Photo by Tom Jenz
Mayor Cavalier Johnson
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson
When I walked into his historic City Hall office, Mayor Cavalier Johnson came out from behind his desk, pulled his chair right next mine and leaned forward.
Regarding the normal news interview style of a major politician, I decided to do something different. Skip the “gotcha” questions and the critiques and focus on the positive things happening in the city. Throughout our conversation, I sensed a certainty about the mayor that makes him seem wiser than his 37 years.
I started with Downtown—including the Third Ward and Fifth Ward, the Deer District, the lakefront—and Bay View. In all these areas, new apartment, condo and corporate buildings have been built or are being built. I brought up two examples—the Jeffers apartment and commercial building next to Fiserv Forum accommodating 210 apartments and a large new business—and the nearly completed Couture, a 44-story, mixed-use skyscraper on Michigan Avenue near the lake, with 322 residential apartments and stores.
“Downtown developments add to the quality of the lives of residents,” he said, “but they also enhance the lives of people who live and work in the area. Besides the two developments you mentioned, there is also 333 Water Street, the NOVA apartments on Van Buren and The Edison, a 32-story mass timber tower with 381 units near the Deer District. Milwaukee is adding density, and when you add density, it creates vibrancy, and residents who have expendable incomes spend their money locally. This all creates jobs for people who work in the retail industry Downtown.”
Downtown is already home to several large corporations. “And they help the Downtown thrive,” he added. “I’m thinking of successful corporations like Fiserv, providing payment and financial services technology, and the Fiserv Forum Bucks arena. There is Northwestern Mutual’s Tower and also their revamped office building. Keep in mind that people who come from the challenged neighborhoods of the inner city have the opportunity to work in the trades on those projects. Many also work in the Downtown service industry.”
Recently, city officials of Portland, Ore., visited Milwaukee to learn about how to create a thriving downtown. “Not just Portland,” he said, smiling, “but also officials from Oklahoma City and Salt Lake City visited us to learn about our successful city development.”
|
|
South Side, North Side
I shifted the focus to the South Side. “In my observation, National Avenue, Mitchell Street, and Greenfield Avenue are making a comeback,” I said. “The housing conditions in the Hispanic communities have improved. I’ve spent time with Latinos. They have a culture that values family, and they want to keep families intact. Does the city have plans to expand the southside area?”
“We do,” Johnson answered, nodding. “In fact, I just came back from the South Side, touring a Boys & Girls Club location. There were hundreds and hundreds of kids. I have a goal of creating more public gathering places in the city, and there is a new skate park coming to the South Side. In the next couple years, National Avenue will undergo a complete infrastructure transformation. Years ago, Mitchell Street was one of the core shopping areas of the city. I believe that Mitchell Street could be Brady Street south. You will see more investments as time goes on.”
Thirty-nine percent of the city’s population is Black, and most live in North Side neighborhoods. For many years those communities have endured criminal activity, homicides, shootings and poverty. However, over the last couple years, community groups became more active, and development is happening. Among them: Community within the Corridor on Center and 32nd with 197 apartments; new housing in the Harambee neighborhood; the Bader Philanthropies building on Martin Luther King Drive, Black owned businesses such as the Sherman Phoenix and another impressive development in progress, the huge ThriveOnKing building on MLK Drive. Riverworks partners with the city in rehabbing the Beerline Trail and revitalizing homes and businesses.
Are there additional plans to bring more prosperity to the North Side?
The mayor responded that he wants to grow Milwaukee. “That means a comprehensive plan for the entire city including infrastructure investments in the North Side. I grew up on the North Side, and we rode bikes in the summertime. I’m trying to add more protective bike lanes, so kids and their family members feel safe on their bikes. There are other developments going on—the Library Apartments on King, a number of private housing complexes and affordable market rate housing on the Northwest side. Speaking of that area, we just bought the old Northridge Shopping Center complex, and we plan to tear it down and build new developments.”
Reckless driving is another major issue. The city has installed speed bumps and bike lanes. In his State of the City address, Johnson said, “In 2024, 45 traffic calming projects will be underway all across the city.”
Johnson seemed to welcome the topic. “We received a federal grant of $36 million to rehabilitate Sixth Street from the largely Black Bronzeville community on the northside all the way south through the Downtown business district and further south to Walker’s Point and the entryway to the Latino community. We will be adding protective bike lanes and facilities for busses. As for reckless driving, we’ve seen improvement in speeding. If speeds are reduced, there will be fewer fatal accidents. Our goal is to eventually eliminate traffic deaths. We need to calm traffic, slow folks down. The old “no-pursuit” policy by police actually encouraged people to speed, unfortunately. We changed that policy. Recently, people have commented to me that they believe things are calming down. Part of the reason, I think, is that we are re-engineering the streets through speed bumps and bike lanes that force drivers to slow down.”
Reducing Violence
On the topic of violence, the mayor has called for the Office of Community Wellness and Safety, formerly known as the Office of Violence Prevention, to do a better job of spending the federal pandemic money it has received. “I think one of the metrics folks should be able to look at is the amount of money the Office presently has and getting those out of the door,” he said. I told him that I’d done stories on the two heads of the Violence Prevention Office, Ashanti Hamilton and Karin Tyler, both hardworking and dedicated city officials. But they did seem to have trouble allocating funds. I asked, “Why can’t more funds be swiftly allocated?”
“If you check with those two leaders currently, you will see improvement,” he answered. “They are getting the funds out the door.”
I introduced the serious problem of domestic violence, saying it is perhaps the cause of most violence in the city. “I recently did a story on Sojourner Family Peace Center and its CEO, Carmen Pitre,” I said. “‘Sojourner provides support to 8,000 domestic violence clients each year,” Pitre told me, “‘Sojourner found two-thirds of people killed last year in domestic violence incidents had never requested help either from local law enforcement or from Sojourner.’” When I asked why these victims would not seek help, she said, ‘There is fear and shame. We live in a victim-branded society. Many people of color won’t interact with the system. If you are a Black woman, a poor white, or an undocumented victim living on $15,000 or less annually, where are you going to go?’” I asked the mayor, “What are your thoughts on this important domestic violence issue?”
He thought a little before he made this comment, “The Sojourner Family Peace Center is a welcoming and trusted place in the city for domestic violence victims. Carmen has pointed out that many of the homicides we saw in recent years were attributed to domestic violence. We cannot have a police officer on every corner or in every home. We just have to keep beating the drum that city, county and nonprofit services are available if you experience domestic violence. I will add that most lives lost to overall violence happen through the use of guns. The state and federal governments need to do more regarding access to firearms. There are people who should never get their hands on a gun, for example, a known criminal, a felon, or a person who has committed domestic violence.”
Public Safety
“Let’s talk about the police,” I said. “One year ago, you told me, ‘The role of police is very important for safety. But the police and community have to work together for there to be improvement in safety.’” Police Chief Norman recently said, “‘I was speaking at a Boys & Girls Club event, and I asked the young people, ‘What as parents and adults can we do for you?’” The kids told him, “Listen to us. We have mental health issues, we have suggestions and ideas, but no one is talking to us. They talk over us.” In my own experience, I do see police and citizens interacting more. On the good side, all categories of crimes are down considerably from past years.”
The mayor said, “Chief Norman has struck a chord as it relates to police and community relations. His guiding principle is making sure police and citizens are able to exchange ideas and be in conversations. We all want to get to the goal of safety regardless of race, gender or economic status. Everybody wants to be safe, but this goal is hard to achieve if you only have a set amount of police officers.”
I told him that I’d once asked Chief Norman if there could be beat cops walking neighborhood streets like in the old days. The chief pointed out that beat cops would be ideal, but there isn’t enough money in the budget to add that many police officers. “If folks see something wrong happening in their neighborhoods,” said the mayor, “they can call the police anonymously or call their alderperson, or they can call Crimestoppers or Safe and Sound. Most important, if we want safety, then the people doing bad things must be held to account.”
According to the latest police reports, overall crime is down. Homicide declined by 31%, non-fatal shootings by 23%, carjacking by 29% and robbery by 16%. “Why do you think the crime stats have improved?” I asked.
“Because we have a multi-pronged approach for increasing safety in Milwaukee,” he said. “It’s not just police. It’s the community working together at all levels, city departments, nonprofits, and citizens. It’s a team effort. Actually, our crime incident numbers are exceeding below the national average for big cities.”
The Mayor’s Job
“Let’s talk about the mayor’s job,” I said. “You’ve been mayor for over two years. It seems like it is impossible to please all constituents. You once told me, ‘You don’t understand the magnitude of the mayor’s job until it’s your name above the door.’ What has it been like for you to be mayor?”
He thought for a moment. “This is the most difficult, complex and challenging job, but still very rewarding,” he replied. “As you once told me, Tom, citizens ask you, ‘Why can’t the mayor do this or do that?’ and your response is the mayor is not a dictator. True. The answer is the mayor’s power is not infinite. For example, I have to work with the 15 city council members. With regard to public safety, I can only do so much. The police and fire department do not report to me directly. They report to the Fire and Police Commission. Remember, once a person is arrested, they get passed off to the County Prosecutor Office and our elected judges, which are totally out of my purview. But as you see crime falling, this is the city at work.”
“Recently, you said, ‘I’ve set an ambitious goal to grow our population to one million Milwaukeeans.’ How can Milwaukee grow its population from 563,000 to a million residents?”
Mayor Johnson did not hesitate. “I’ve directed our Housing Development department to overhaul our zoning code to allow for more density and development along transit lines everywhere in the city,” he said. “More immigration can be a part of our growth. We need more youth-serving programs outside of the classroom so that children will grow up and continue to live and work in Milwaukee. I want to see a strong and vibrant university. That means UWM and Marquette. And I want to retain the talent we already have here and provide good opportunities, especially more jobs and more businesses.”
