Vote to sustain veto a vote to uplift Milwaukee’s Latino community

This morning the Common Council unanimously voted to sustain the Mayor’s veto regarding the Aldermanic maps that the Council passed just three weeks ago. Throughout this entire process I have felt a tremendous responsibility to advocate on behalf of our city’s Latino community, one that is continuing to grow and deserves to have that growth reflected in the redistricting process.

I want to thank my colleagues for their support today, and taking time to meet, discuss and contemplate this decision. I also want to thank Mayor Barrett for his veto of this item.

I want to especially thank Alderman Ashanti Hamilton, Chairman of the Judiciary and Legislation Committee, for the tremendous work he has done from the onset of this process. The time constraints he was under to complete our redistricting process were incredibly difficult, and I, along with so many others, absolutely recognize this. When the Latino community came to Alderman Hamilton, he showed nothing but grace, humility and understanding that was, and still is, breathtaking.

I also want to thank the Latino leaders and organizations who stood with me shoulder-to-shoulder in advocating for the fastest growing constituency in Wisconsin. We’ve come this far because we stood together, a beautiful cross section of our diverse Latino community. Among these groups and individuals are: Civil rights leader Jesus Salas; Darryl Morin and Forward Latino; Christine Neumann-Ortiz and Voces de la Frontera; Nancy Hernandez and the Hispanic Collaborative

Teresa Mercado; and Gregorio Montoto and Mexican Fiesta.

This is just a handful of the leaders who made phone calls, drafted letters, and joined meetings so that we might grow our representation.

However, the work is only just beginning. My hope is that we can push forward to find a consensus amongst our Latino community and our Common Council for a map that fairly represents our city’s diverse communities.

I know we can get there, and I know we will get there together. Gracias!

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.