Government of Milwaukee

Milwaukee City Hall

The city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin has three state Senate districts, each of which is composed of three Assembly districts. All 12 of the officials representing the city in the State Legislature are Democrats.

Milwaukee makes up the overwhelming majority of Wisconsin's 4th congressional district. Because of the district's loyalty to the Democratic Party, the Democratic primary for the seat is often considered more important than the general election.^[1] The seat is currently held by Gwen Moore, Wisconsin's first African-American U.S. Representative. The city is also home to long-time U.S. Senator Herb Kohl.

History

Beginning with the city's first major wave of German immigrants, the 48ers, Milwaukee has traditionally supported liberal politicians and movements. It was a Republican stronghold during the Civil War and, like most major cities, experienced a period of massive corruption and machine-boss politics. This ended in 1910 when the voters elected its first of three Socialist mayors.

Since 1960, Milwaukee has been a stronghold of the Democratic Party both locally and nationally, but the city is largely divided between different factions of Democrats. Such was the case when, during the 2004 mayoral election, a Milwaukee radio station received a phone call originating from a number at the Wisconsin Democratic Headquarters in Madison.^[2] Many supporters of Marvin Pratt saw this as confirmation that the party was showing favoritism toward rival Tom Barrett. (Though the election was non-partisan, both candidates were registered Democrats.) The call was later explained to have come from an independent organization calling from within the headquarters building.

During the 1970s, Milwaukee was home to an active chapter of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense. The chapter was one of the few in which no members were ever killed by the police. In addition to being the catalyst for many civil-rights victories during the era, it also set up a number of community-based organizations that are still active today, such as the Hunger Task Force.

Although a Democratic stronghold, Milwaukee receives a fair amount of attention from the Republicans at the state and national levels during election years. This is due to Wisconsin's status as a pivot state and Milwaukee's relatively central location to the state's largest Republican strongholds such as Mequon, Waukesha and Brookfield.^[3] The 2004 presidential election was no exception as Milwaukee saw visits from both George W. Bush and Democratic candidate John F. Kerry on Election Day.

Third parties still have a presence in Milwaukee as well. In recent years, Milwaukee has played host to national conventions for the Socialist Party USA (1997), Communist Party USA (2001) and the Green Party of the United States (2004). While the city has no current elected officials who identify themselves as third-party members (city officials are not elected on partisan tickets), at least two members of the Green Party have recently held municipal office: Don Richards, an alder from the 9th District, and Robert Miranda, the head of the Milwaukee Social Development Commission.^[4]

City Government

Milwaukee has a mayor-council form of government with a strong-mayor plan. The mayor oversees a Common Council of elected members, each representing one of 15 districts in the city.

Mayor

In 2004, Tom Barrett was elected Mayor of the City of Milwaukee.

See also: List of mayors of Milwaukee

Common Council

The Milwaukee Common Council is the lawmaking body of the City of Milwaukee. It comprises 15 members from 15 council districts throughout the city. As of 1960, membership on the Common Council was considered more desirable than membership in the Wisconsin State Assembly, and incumbent legislators would often seek a position on the Council, resigning their legislative positions if they were victorious.^[5]

References

1. ^ Emily's List website
2. ^ Kane, Eugene (2004-03-23). "Democrats scramble to explain phone calls". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4196/is_20040323/ai_n10952039. Retrieved 2007-04-14. 
3. ^ 2006 CAMPAIGN HOUSE RACE: WISCONSIN House
4. ^ http://wisconsingreenparty.org/pages/elections/officeholders
5. ^ Hagensick, A. Clarke. "Influences of Partisanship and Incumbency on a Nonpartisan Election System" The Western Political Quarterly Vol. 17, No. 1 (Mar., 1964), pp. 117-124

External links

• City of Milwaukee
• Milwaukee County
• Milwaukee.gov Portal