Seven vie for Milwaukee County’s 5th District seat

Lee Holloway, long-serving Milwaukee County Board Chairman, is retiring at the end of the current term. After 20 years of service to the county, his irascible, colorful persona will leave a void that will be hard to fill.

Seven candidates have stepped forward to accept the challenge of filling Holloway’s big shoes. Some are familiar to Milwaukee voters; others are new faces eager to make their mark.

Among the familiar are Russell W. Stamper II, son of Milwaukee County Reserve Judge Russell Stamper, Milwaukee Public School Board member Peter Blewett, Priscilla Coggs-Jones, daughter of State Representative Elizabeth Coggs-Jones, and Cavalier Johnson, a specialist with the Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board. New faces include Michael Brox, who started the original Afro-Fest in 1983, attorney Roy B. Evans, and community activist Muhammad Mahdi.

Peter Blewett was voluntarily redistricted out of his school board seat and announced his candidacy at the November meeting of the Democratic Party of Milwaukee County. Outside of political offices, Blewett is an English lecturer at UWM.

Blewett said he is committed to improving County services so that more families and businesses will see that Milwaukee is a great place to live and work.

“We have a great opportunity to strengthen the progressive leadership of the Milwaukee County Board, and I pledge to work hard on behalf of my constituents,” he said. “I promise to respond to constituent queries within one business day and to hold regular community forums so that I can give the people of the 5th District the representation that they deserve.”

He pointed to his work on the Milwaukee School Board, noting his support for Project Lead the Way, a program in which Milwaukee enrolls a greater percentage of female and minority students than any other district in the nation enrolled in science, math and technology education classes.

“My time on the school board has taught me that we need to break down the walls that separate the various units of government,” he said. “With my experience on the school board and my relationship with MPS board members, I know that we can work together to improve services at the same time that we make our government more efficient and accountable.”

Russell Stamper said he is running for the 5th District seat because of his passion to address the challenges facing our community.

“I have traveled throughout this country and I see the world moving at an accelerated pace,” Stamper said. “In comparison I have discovered Milwaukee is behind: behind in viability, infrastructure, business and technology. As a public servant of this community my desire is to help move Milwaukee County and the 5th Supervisory District forward into the 21st century and beyond.”

Stamper said he would work with existing City and Federal programs and residents to help decrease the number of abandoned and foreclosed homes in the district, partner with city and state legislators to offer job training and placement programs and ensure that district residents have adequate and safe transportation.

Priscilla Coggs-Jones, president of Urban Grass Roots, has been active in politics and community causes all her life. She comes from a dynasty of political figures – her grandfather Isaac Coggs was one of the first African Americans to serve in the State Assembly, and her grandmother Marcia Coggs was the first African American woman elected to the Wisconsin State Legislature. In addition to her mother’s service in the State Assembly, cousins Spencer Coggs and Leon Young, also serve in the body.

Her primary message for the 5th District is to work towards solutions to youth violence. Last week, Coggs-Jones organized a vigil at a location where three teens were shot and is the force behind a Stop the Violence Summit, “Bridging the Gap,” to bring adults and youth together to develop strategies to break the “code of silence” and reduce the acceptance of youth violence in our community.

Cavalier “Chevy” Johnson said he is running to continue a tradition of public service he started more than a decade ago in Milwaukee.

“I believe that this community’s best days are still ahead,” Johnson said. “So long as we have a supply of true public servants dedicated to making sure that Milwaukee finds the answers to it’s woes. So long as we are able to rely on true public servants that can bring forth innovative ideas that are harvested no only from government, but also from private business and most importantly, our people.”

Johnson plans to hold regular town halls throughout the district, along with regular district walks, living room chats along with utilization of social media.

He plans to focus on bringing jobs to the 5th District and the county by vowing to work with anyone in government, nonprofit and private sectors. He is working on a plan that would attract Silicon Valley inventors to produce their products in Milwaukee County, including at a revitalized 30th Street Industrial Corridor.

Johnson also plans to fix fiscal problems with the Milwaukee County Transit System by getting the governor and legislature to approve the tax referendum for transit approved by county voters four years ago. He wants to expand the Earn & Learn program to employ more Milwaukee youth in parks, recreation centers and county offices. Johnson said he will seek every grant, subsidy and resource to use green approaches to save taxpayer dollars.

Roy B. Evans said he will bring knowledge, experience and demonstrated leadership skills to the newly created 5th District, where he has been a lifelong resident and attorney for 30 years. He has served on numerous county and city boards and committees, including the Park East Citizens Advisory Committee and the City of Milwaukee Board of Review. He currently serves on the Northcott Neighborhood Board of Directors and was the President of the Board for Repairers of the Breach homeless day center for seven years.

Evans said job creation and public transportation are essential for the 5th District and he proposes a 30th Street Corridor Economic Plan that would revitalize the corridors rapid transportation potential (in conjunction with the current County bus system) creating jobs, business opportunities, affordable housing and mixed use development.

Evans said educated residents are effective citizens and plans to hold forums and town halls to advance an understanding and access to county government.

He has plans for a re-evaluation of the county’s tax base to determine the scope of services needed, their value to the taxpayer and the cost to maintain. He will advocate for the return of foreclosed and untaxed properties to the tax rolls and to pursue dedicated funding sources for transit and parks.

Evans also has plans for public safety, which is one of the highest expenditures in the city and county.

“This is a critical issue whether real or perceived,” Evans said. “The community is being harmed both ways. Public safety is more than police services and crime prevention. I believe the perception too often drives our responses to the realities.”

Michael Brox said he will work to reverse the the increased transit and Paratransit fares approved by the county board this year.

“This (increase) is prohibitive in some cases and we must find a way to reverse this cost,” Brox said.

Brox also wants to focus on education, having been an educator for more than seventeen years. He wants to instill a sense of learning in students, ensure schools are providing them with the tools and skills they need and to encourage parents to be involved in their children’s schools.

Muhammed Mahdi is the “OccupyTheHoodMKE” candidate and will look at innovative ways to allocate funds towards transit, employment and habitable living. Mahdi was not available for comment.

 

Photos were provided by the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, candidate websites, and taken by Patti Wenzel for TCD.