the United States.

Sanders will be but one of a parade of surrogates to visit Wisconsin during the months before the November election. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer visited earlier this week.

The state is considered by members of both parties to likely be the deciding factor in the presidential race. It is noteworthy that the announcement of his Milwaukee appearance includes a statement of his disappointment with his 2020 primary rival’s Mideast policy. It would be unthinkable that any of Trump’s to-be surrogates would express disapproval of any of his policies whatsoever. As the humorist Will Rogers [1879-1935] wrote: “I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.”

Flyers Distributed at Event

Flyers announcing the event were distributed Friday evening at a fundraiser to increase support for Democratic candidates among the Spanish-speaking community held at the home of Julilly Kohler and headlined by Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez.

The event, which drew an audience of over 75, featured speeches by Rodriguez and Darryl Morin, CEO of Advanced Wireless and president of Forward Latino.

Also speaking was Christine Neumann-Ortiz, the longtime executive director of Voces de la Frontera. She says the organization is almost ready to move from its rented quarters on S. 5th Street to a building on W. Historic Mitchell Street it announced it would purchase in 2019.

Supervisor Caroline Gómez-Tom, and Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez also made remarks, as did Dr. Malekeh Hakami. She was among the plaintiffs who sued the state in 2020 over signature requirements for absentee voters during the pandemic. Kohler and organizer Jackie Boynton also spoke. as did Rep. Deb Andraca, who flipped a North Shore Republican seat in 2022.

Supporters attending included Patti Keating Kahn, Renee Herzing, and LuAnn Bird, a candidate for the newly competitive 61st Assembly District seat held by former alderman Robert Donovan, who beat her in the 2022 race for the pre-redistricted 81st Assembly District. The new configuration is nearly 50-50, with Republicans having less than a point in their favor. Former Rep. Barb Notestein chatted with her successor, Sheldon Wasserman, now a County Supervisor. Retired state representative and judge Fred Kessler was there with his wife former Judge Joan Kessler. The two have moved to Saint John’s on the Lake from their downtown condo. Bruce Colburn wore a shirt supporting Souls to the Polls.

Allen Levie of Racine brought a box of his 2024 book “Thriving in a Public School,” a study of education policy and activism in his hometown.