The municipal government of the U.S. city of
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
, located in the state of
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, consists of a
mayor and common council. Traditionally supporting liberal politicians and movements, this community has consistently proved to be a stronghold of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
. As the largest city in Wisconsin, Milwaukee receives a significant amount of attention during elections and is notably seen as a pivot state.
History
Beginning with the city's first major wave of German immigrants, the
48ers,
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
has traditionally supported
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
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
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
mayors.
Since 1960, Milwaukee has been a stronghold of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
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 Madison may refer to:
People
* Madison (name), a given name and a surname
* James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States
Place names
* Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...
. Many supporters of
Marvin Pratt
Marvin E. Pratt (born May 26, 1944) is an American politician who served as acting mayor of Milwaukee in 2004 and as interim Milwaukee County Executive in 2011. He was the first African-American to serve as mayor of Milwaukee.
Early life
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 Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Calif ...
. 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
Mequon () is the largest city in Ozaukee County, in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, and the third-largest city in Wisconsin by land area. Located on Lake Michigan's western shore with significant commercial developments along Interstate 43, the com ...
,
Waukesha and
Brookfield.
Third party politics has played an important part in Milwaukee city government. While Milwaukee's elected representatives are currently elected on a non-partisan basis, the city has a deep history that includes past election of three Socialist Mayors (the last being
Frank Zeidler
Frank Paul Zeidler (September 20, 1912 – July 7, 2006) was an American socialist politician and mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serving three terms from April 20, 1948, to April 18, 1960. Zeidler, a member of the Socialist Party of America, i ...
from 1948-1960), as well as a number of former Socialist representatives to the Common Council. Milwaukee's brand of Socialism was often referred to as
Sewer Socialism, in that its adherents did not espouse radical revolutionary theories, but emphasized honest government, an expanded city role in public works projects and annexation of then unincorporated communities surrounding Milwaukee. While influential in city politics in the first half of the twentieth century, Socialist party influence on city government waned by mid-century and was non-existent by the departure of Frank Zeidler from office. In recent years, Milwaukee has played host to national conventions for the
Socialist Party USA
The Socialist Party USA, officially the Socialist Party of the United States of America,"The article of this organization shall be the Socialist Party of the United States of America, hereinafter called 'the Party'". Art. I of th"Constitution o ...
(1997),
Communist Party USA (2001) and the
Green Party of the United States
The Green Party of the United States (GPUS) is a federation of Green state political parties in the United States. The party promotes green politics, specifically environmentalism; nonviolence; social justice; participatory democracy, grassroot ...
(2004).
City government
Milwaukee has a
mayor-council form of government with a strong-mayor plan. The city underwent a transition from a civil service to a cabinet form of governance in 1988, following the election of then Mayor
John Norquist
John Olof Norquist (born October 22, 1949, in Princeton, New Jersey) is an American politician who was the 37th mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He served as mayor from 1988 until he left office in 2004 to lead the Congress for the New Urbanism.
P ...
. While this gave the mayor greater control of the day-to-day operations of the city, the Common Council retains almost complete control over the city's finances and the mayor, with the exception of his proposed annual budget, cannot directly introduce legislation. A Common Council of 15 elected members, called Aldermen, each represent one of the 15 districts in the city. The city is also served by independently elected City Attorney, Comptroller and Treasurer positions that are not under the Mayor or Common Council's tutelage. The Mayor and Common Council retain control over their departmental budgets, however.
All elected positions in the City of Milwaukee government serve four-year terms, with elections held in the spring of presidential voting years. The Mayor, City Attorney, Comptroller and Treasurer are all elected on a citywide basis.
Mayor
The Mayor of Milwaukee is
Cavalier Johnson
Cavalier Johnson (born c. 1986) is an American politician and mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He recently served as Milwaukee Common Council president as well as Milwaukee's 2nd District alderman. In April 2022, Johnson won a special election, beco ...
. He was elected to a full term in 2021 after the previous mayor,
Tom Barrett was appointed by
President Biden to serve as the
United States Ambassador to Luxembourg
The United States Ambassador to Luxembourg oversees the U.S. Embassy in that country. They supervise the embassy staff in the conduct of diplomatic relations with the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and coordination of the activities of U.S. Governmen ...
.
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
The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin.
Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...
, and incumbent legislators would often seek a position on the Council, resigning their legislative positions if they were victorious.
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 The Common Council exercises all policy-making and legislative powers of the city, including the adoption of ordinances and resolutions, the approval of the city's annual budget, and the enactment of appropriation and tax levy ordinances. The council also has approval over the mayor's appointments of cabinet heads to direct day-to-day operations of city departments. In addition to their powers as legislators, council members serve as ''de facto'' district administrators, responsible to the citizens in their districts for city services. On April 19, 2022 12th District Councilmember José G. Pérez was elected Council President, to succeed Cavalier Johnson
Cavalier Johnson (born c. 1986) is an American politician and mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He recently served as Milwaukee Common Council president as well as Milwaukee's 2nd District alderman. In April 2022, Johnson won a special election, beco ...
, who took office as Mayor.
City Agencies
The government of the City of Milwaukee is divided into six primary categories. They are Elected Officials and Administration; Health, Safety and Services; Arts and Architecture; Business and Development; Judicial and Oversight; and Jobs and Employees.
Boards and commissions
The City of Milwaukee Youth Council, the city's youth commission, represents the student voice to the Common Council and Mayor.
State and federal representation
The City of Milwaukee has three full state Senate districts within city boundaries, as well as four other districts that share a significant portion of their boundaries with Milwaukee's suburbs. In Wisconsin, each Senate District is composed of three state Assembly districts. Given Milwaukee's status as a Democratic Party stronghold, all but three Senate and three Assembly districts in the city are represented by Democrats, with all six Republican seats falling in three small overlapping areas on the periphery of the city.
For the better part of the past century Milwaukee was represented by multiple Congressional districts. With the city's slowly shrinking population since 1970 and Wisconsin's slower population growth rate that cost the state a Congressional seat in 2002, Milwaukee has been represented by only one Congressional district since that time. Milwaukee makes up the overwhelming majority of Wisconsin's 4th congressional district
Wisconsin's 4th congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in Wisconsin, encompassing a part of Milwaukee County and including almost all of the city of Milwaukee (except the slivers of the c ...
. Because of the district's record as a Democratic Party stronghold, the Democratic primary for the seat is often considered more important than the general election. The seat is currently held by Gwen Moore, Wisconsin's first African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
U.S. Representative.
Among many other prominent elected officials, Milwaukee is home to retired long-time U.S. Senator Herb Kohl
Herbert H. Kohl (born February 7, 1935) is an American businessman and politician. Alongside his brother and father, the Kohl family created the Kohl's department stores chain, of which Kohl went on to be president and CEO. Kohl also served as a ...
, and was represented in Congress from 1993 to 2003 by former Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.
References
External links
City of Milwaukee
Milwaukee County
Milwaukee.gov Portal
{{Milwaukee, Wisconsin