Statement from Nik Kovac after Starting New Job as City of Milwaukee Budget Director

Earlier today I resigned my job as alderman after more than fourteen years of representing the 3rd District.

For the last nine years plus, I have worked in this office with Amanda Cervantes, who is the best person I know at connecting residents with the government employees who can solve their problems, and at helping decision makers recognize what really matters.

Thank you to Amanda and to all of the hardworking employees of the City Clerk’s Office for making sure that government works. And thank you to all of the residents of the East Side, Riverwest, and North Downtown for keeping us on our toes every day.

Together we have been pushing for a more sustainable environment, more transparency in zoning and licensing decisions, and a socially just city.

We passed the honey and egg ordinances, legalizing chicken and bee keeping. We protected the Milwaukee River Greenway with stricter zoning, stormwater, and tree clearcutting rules. We removed the Estabrook dam.

We met in the evening, at a site close to the proposed development or new business, before every significant zoning change or liquor license application. We did this informally, before these items got to committee, so that questions could be asked and objections could be addressed while there was still a chance to make changes. Many proposals were improved thanks to this community feedback, and the accumulation of that working consensus led to the creation of an entirely new zoning district and an architectural review board for the length of East North Avenue from the lake to the river.

We pushed for affordable and supportive housing in our neighborhoods so that our city will be less segregated. One major such development is built, another is under construction, and a third is nearing the end of its approval process. We began a trauma informed care program that embeds social workers in police districts so that child witnesses to violent incidents have a way to process and overcome trauma. We are civilianizing our emergency response dispatchers and working with them and other experts on developing a range of ways that the community can intervene before violence occurs.

I am proud of what we have accomplished, and look forward to seeing what more our district can achieve with new representation.

Thank you, and let’s keep building Milwaukee’s future together.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.