Candidate Profile: Cavalier Johnson For Milwaukee Mayor

Milwaukee WI

09 February, 2022

3:06 PM

Description

MILWAUKEE, WI — The 2022 spring primary is closing in and seven candidates are on the ballot for Mayor of Milwaukee. Cavalier Johnson, the city's acting mayor, called himself a "proud urbanist" and said safety is the No. 1 issue that Milwaukee faces. Milwaukee residents will get to vote and decide the city's next mayor Feb. 15. Name Cavalier Johnson Age (As of Election Day) 35 Position sought Mayor, City of Milwaukee Party Affiliation Democrat Family Dominique (Wife), an 11-year-old son, twin 3-year-old daughters Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? No Education Political Science Degree, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Bay View High School Occupation Acting Mayor, City of Milwaukee, Dec 2021-Present; Alderman 2nd District 2016-Present Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office Alderman, 2nd District 2016-Present Campaign website Here's a link to Johnson's campaign website. Why are you seeking elective office? I'm running for Mayor because I think Milwaukee can be safer, stronger, and more prosperous, and I am the most qualified candidate. I was born and raised in Milwaukee. I attended MPS schools K-12, and through the YMCA Sponsor-A-Scholar program I got on a college track and was the first in my family to graduate from college. After earning a degree from UW-Madison, I worked in workforce development and for the then-mayor, and now as I raise my family here in the City of MIlwaukee, I've been elected Alderman, Common Council President, and I'm serving as Acting Mayor. My oldest child attends a traditional Milwaukee Public School and my 3-year-old twins will start at one this fall. I've spent the last 20 years of my life dedicated to service. I started as a 14-year-old shoveling snow and raking leaves for seniors in my neighborhood. My service journey has taken me to Chile, New York, London, and throughout Milwaukee. I served as an aide in the Mayor's Office, I worked at what is now Employ Milwaukee, and then I ran for public office. I've had the pleasure of serving a majority-minority district in the heart of the city and now as Acting Mayor, I'm ready to move Milwaukee forward and make us stronger, safer, and more prosperous. The single most pressing issue facing our city is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it. Public Safety. The number one issue is stopping the epidemic of violence and reckless driving. I'm the only candidate who has proposed a comprehensive public safety strategy that combines enforcement with criminal justice reform, neighborhood healing, and community engagement. I've worked as Common Council President to help stop the attrition within our Police Department. We need to strengthen our law enforcement efforts, which can be combined with policing being more accountable to community needs AND desires. Violence in our city is a result of generational poverty, with limited economic access for significant portions of our population. The root causes of this are economic, which is part of my long-term vision. However, the situation at hand forces us to address crime immediately. We must act now and hold ourselves accountable as a community. And, quite frankly, it's time for the State to be an active participant in our pursuit of safer streets. We need more support from the State. We cannot build a better Milwaukee without building a safer Milwaukee. City residents are entitled to Public Safety, and for too long and for too many, the City has not held up its end of the bargain for its citizens. What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post? I am a proud urbanist and my vision for Milwaukee as a living city sets me apart from the field. I believe in making Milwaukee a thriving urban center that will attract talent, while creating momentum through development. A get-to-yes attitude within my administration will fuel growth and create a favorable environment for industries that can grow family supporting jobs in our city. We have immediate opportunities to redesign spaces in this city to create more jobs and bridge communities together, providing more access for all citizens. We have seen strong development downtown, in the Menomonee Valley and Bay View. We need to see this development fan out across our city into other neighborhoods. For decades we have seen population decline due to a loss of jobs, service reductions and recently a rise in crime. While other candidates look to retain folks, I want to see Milwaukee climb in population to 1 million people. Beyond my vision for building a stronger economic engine inside the City itself, I am the only candidate with a clear interest in rebuilding a broken relationship with Madison. In order to fix the immediate fiscal issues our city faces, we must work with the GOP at the State Legislature to either ensure we get our fair share of revenue back from the state, or are allowed more flexibility in creating our own revenue. If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community NA Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform. Job creation and job access - we need family-supporting jobs to come along with the development which is at the core of my vision for the City. In addition to that, our young folks who are turning to violence should be invested in earlier. We need to bust up pipelines to prison and build pipelines to prosperity. While this sounds crude and oversimplified, our young people are our children and we will pay for them regardless, either through early intervention and encouragement or when it's simply too late, through the judicial and incarceral system. What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job? Although I'm the youngest African American on the Council, and the youngest person ever elected to be Common Council President, I'm now serving as Acting Mayor. As Common Council President I've led my colleagues in smart investments in more police, interrupting violence, and creating family-supporting jobs. I've also been fiscally responsible, making sure we set aside resources to prepare for our coming fiscal cliff. I've proposed the most comprehensive public safety strategy, the deepest jobs & economic development plan, and the most visionary safer streets plan to combat reckless driving. In all of these cases, I brought together stakeholders and ensured that accountability was built into these plans. I'm ready, and I'm already doing the job. The best advice ever shared with me was: I actually have two pieces of great advice: "Get off your block" (my father) – see the whole city and the whole world… and "Follow purpose not money" (my mentor) - dedicate yourself to improving lives of others, not just yourself. What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions? I grew up in the most depressed areas of Milwaukee, specifically the 53206 zip code. I've been fortunate enough, through opportunities presented to me, to be the first in my family to graduate college. I've experienced all the things associated with poverty: food insecurity, eviction, instability, you name it, I've dealt with it personally. I carry these experiences with me as I work to move Milwaukee forward for ALL people in this city.