Notables Attend City Birthday Party

Milwaukee City Birthday Party cake. Photo by Michael Horne.

The 178th anniversary of the incorporation of the City of Milwaukee was celebrated Thursday evening at The Grain Exchange, 225 E. Michigan St. Every year, the Milwaukee Press Club hosts the event, drawing 400 politicians, businessfolk, citizen activists and others to the ornate room, built in 1879.

The party invitation announced: This year’s party theme, “A Vote for Milwaukee”, celebrate all the ways Milwaukee will be in the spotlight in 2024, including as the host city for the Republican National Convention. Hosting the event in the lead-up to a city election also promised plenty of local political drama, which it certainly delivered.

There was no doubt that it was election season in the Cream City. As lobbyist (and former State Senator) Gary Goyke and I were discussing hopeful signs of interparty agreement on state legislation, Goyke was wearing a “Goyke for City Attorney” button, promoting the candidacy of his son, Rep. Evan Goyke, who is hoping to unseat embattled first term incumbent Tearman Spencer.

Just at 6 p.m., when the hall was still filling with attendees, Spencer entered the room, and headed toward the table where the former senator was seated. He rushed up to Goyke, clasped his arm over his shoulder and gave him a hearty greeting, as if they were old chums from the college debating team running across each other at a reunion. Goyke remained seated and cordial, if not somewhat bewildered.

Summerfest attorney Mary Schanning, who was the deputy to former City Attorney Grant Langley, and among the first of many staff departures under the current administration, said Spencer pulled the same stunt during his victorious 2020 campaign. She said Spencer came up to Langley and engaged in a similar greeting, finishing with “If I lose, you can give me a job!” We will never know how that might have turned out. Evan Goyke was also at the event, engaged in conversations with others without providing much in the way of comic opera antics.

Gary Goyke said Gov. Tony Evers was to have attended, as is his custom, but his schedule had changed due to a meeting with President Biden in Superior earlier that day. Why even when he was a schoolteacher, Evers would have considered an impromptu visit with the president to merit an excused absence. Sen. Tammy Baldwin might have been expected, seeing as she is up for re-election, but she, too had been in Superior earlier in the day. Also missing was state Sen. Lena Taylor. We were to learn Friday morning that the governor had appointed her to the Milwaukee County Circuit Court for a term to expire in 2025. This will create an open race for her 4th District seat. Evers has not yet called a special election for the seat, according the Election Commission.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson showed at the event. He and his family have settled into a large old home on the West Side. I know what these buildings are like inside — they’re from the school of nook-and-cranny architecture. I asked him if his kids had found places to hide around the house, the basement, the attic. “They sure have,” he replied. “Especially when I’m looking for them!” County Executive David Crowley also made an appearance, excusing himself to head home to his family. The near future will bring him a number of years of being father to teenagers.

Evan Goyke was not the only political son with electoral ambitions to be present. Ted Chisholm, the son of retiring District Attorney John Chisholm, announced earlier this month that he hopes to be the next County Treasurer, running as a Democrat. He resigned his position as Senior Administrator for Management, Finance, and Strategy in the Milwaukee County Clerk of Circuit Court’s Office to concentrate on the election. He is touting his experience in the court job as well as his stint as Chief of Staff for former Sheriff Earnell Lucas, whose campaign he managed while in his teens. Chisholm is in the mold of the mayor, Ald. Jonathan Brostoff and others who began their political careers as the front-line workers who greeted guests at events, set up tables, filled out name tags and gathered checks to put in the donation basket. They tend to be more successful than their counterparts who prefer to work behind the scenes before emerging into the electoral spotlight.

Police Chief Jeffrey Norman attended in uniform, and chatted with Atty. Michael Maistelman, who has been busy successfully keeping candidates on the ballot, in some cases, while disqualifying candidates in other instances. It’s a nice, balanced practice. He was assisted by Les Johns, a political operative with many skills. He can read nomination papers with a keen eye, seemingly knows the composition of every ward in the city, and generally gets results. He says the busy political work is mostly behind him this season, while he concentrates on security, travel arrangements and other activities for the Republican National Convention in July.

Atty. Roy B. Evans, a recipient of the Frank Zeidler Award, also paid a visit. He spent time with Judge Hannah Dugan. William Crowley, the Supervising Attorney of Disability Rights Wisconsin motored his way through the event, as ever in good humor and with a couple of acute observations. Former Ald. Jim Bohl, now running intergovernmental relations for the city, said the city’s sales tax comes as a big relief to the community at large. It took a bit of work on the part of his office and the administration. He hopes for more cooperation with the state, now that the ice has thawed somewhat. Perhaps new legislative maps would ease things, he suggests. Russ and May Klisch of Lakefront Brewery were in attendance, while the gratis beer at the event was from Molson Coors. Lite and Leinie Red was pretty much the extent of it.

Ald. Robert Bauman said he has introduced legislation to shift enforcement of certain historic building requirements from the Department of Neighborhood Services to the office of the City Clerk. Several of his council colleagues could be spotted in the room, as well as many city department heads.

Numerous journalists were in attendance, including Jeramey Jannene of Urban Milwaukee, Tom Daykin, Mary Spicuzza and Dan Bice from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Corrinne Hess from Wisconsin Public Radio and Ethan Duran from The Daily Reporter.

The food was catered by The Bartolotta Restaurants‘ catering arm, as is always the case here, and included a variety of hot and cold dishes. Strolling waiters delivered tiny cups of cream of tomato soup, and bacon-wrapped water chestnuts. Party favors included 16-ounce glasses emblazoned with the event’s logo and a delicacy from Northern Chocolate. There was a spread of Usinger sausage, on a display adorned with bunches of grapes.

The elaborate slab cake, promoting the Vote Milwaukee message, was from Aggie’s. It was cut into large swaths and made available for takeout, served by the event staff.

Photos