Marty Brooks Fired For Cause By Convention Center Board

Marty Brooks at the 2024 opening of the Baird Center. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

After months of meeting in private about the future of Wisconsin Center District CEO Marty Brooks, the organization’s board voted in public Monday morning to fire him.

The reason, according to one board member, was misuse of district credit cards for more than $50,000 in expenses, including political contributions.

In a unanimous vote of those participating, Brooks was terminated for cause. One board member abstained.

Brooks has been embattled for months, first with accusations that he pinched the butt of board member José G. Pérez at a fundraiser late last year and then with board concern over a $145,000 study that Brooks entered into unilaterally, which recommended replacing the Miller High Life Theatre with a convention center hotel.

But, according to board member and downtown alderman Robert Bauman, it was neither of those things that led to the firing.

“Serious misappropriation of funds involving credit cards,” said Bauman, describing the reason for the firing.

The board spent more than two hours in closed session Monday morning, the fifth time in 2026 it’s met about Brooks in private.

Bauman said the total misuse of funds by Brooks “totals $50,000 to $60,000 — $50,000 at least — and the investigation has not been completed because they’ve only gone as far back as 2023.”

Brooks, 69, was hired to lead the district in 2018. He led the $456 million Baird Center expansion. He is paid a base salary of more than $400,000 on a three-year contract that runs through early 2028.

Bauman said Brooks used district credit cards to make political contributions to Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Council President Perez and others.

The district is funded by two hotel taxes, a sales tax and a rental car tax.

Perez abstained from voting on Brooks’ termination but did not respond to an inquiry as to why. Bauman said the alleged pinch didn’t factor into the termination.

Brooks, according to Bauman, also used a district credit card in 2023 to purchase a pair of shoes for himself and another employee. The total cost was more than $2,000. Urban Milwaukee is not naming the employee because the person is not accused of wrongdoing and is no longer working for the district.

Brooks was not present at the meeting. He cleaned out his desk last week and was reported to be working from his second home in Florida.

The termination is not immediate. By terms of his contract, he is being given a 30-day notice to contest the move.

But by invoking the for-cause clause, the district stands to save several hundred thousand dollars. If he was terminated for convenience, Brooks would have been owed the remainder of his base salary through January 2028.

Board chair Jim Kanter was installed as the interim chief of staff. Kanter and Sen. LaTonya Johnson abstained from voting on the appointment. Kanter is a longtime brewing executive and the current chief commercial officer at Central Standard Craft Distillery.

About an hour after the board vote, Kanter read a brief statement to the media members present and did not take any question. It confirmed that Brooks was “placed on administrative leave” and said the “major findings” center on a misuse of WCD funds, violations of bylaws and the employee handbook and misrepresentation to the board. “Most importantly, we want employees, customers, partners and stakeholders to know that the Wisconsin Center District remains focused on its mission and the important role it plays in our community,” he said.

An attorney for Brooks did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

Visit Milwaukee, which is funded in part by the WCD, issued a statement an hour after the vote. “We have tremendous confidence in the Wisconsin Center District Board, in Jim Kanter as chief of staff, as well as the WCD leadership team and their staff as they navigate this transition. We also have full confidence in the Wisconsin Center District and Levy teams to continue delivering the exceptional level of service, hospitality, and execution that our convention, meeting, and event clients have come to expect in Milwaukee,” said Visit CEO Peggy Williams-Smith. “Visit Milwaukee’s operations, leadership, and work on behalf of our partners, clients, and community continue as normal, and we remain focused on supporting the success of meetings, conventions, and tourism throughout Milwaukee.”