Pérez Reshuffles Council Committees

Common Council members debate the 2024 budget. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

The Milwaukee Common Council again has a full complement of 15 members, and, as a result, Council President José G. Pérez has doled out new committee assignments.

The eight council committees are where the majority of the council’s policymaking and deliberation takes place and committee chairs can shape debate and influence city processes.

The latest appointments give newly-elected Alderman Alex Brower two roles, judging the ability of bars to continue operating on the Licenses Committee and watchdogging infrastructure issues on the Public Works Committee. The latter will also put him in a position to potentially interact with We Energies, of which Brower campaigned on buying out and replacing with a public electric utility.

But more significantly, the reshuffling gives Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs a position of power again. Coggs is now the chair of the Public Works Committee.

She had been left without a chairmanship after challenging Pérez for the council presidency last April. Several sources told Urban Milwaukee that she was offered a committee chairmanship and declined. The resulting shuffle of council members, including the addition of three newly-elected members, and bickering about what chair was appropriate for what member, resulted in hard feelings within the council and a proposed resolution for every member to be given a minimum of two committee assignments. That proposal was rejected, but the individual it centered around, Andrea Pratt, was given a second committee assignment as Pérez had earlier promised.

Coggs isn’t the only new chair.

Ald. Robert Bauman, the longtime chair of the Public Works Committee, is now the chair of the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee. He will continue to serve on the Public Works Committee.

The zoning chairmanship was the one significant opening. Following the death of Jonathan Brostoff, Pérez has served as the chair. He also filled Brostoff’s role as a member of the Licenses Committee.

A number of other members also received new assignments in the process. A copy of the original 2024-2028 assignments can be found in our April 2024 coverage.

Finance & Personnel Committee

• Marina Dimitrijevic (chair)
• Peter Burgelis (vice chair)
• Scott Spiker
• Coggs
• Sharlen P. Moore

Community & Economic Development Committee

• Russell W. Stamper, II (chair)
• JoCasta Zamarripa (vice chair)
• Dimitrijevic
• DiAndre Jackson
• Mark Chambers, Jr.

Public Works Committee

• Coggs (chair)
• Lamont Westmoreland (vice chair)
• Bauman
• Larresa Taylor
• Brower

Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee

• Bauman (chair)
• Stamper (vice chair)
• Coggs
• Jackson
• Spiker

Licenses Committee

• Zamarripa (chair)
• Pratt (vice chair)
• Chambers
• Burgelis
• Brower

Judiciary & Legislation Committee

• Jackson (chair)
• Chambers (vice chair)
• Bauman
• Pratt
• Westmoreland

Public Safety & Health Committee

• Spiker (chair)
• Burgelis (vice chair)
• Westmoreland
• Taylor
• Moore

Steering & Rules Committee

• Pérez (chair)
• Dimitrijevic (vice chair)
• Bauman
• Stamper
• Zamarripa
• Coggs
• Spiker
• Jackson