How are you?
Good? How are y'all?
Keep on keepin' on.
That's it. You doin' alright?
I am.
You know, things are good.
Busy. With the gala.
Oh, that's interesting.
I love Kristin.
Oh yeah, oh yeah.
Thank you for being involved.
I'm asking everybody the
same question.
Not a problem. Thank you so much.
No, no, I'm not even going to ask
that. I'm like, I'll even ask that,
so.
Yeah,
so I'm glad to be here.
I'm enjoying it, you know,
don't get me wrong, I am exhausted.
Thinking about traveling across the
stage is my own cause.
We also see each other.
I have to do is kind of like I enjoy
it.
Thank you very much, and I enjoyed it very much.
That was what I wanted to say, you
know what I want to say.
I don't know, it's all good.
I had a great time up there,
they really appreciated it.
I was in Shano, that's
where my uncle got me.
I've been to a few places, I mean
Jackson County, Columbia
County, Walkershore,
I'm sorry.
I mean everyone,
I think that, one,
they hear all these names,
they get a chance to see them,
and you know I'm a very
professional, so once I'm
in these rooms I'll start, you know,
I just get into my zone, right?
I guess in the end of this.
Thank you.
Someone like a Donald Trump can't
come destroy it.
Not just a trust of the institution
itself, but the people around it.
So this is...
So this is the problem.
How do we change perception?
You have to change perception.
I know if we
do tables, I
care about your eyebrows more than I
care.
What would you do in Nashville if
you could?
Thank you very much.
Because the rabbit
keepers go by and it keeps them in.
Yeah,
you know, it's...
Thank you.
Like, you know, like, 10 people who
are like me.
It's a different conversation.
It's not green.
So are you going by yourself?
I'm probably just going by myself.
God bless you.
Alright, so give me a sense of how
you're feeling. A very long way
to go still, but how
are things going?
We're about five to six
months into this race and still have
a long runway ahead of us.
Well, we're traveling all across the
state. We're traveling across
different communities across
Wisconsin to let our voice, let our
message be heard.
I am excited.
It's a great opportunity to be able
to run for governor
for the great state of Wisconsin,
but I'll definitely say I am tired.
Being the only candidate, having a
full-time job related to running an
entire county can be a little
challenging, but I love the
opportunity to talk to so many
voters. Hear the issues that they're
concerned with, and really talk with
them and bring it into the table to
help come up with solutions that's
going to fit there.
So, how
do you split that message between
those who are really tuned in
and wondering like what's your
polling numbers, what's you
fundraising, versus those that
haven't even started to pay
attention yet and are like saying,
hey, when's the TV commercial coming
out? Like those that are like really
far ends of their awareness.
I mean, you absolutely have your
political junkies who are tuning in
and asking a lot of questions.
But we also know that there's a lot
happening in the world.
So, so many folks have not been
paying attention to the governor's
race because there's just so much of
the political oxygen locally
that are being sucked out of the
room. And so, but it's about
meeting people where they are.
It's about having conversations and
not necessarily talking about policy
right away, but building
relationship.
I think relationship building is
something that we have lost in
politics. It's one of the reasons
why. Our government has become
so polarized here in Wisconsin
as well as at the federal level.
And the more and more we can have
conversations, learning people's
why, why they get involved and what
their goals are, we can come
together and make sure we're pushing
policies that allows every
vote to run.
So when you see like the market poll
numbers say 65 percent of the
society, is that concerning or is
that just me that means everyone's
still got a fair chance of this?
I think everybody still has a fair
chance of this, right?
But let's face it, right, we still
have a state Supreme Court race,
right. That we still haven't even
went to the polls before.
So we know that we're still a little
early.
But after the state Supreme court
race, we know it's going to be off
to the races, talking to as many
people as possible, letting our
message be heard about why myself
or any other candidate is the best
candidate for this primary election.
I'm talking about the overlap here
with that state Supreme Court race,
as you're bringing people in.
Is there room to say, obviously
we'll support Chris Taylor, but then
we'll have Russ as well?
How does that work when it comes to
getting people fired up to start
doing work?
Well, look, we know that the
momentum is on Democrat's side.
There's a lot of enthusiasm as far
as getting out to vote.
And so as I'm campaigning for
governor across the state of
Wisconsin, I'm absolutely making
sure to stump on behalf of Chris
Taylor. She deserves the opportunity
to represent us in the Wisconsin
State Supreme Court.
And she's not only
a great candidate, but she's gonna
be a great justice as well.
And this is an opportunity for us as
Democrats, right?
Not just focusing on how we're
fighting back against the tyranny
happening in Washington, D.C., but
how we are galvanizing, how we
putting a plan in place, and putting
a vision that's going to help us
bring lost voices back to our folks.
And how was that movement
that starts now with Supreme Court
kind of flow all the way through,
like April or August?
Well, you know what, it's not just
about getting folks to come out to
vote, right? We have to continue to
campaign.
Not just getting folks to let their
voices be heard at the ballot box,
but even to push policies at
the state level.
So it's going to take everybody,
independents, republicans,
democrats, to come to the table and
making sure that we're talking about
how important this election is and
how we need to move our state
forward because so many families are
continuously being left behind.
Is it a little different doing an
event in your backyard versus a
different part of the state where
you know you have to introduce
yourself?
Well, you know, it's great
to be home. You know, its great to
here at the Milwaukee County
Democratic Party, being able to get
our message across our local
community.
But it's always equally great to
travel, right?
Especially taking a scenic route
everywhere in the state of
Wisconsin.
Learning about different cities,
towns and villages and counties,
their unique perspectives and quite
frankly, their particular needs.
And so this is a great opportunity,
right, for us to make sure that
we're focusing on moving our state
forward.
Issues and...
In challenges right now.
They're all the same in rural
suburban and urban Wisconsin.
Even though life may actually look
different, the challenges are the
same. And so it's really about how
do we tackle these issues to make
sure that no one is left behind.
It shouldn't matter what your zip
code is.
It's about making sure that families
can get ahead.
Thank you very much.
We'll keep that on you so we can
hear you. Not a problem, not a
problem. Thank you, appreciate it.
That's a problem. Thank you. Appreciate it.
Thank you very much.
You want to meet them?
I've been standing here for a while.
That's it?
Yeah. Thank you so much.
How y'all doing?
I'm not going to remember any of
your names.
It's a daily, daily problem.
Thank you all for being here.
Enjoying your Saturday so far?
Hey, how are you?
Hey, every day's a good day.
I won't complain.
I could, but I'm...
Well, should I get you a steak on
here?
Whenever you want me to get started.
You can't see it probably.
Thanks.
Yeah, you have to be able to see.
Come on. There you go.
Thank you.
It takes the county executives.
It was well equipped to be gunned.
I didn't even have to make an
announcement. Sorry, my name is
Keewan Jennings.
I go by Key, Key to your hearts.
But I'm currently the vice chair
of the Milwaukee County Democratic
Party.
I have the honor and privilege of
introducing...
Our current County of,
um, Supervisor, County Executive,
David Crowley.
Um, I wanted to talk more
about who he is as a person.
Um, most recently he was actually my
state representative of the 17th
Assembly District.
Um, now he's currently our County
Executive. But...
I can recall a few years
back getting involved
in the political scene and I
would be able to like call him up
and he was accessible and
I didn't get that feeling from a lot
of electees at that point.
So I remember one conversation
in particular I was rocking my
head around how to organize
essentially and he put it plainly.
He's like, if you care...
Just show that you care and
that literally was the only
not the only thing he
told me but i
understand how he cares about our
community um and he does
it in his work every single day um
and i just he just exudes passion
and um i wanted to let you all
know that he's a
more passionate person than he is
and he like it and so that being
said i won't uh i
know I'm executive David Prada.
Thank you.
All right, it is afternoon.
Good afternoon.
Thank you for that introduction,
Key. And the quote that he was,
that he butchered, the quote he
was talking about is
one of my favorite quotes by Teddy
Roosevelt. No one cares what you
know until they know how much you
care. Because it's all about
relationship building, something
that we've actually lost sight
of, quite frankly, in politics.
But I am David Crowley,
I am a husband, always have to give
my better two thirds, my better
three quarters a shout out because I
wouldn't be able to do this work
without her.
I'm a girl dad times three, I
have a 18, eight and six year
old and yes, they keep me very busy.
I'm the county executive and run to
be your next governor of the great
state of Wisconsin.
I was born and raised in the city of
Milwaukee. I am a product of
Wisconsin 53206 zip
code to be exact.
And as many of you know, it's a
community that's known more for what
it actually lacks than what it has.
But even though my
life, my daily life, was a part of
struggle, I was also surrounded
by people who lifted me up
when I needed it most.
I'm extremely blessed that I had
teachers. I had mentors.
I had neighbors.
Who looked at me and said that kid
deserves a chance.
And that's why I'm running to be the
next governor of Wisconsin, because
I believe that everyone deserves the
opportunity to write a story like
mine. And as I travel across
the state, all 19 municipalities
within Milwaukee County, we've
been in so many communities across
this state, even though life, living
life in urban rural suburban
Wisconsin may look different.
The challenges, the barriers,
they're all the same.
And I'm hearing the same from
everybody right now, right?
Cost is going up, whether we're
talking groceries, whether we
talking electricity, whether we are
talking housing, childcare, health
care, the list goes on and on.
Too many people are being squeezed
every single day.
And so I know as the next governor
of Wisconsin, we have to be focused
on, laser focused on the cost
of living. And that's what I will be
focused.
And we have start with making
sure that people can actually afford
the basic essentials.
And for me, it starts with housing.
It's personal for me.
I was evicted three times before I
graduated high school.
15 years, moved every single day
of my life.
But it's also informed how I moved
as a Milwaukee County executive and
why we have fought extremely hard to
make sure that we can invest in
housing initiatives, to make that we
could prevent families in Milwaukee
County from facing eviction.
Matter of fact, we have about six
different projects of affordable
housing projects happening in
suburban communities within
Milwaukee County right now for the
first time ever.
And it's happening because I
realize that housing is needed
everywhere, not just in urban
centers.
And it is happening because we are
able to bring these communities to
the table and get rid of the stigma
and their perception by helping
them, by helping us help
them address their community needs.
And so we can make sure here in the
state of Wisconsin that every
family, every individual can have
access to safe, stable housing.
And I know that we hear a lot of
talking points. And this is not a
talking point for me.
Because we have been able to do it.
Wisconsin, we need someone who
knows how to govern.
Campaigning, making promises, we've
seen that day in and day out.
That's the easy part.
Governing is extremely hard,
especially under the current
circumstances we find ourselves in.
But I'm the only candidate in this
race that actually has experience
not only governing,
but balancing billion dollar
budgets. Figuring out how to
prioritize critical services, quite
frankly, when the math isn't
working.
When I became county executive, I
had to work with our workers to make
sure that they get the pension that
they earn and we help strengthen
Milwaukee County's pension for
future generations.
And when we were facing
crisis, the pandemic
or the floods,
I was in these communities, looking
them directly into their eyes,
making sure that no one was going to
fall through the cracks.
I know what it's like to be
accountable for my own actions.
And when Milwaukee County, when
we're facing our largest fiscal
deficit, I didn't just go to
Madison and say, let's bring back
more money to Milwaukee.
We built a coalition, and
we passed a bill that helped every
city, every town, every
village, every county in the state
of Wisconsin get more money back
from Wisconsin.
I don't have to tell you all, you
know the state of Wisconsin broke
their promise.
To local communities.
That's why we're going to referendum
every single year for our
schools, for our local units of
government.
We need to make sure that we're
bringing Democrats and Republicans
to the table to
bring these dollars back to local
communities to invest in what
matters most today.
Public safety, public health,
infrastructure.
That's what's needed right now.
And I know that we're tired of
hearing the rhetoric, and we're tire
because there's so much happening at
the federal level. It's taking all
of the oxygen out of the room right
now.
And I want you to know, I'm not just
frustrated with who's occupying the
White House.
I'm frustrated with Democrats as
well.
It's great that we have been
fighting back consistently against
the tyranny that we see coming out
of this White House, but what's more
important is that we have to
galvanize and we have to get
cohesive with our message.
Folks know what we're fighting
against, but they don't know what
were fighting for.
As Democrats, we have to put an
agenda and a vision on the table.
We have to focus on how do we bring
those lost voices back into the
party who believe in our values
but don't believe in the system.
And I know that young people don't
look at leaders as they did in the
past, but I think that they're
just unconvinced.
Because we can't just show up when
it's time to vote.
We have show up consistently.
And showing up consistently isn't
just about going to the ballot box,
because these campaigns, we can
win elections, but these campaigns
isn't turning into policy wins for
Democrats.
I know what it means
to lead. I know the type of
executive leadership the state of
Wisconsin needs right now.
And we need somebody who can make
sure that Democrats, independents,
and Republicans can actually come to
the table and make government
work again.
That's what we should be focused on.
But the other thing that being a
county executive in my upbringing
has really taught me is
that health is the foundation of
everything.
Yes, it starts with housing.
Because you can't focus on any other
issues in your life if you don't
know where your head is going to be,
where you're going to lay your head
down at night.
And the reason why health is
important for me is because my
mother, she suffered from drug
addiction as well as mental health.
It's why we've worked extremely hard
to revamp our crisis intervention,
to revap our public health within
Milwaukee County.
And we did it around one simple
idea, and that idea is that
there should be no wrong do.
No one should have to engage with
multiple agencies or walk through
multiple doors or make multiple
phone calls to get the resources and
the help that you need.
And because of this level of
organizing, we've been able
to reduce our overdose deaths by 30%
in just one year.
We've been to keep people out of
our emergency rooms and out of
jails.
Right now in Milwaukee County, we
have the first fire-based EMS
system in the entire state that
actually does blood transfusions
in the field during trauma-related
events to help save more
lives.
These are the types of programs that
we can scale across the state of
Wisconsin.
Yes, we may not have the greatest
mental health system,
but we have one.
Another community across this state
don't have one at all.
By helping to expand what we have
done here in Milwaukee County.
We can give our suburban and rural
communities better access to mental
health treatment, better access,
to drug treatment, reliable access
so they can go to the doctors and
see their clinics.
And we can help modernize their EMS
and their fire services to make sure
that their families and their kids
are healthy because that makes our
state that was stronger and that was
safer.
I focused on making Milwaukee County
the healthiest county.
I am now focused on making the state
that healthiest state in the Midwest
by 20 35
And I know there's a lot at
stake.
We see what's happening with the
ICE intimidation coming from the
federal level.
We see how our democracy is
under attack.
We see our reproductive freedom is
under attacked.
Voting rights is under-attack.
And we damn sure have to figure out
how we can ease the burden that so
many Wisconsinites are feeling
because of the chaos that is
happening in Washington, DC.
But in order to do that, it's gonna
take off.
I am not running to be the governor
of Milwaukee County.
I am running to a governor for all
of us.
I'm not running for a governor for
those who just vote for me.
I'm running to become a governor for
all us because it's time
that we stop letting families
be left behind.
If we're going to move the state of
Wisconsin forward, we can't afford
for families to be left behind.
And so I'm asking you all to join
this movement, to be a part
of this campaign, because I'm gonna
be honest, it's not about me.
It's not my wife and my three kids.
It's about all of us.
It's above all of our families.
This is about the future of
Wisconsin.
And I truly believe that who is at
the top of the ticket matters if
we're gonna have the trifecta we
deserve to have in the state
Wisconsin.
We have to take over the state of
sin. We have take over this state
of sins.
It's crazy right now that we can't
even agree on basic things.
It has taken us so many years just
to give women the
post natal care that they need after
having a child.
Doesn't matter how
far left or how far right you are
right now.
The one thing that we can agree on
is that government is broken.
And at a time where government feels
loud, it feels angry, we need
somebody who's going to be steady.
Someone who's want to bring some
energy, galvanize our base,
and make sure that we set an example
not just for our state, but for
Democrats across the entire country.
We can create the blueprint.
But it's gonna take all of us to
make that happen.
So please, visit my
website, CrowleyForWI.com.
Sign up, join this movement.
Get involved, volunteer.
Because my biggest fear is
not losing this race.
My biggest fear's Tom Tiffany
becoming the next governor of
Wisconsin.
They are willing to not only destroy
the institutions themselves,
but they're willing to destroy the
public trust in the very government
that is built to keep us safe.
I'm not running on distractions.
I'm running on division.
I'm runnin' on bringing people
together.
So thank you for not only being
here, but thank you giving
your time, giving your talent,
giving your treasure, and helping us
move our party forward.
This is our moment.
The time is now.
And let's capture it together.
Thanks. Great speech.
My question is, if we
do get control
of the House, the Senate,
and the Governor's office, one of
the first things that the
legislature is going to do,
including myself, is push
for the repeal of Act 10.
Where do you stand on that?
Okay, I just wanted to be sure,
because I'm hearing from other
people that you're saying no, so I
just, I wanted to hear you say yes
out of your mouth.
Mr. County Executive, thank you for
being here today.
I'm going to mention two names.
I think you know them both well.
One is Tom Barrett,
the other Mandela Barnes.
Wisconsin has not been kind
to Milwaukee-based candidates.
How are you going to win where they
did not?
Well, I'm also the only
Milwaukee-based candidate who's
actually delivered for rural
communities already.
And so when we passed Act 12, that
brought more money from the state of
Wisconsin to every community across
the state and gave them a little
bit more money, which continues to
help them pay for public safety,
infrastructure, housing, the things
that matter most to them.
But I'm a current
executive that don't believe that I
need to stay inside my comfort zone.
The problem, I believe, with...
But... With politics in Wisconsin
is that most of us like to stay in
our geographical comfort zone.
You know, and so for me, it's about
meeting people exactly where they
are. And so as I travel across the
state, it's not just about bringing
my ideas to the table.
It's about building relationship.
And let's face it, a lot of people
who, Democrats and Republicans who
rail on Milwaukee,
most of the time has never met or
been to Milwaukee.
And let us also face it some of us
in Milwaukee.
I've never met and been to some of
these other places across the state.
So we have to bring some
balance and we have to meet people
exactly where they are.
I don't think that being a
Milwaukee-based candidate hurts me.
Being a Milwaukee based candidate
lets folks know that I'm willing and
can do the job.
I represent 19 different
municipalities, a million people.
A sixth of the entire state's
population is right here within
Milwaukee County.
And as you know, supervisor, all 19
communities in Milwaukee County
don't necessarily get along.
But we've been able to come to the
table and have those hard
conversations.
And we've been able to make sure
that they can lend their voices to
the solutions that fit them.
And I think what's also important
when it comes down to stepping
outside my geographical comfort zone
is that for
too long, the way we've been
organizing is telling other
communities what they need to do.
The worst thing that anybody can do
is walk into somebody else's house
and tell them to clean up.
That's not how it should work.
What we should be focusing on
is asking them what the issues are,
because there isn't a one-size-fits-all
solution for the state of Wisconsin.
What works here in Milwaukee may not
work in the Baron, may not in the
Marinade, may not work on the
Racine, so on and so forth.
But the idea is making sure
that they're at the table so we can
right-size those solutions to fit
their communities.
And I think that's how we were able
to get South Milwaukee.
Wauwatosa, West Allis, Brown
Deer, Glendale, and others
to build affordable housing right
here in Milwaukee.
And we have seen it coming exactly
the way it's been done for a long
time.
We did, we did see a Milwaukee
County executive become governor
before.
So there is a path, but it would be
very clear I am nothing like that
guy. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you!
Sorry. Yeah.
I'm going to go hear the new key,
come on.
In your future
state initiative,
you address health care.
There are studies that show
that 70 to
90% of all health
issues are lifestyle
related.
It's prevention is educating
the public.
We could cut...
You know, the bills tremendously
if we could get people to
cooperate, how would
you address this?
Well, it's about change in
perception, right, and so I
don't look at health as just the
mental and physical
aspects of health.
Housing is health.
Public transit is health,
access to a good public education
is health Health care access
is health And so we need
to look at the broader lens
of health to accomplish the social
determinants of health because it
doesn't just focus on the
individual, it focuses on actually
lifting up the community which helps
us to save more money long term
And so we have to focus on how do we
invest upstream?
How do we focus on prevention and
early intervention care versus
only crisis care, which is the most
expensive care that is out there?
And so, we have become, we need to
get creative and innovative as far
as how we're working with clinics,
how we are working with hospital
systems, how are we working with
both the state and the federal
government, because let's face it,
even what we seem to have happened
at the federal level, how is
Wisconsin going to fill these gaps
right now?
What are we going to do with some of
the clinics who are not only leaving
urban centers, but many rural areas?
I was just in Jackson County not
too long ago, and they talked about
the fact that they gotta travel
about an hour just to get to
the next hospital.
And so can you imagine somebody
trying to prepare for a pregnancy
or trying to prepare for
an emergency services?
That's an hour away.
We have to figure out how we bring
things much closer and focus on
more preventative measures.
The more we invest upstream,
the less money we have to spend
downstream on more expensive
institutions.
And that works not only with health
care, that works with mental health,
works with our education system, it
works with employment.
The more and more we can keep people
out of our emergency rooms,
out of jails and out
of prisons, the more money we're
going to have for our schools and
for everything else that's going to
help lift all the boats in
Wisconsin.
Yeah, you kind of just touched on
it, but I just
recently had a son, he's a black
boy here in Milwaukee and we're
the most incarcerated, most
scariest place to raise a black
man. And so I'm just wondering,
have you thought about criminal
justice reform, ways to,
let's say he's targeted and somehow
gets a record, but like the
expungement rules are ridiculous,
like are there plans
to to
address those.
Those issues.
Oh, absolutely.
So full transparency, when I was in
the state assembly, I was the
ranking member on criminal justice.
So criminal justice issues are
extremely important to me.
Not too long ago, we just
celebrated the opportunity to bring
more children back home from Lincoln
Hills and keep them closer to
Milwaukee County.
That was a bill that I brought to
Robin Boss, right?
Now granted, I brought that bill to
him in 2018 and it's
taken this long.
To bring these kids back and
for us to provide the opportunity
that they need, right?
When it comes down to criminal
justice, there's no
reason why we have not changed the
expungement laws.
No judge is going to look into a
crystal ball during sentencing and
say at the age of, because you're 25
or younger, we're going to give you
the opportunity to get an expunge.
Everybody deserves the opportunity
to get an exposure, every single
person.
And we should also, and I'm glad
that Governor Evers has given out
more partners than any other
governor in our history, and that's
something that we have to continue
because people deserve a second
chance.
People absolutely deserve a 2nd
chance. And don't tell me, my first
job while out of high school was at
a place called Project Return.
I was helping ex-offenders find
employment and housing at the age of
18. I was walking into prisons,
helping people develop a plan.
It was one of the hardest jobs I
ever had and one of most fulfilling.
Felony convictions,
it doesn't just lock a
person up for
that time frame. It locks that
person up almost for a lifetime
because we know that people continue
to go to CCAP and use these things
against so many folks.
My mother was evicted three times.
It took 10 years
for those evictions to come off of
her record. So just imagine how hard
it was for her to even move into a
place.
It was difficult.
And so we absolutely
need to revamp criminal justice.
And we're way behind the eight ball
on that.
Grover Norquist came to the state
of Wisconsin, came to state
legislature almost back
in 2017 talking about
the need for Republicans to do
criminal justice reform.
Now, I don't agree with Grover
norquist on much,
probably nothing, except for
the fact that we need criminal
justice.
We absolutely have to focus on
that, the fact is that it is cheaper
right now.
Cheaper right now to send a kid
to Harvard for one year than
it is to lock them up at a Lincoln
Hills for one.
So we have to focus on how
do we give more opportunity versus
stifling it for many folks in our
community.
Since 1966,
we have never elected two governors
of the same party in a row,
so this would be a groundbreaking
election.
But over that time,
that's going to
But over that time,
the numbers have not changed, the
margins have not changed.
So there's about 10 to 15
percent of this state electorate
that goes from this side to this
side, to this to this.
So in your opinion, who are
those people, what do they want,
and how are you going to convince
them of yourself?
I don't know who those people
are.
And as a politician, elected
official, I never want to look into
my crystal ball myself.
But I think those are the
individuals who are looking for
stability.
And I think right now, when I look
at what is happening in this country
right now there is absolutely no
stability.
There's no certainty right now.
Right now we just.
And now it's like, okay, are we
about to enter into a war and what
is that going to look like moving
forward? And now how is those
ripple effects and those dominoes
falling going to affect everything
that we now know as,
you know, and I'm just saying now
know because I hope this doesn't
affect elections in the future.
I hope it doesn't say that, you
now, we're going to see even more
tyranny coming out of Washington,
D.C.
But I think that at the end of the
day, focus wants stability.
And I think that we
have to make sure we're focusing on
leadership that's going to push
our parties even further because
again people aren't believing in
the party system right now right
and I would say that my job as
the as the next governor of
Wisconsin it's not necessarily get
everybody to become car-carrying
democrats I would love to do that
right now my job is to get them to
just vote for one and
that's what we should be focusing on
because if we can change the mindset
as far as how we can go.
Right?
And let's face it, Democrats, state
legislature, past 32 years, we've
only had control for two.
Am I right?
Only for two.
We have to show that we can govern.
We also have to be bold in how we
govern.
But our job is also to make sure
that if we get that trifecta,
when that pendulum swings,
we got to make it stay stuck for a
while.
We have make sure it stays stuck for
awhile because we have good
policies.
We have good things to move forward.
But are we staying true to the
message, true to vision consistent?
I know the Republican Party has done
that very well for the past
30 to 50 years.
We have not.
But we also sometimes, we have
to pick and choose our battles.
And what I mean by that is...
We can be wishy-washy.
It's two things I've been telling
everybody that I agree with Trump
on, right?
And yet Democrats have not done
anything around this messaging.
Trump accounts, y'all heard about
that, right.
What was that before?
Baby bonds, yeah.
Baby bonds.
We've been fighting for baby bonds
for more than a decade here in the
state of Wisconsin.
You know what else he said that I
also agree with?
Private equity firms shouldn't be
buying single family homes.
These are democratic ideas.
People forgot about it because we
haven't talked about it because
we're constantly reacting to what
is happening in the White House.
So we have, our eye is no
longer on the ball.
It's just on Trump.
And as long as we continue to react
to him, it's going to control every
narrative.
It's time for us to take control.
It's times for us organize.
Two really quick questions.
One, looking at the treatment
of the people of Minneapolis and the
Twin Cities as our next governor,
what's the number one lesson or the
top lessons you take out of
seeing how that's unfolded?
And then second, you know, I work
two full-time jobs and my
work works full- time.
We're paying, we have two kids,
we're paying $42,000 a
year in child care.
You know we have friends who are
teachers who can't afford a second
kid,
what are you going to do to help solve
that problem?
So the first one was related
to Minneapolis.
So one, stepping up as just as a
leader, right?
I mean, as we've had conversations,
not just with the governor's
administration, but the mayor's
administration making sure that you
have processes in place for
government is extremely important,
right. And so,
and as you know, we were dealing
with this what kind of brought
before Minneapolis because
the Hannah Dugan case.
You know originated with us and so
we actually had to think ahead
just because of those particular
incidents that were happening and so
one my expectation is that law
enforcement local law enforcement
should never ever be part
of this federal immigration agenda
that Donald Trump is pushing right
they're there to protect and serve
our local residents and so my
expectation is one, if they're
out there to protect people
who are exercising their First
Amendment rights, they're there
facing ICE versus facing
the community that is out there
exercising their rights, right?
It is my expectation that
all of us continue to work with not
just government, but the trusted
messengers on the ground, right?
We're talking about those, we're
talking ACLU, we are talking
Turner's Hall, we're for Atlantino.
And I'm not just talking about them
locally here in Milwaukee County,
I'm talking about across the entire
state. Because everybody else in
our state don't have access to the
resources that we do.
And so we have to make sure that
people get connected as much as
possible.
And we've done that by even putting
the community resource hub
information out there, right?
And so it's setting the expectation
as far as what you believe
our government should be doing.
At the top of the food chain,
right? And that's what we're gonna
need in our next governor, right,
making sure that they set that
expectation for local units
of government, for our local police
departments, for our shares.
I don't think any community in
Wisconsin should be participating in
a 287G program,
no one.
And immigration is
a civil issue,
not a criminal issue.
But it's also a morality issue,
morality conversation will also
happen. And that's big for me
And so now I'm
actually kind of flipping this on
the Republicans right now because
there's something the Republicans
have constantly been talking about,
you know, the Joshua Glover story.
Are you all familiar with the Joshua
Clover story?
For those who are not, Joshua
Gloever was an enslaved black man
who escaped, who
escaped and came to Milwaukee and
he got caught.
About 500 people broke him out
of jail in Milwaukee and helped
him escape to California.
A man by the name of Sherman Booth
was then arrested, rightly.
Sherman Boothe then sued
because he was being arrested for
violating the Fugitive Slave Act.
Did you know that he sued and it
went all the way up to the state
Supreme Court and the Wisconsin
State Supreme Court is the first and
only state to ever deem
the Furgitive Slavery Act
unconstitutional?
This is a morality conversation.
And so if they want to use that
story to say
that they're the party
of freedom,
it doesn't feel like that right now.
And so this is a morality
conversation. There are a lot of
people that we have to bring into
the fold. And I would say there are
people, especially in rural
Wisconsin,
who are very upset as far as what's
happening, who are
very upset, as far what's happened.
This is not just affecting their
economy, it's affecting their school
system.
He had a question.
He didn't get you the second part of
the child care. Oh, we need
universal childcare.
We have to have universal childcare
We're lucky here in Milwaukee County
that we still have access.
It's expensive.
We have access, I heard a
story about a couple in
Marinette.
They were actually hiring
individuals to work within the
hospital.
Two doctors, married, two kids.
They accepted the job offer,
struggling to find housing, with
their found house.
But you know what they never found?
Child care.
They had to turn the job down
because there was no child care
available.
And so we have to fix child care.
We have to fixed child care,
especially when you know we're
getting older as a state.
And if we want to make sure
that our
children have the same
opportunities.
That the jobs and the economy that
is here continue to stay strong.
We have to figure out how we keep
people here or how we move people
here, or make things that
much more affordable.
And child care is going to be key
for that. So I believe that we need
to have universal child care.
And I know many of you are like,
well, how the heck are we going to pay
for all this?
Right?
And so I think we should
put a Blue Ribbon Commission on the
table as well.
And the Blue Ribbond Commission is
where we bring academics, We
bring
Oh no, we're not doing that.
So I want to bring academics,
I want to bring local units of
government, I want bring labor, I
wanna be business owners,
and have a conversation about
revenue and spending in the state.
I don't think we have a revenue and
spend problem.
I think it's antiquated.
Our shared revenue
program is 100 plus
years old.
It doesn't work.
And so I want it bring this Blue
Ribbon Commission together.
To take a look at how we collect
revenues and how we spend,
but also look at what other states
have been doing and see what can
actually work here.
Let's have a transparent, robust
conversation about
what we need to do to make sure that
our schools are fully funded, to
make that we can fill the gaps in
healthcare, to make we can have
universal childcare and invest
in affordable housing.
Because if we don't do that,
we're gonna continue to operate in a
status quo, and the status quo is
not working.
To climate change,
we need big, bold issues.
What are yours for getting to
net zero and what is the
timeline?
So I need more of a plan
than actually to get in there to
figure out what that plan would
actually look like.
And the reason why I say that is
because we've actually did this
internally within Milwaukee County.
Created our climate action 2050
plan to reduce our carbon emissions
to zero by 2050.
And I'm happy to report we're 49%
of the way there already,
49% the way they're already.
And so one, we have
to focus on how we build clean
energy you got.
Like, that has to be
key, right?
How can we bring on more
solar?
There's a lot more wind into the
state of Wisconsin.
But we also have to make sure that
there's some teeth within the PSC.
There's not a lot of teeth.
Right?
I know that.
I'm the first, actually, elected
official to actually file an
intervention with the Public Service
Commission on a utility
company. And I did that because
they were doing a $5 billion project
yet, there were no local contractors
working on the project.
Not one.
When you got companies who have been
in existence for 80 plus years
and never had a diversity supply
program.
Mind blowing for me.
And so we have to make sure that
this is a top priority
because we have make sure that one,
we're lowering costs, energy costs,
because I don't know if y'all got
y'alls bills that last too much.
Oh my god.
But Meg!
But man, compared to last year, my
bill was $100 more for
the past two months.
Yeah, yeah.
And so, without focusing on
a clean energy economy,
it's going to be real hard for us to
get to
that net zero carbon emissions.
And so for me, one,
how do we take advantage of what is
happening right now?
I know there's conversations, and we
have to make a decision.
On my data centers,
which have the opportunity to
destroy our environment.
Have the opportunity to raise prices
on many different individuals across
the state.
I think we need to put guardrails in
place.
One, to make sure that there's
the safest of safeguards when
it comes down to our environment.
If they're going to be here, let's
put the safest safeguard.
And I say that because if
they leave and go somewhere else...
But if they don't have the same
level of regulations that we can put
on them here, how are we gonna be
affected in the future?
How is that going to affect our
climate as a whole?
So if we can, if
we put a stronghold of protections,
let's do that, but also let's use
it to also create
community benefits.
So if they're gonna be using prices
and spending money on
utility rates and they gotta
do upgrades, they should have to
spend that money up front
themselves.
Should not be on the backs of any
rate payers.
Should not.
So whether you're talking about the
grid, whether you talking about
bringing more clean energy, they
need to be at the table.
But I also think that if they are
gonna be paying their bill and
everybody sees the focus on energy
line, You know, when you
pay your wee energies to be able to
focus on energy lines, dollars that
you pay to go towards more clean
energy construction projects.
And there's only so much that you
can do related to that, right?
But when there's an excess of money,
how about we use that money to buy
down the rate for everybody's
electrical?
We can be creative, and we
have to get creative.
And we have the focus on the clean
energy economy, because our
agriculture, our land, our water is
too much a part of our very fabric,
too much of a part of our economy
for us not to keep it at the
center of the decisions that we
make.
He had wanted to not go to your
show.
Oh so you
touched on a lot about health and I
think one part of health is freeway
removal in my opinion and how urban
renewal through freeway,
removal through urban renewal has
really cut up our communities.
I know the governor doesn't decide
what freeways come down and what go
up but if you are governor would you
advocate and appoint people to the
department of transportation that
would push to tear down 794 and
look into tearing down the
stadium interchange?
I'm already trying to get the
stadium interchange by
Ampham Field.
I want to turn that into a
Boulevard.
That should be a Boulevard, right?
It's never busy.
Actually, I've been advocating
for that for the past five years,
that it should be turned into a
boulevard.
You know, if you're going to do this
expansion with 94,
then you need to remove this, where
we can create more opportunities,
more development, more economic
opportunities for our city,
right? And so I am absolutely
for, what is that, 175,
removing that 175, and you have to
have people who live in these
communities who are going to be on
the board so they can speak to the
lived experience as well.
Because if folks are making these
decisions, don't live there, don't
travel through there.
They're making a decision that
doesn't impact them at all.
And so I've made it a point, even as
county executive, that
if you don't have any lived
experiences, I don't think that you
should be sitting on these
commissions, on these boards, on
these committees. Thank you. Good
luck.
Yes, today's paper.
I want to hear about 794.
Yes, not 794 as well.
I don't know what to do with it.
$7.94 is like from the market
interchange to the home bridge, like
not the home bridge but like what
connects up to the Home Bridge.
Oh, I know what you're talking, so,
I mean, yeah, we don't make that
decision, but it's about the people
who was there, so I don't
know what you want me to say about
that, but no, I think that
you have to have people who are
there who understand the community
to make those decisions.
Yes, today's paper, your
future state initiative.
There's a lot of exciting ideas out
in there, and as a supervisor,
I particularly like dedicated
funding to parks and the zoo.
Lots of other good ideas, too.
My question is- So you didn't like?
No, I did like.
Oh. Oh, you also said, thanks,
Steve.
No, there's lots of good ideas.
Yeah.
First of all, who paid for
this study? And second,
why haven't we heard about this
before now?
I'm sorry, but they actually called
you to actually meet with you before
we actually introduced you.
We actually sat down with
supervisors before this
was even actually introduced.
We've been doing this in-house
within Milwaukee County.
We've talking to
county workers, we've talked to
supervisors, we've
talk to a few of our community
partners as well.
And we brought it to the
supervisors, we actually had Isaac
come into meetings to
actually have this conversation with
supervisors directly.
And these are just recommendations.
This is anything that we're passing
right now.
And so our goal is to bring this now
to the community to have a
conversation as far as what they
want to see.
Well, if I didn't
meet, it was because I was working
my other job.
But is this
your, shall we say,
platform going forward or you're
running your own?
No!
That is the county executive's
job.
That has nothing to do with the
governorship or anything like that.
These are the conversations that
we've been focusing on since
the very beginning.
As you're aware, 2017
became declared racist as a public
health crisis, right?
I got elected, or 2018,
I got selected in 2020.
We doubled down and forked on our
first strategic plan, right,
which everybody was a part of within
Milwaukee County.
Now we've had a chance to do a
deep dive related to the programs
and services that we provide.
The question is, are
we actually making sure that people
don't fall through the cracks?
Are we actually make sure that our
key performance indicators are
actually helping to hold us
accountable and the right benchmarks
that we need to have?
And so the Future State Project is
just about making sure that no
matter where you live, no matter who
you are, that you can get
access to these programs and these
services because government
was not
to treat everybody, and we
want to make sure that we're
right-sizing it to do that.
There's a growing awareness and
movement across the
world of the importance
of native plants.
They prevent run-offs,
they prevent flooding, they feed
the pollinators,
and that is essential to
our ecosystem.
So do you
anticipate that being a
priority or having a special
commission to
introduce that at a
more...
Priority is a priority and you're
saying to.
Saying to save this.
We have to focus.
Even within Milwaukee County,
we're actually removing concrete
channels and actually
putting the native plants where they
used to be because that's what helps
to reduce flooding.
We have to, and
we see what happens in communities
like Houston because they got
concrete everywhere and don't have
anywhere for the water to go.
All right.
And I think what we just recently
dealt with related to the
recent floods, right, it
basically says that we actually have
to push these types of projects
moving forward even more.
We've already started having these
conversations with MMSD as
far as the cost and what this will
look like moving forward to make
sure that we can prevent the levels
of flooding that we have seen become
more consistent here within
Milwaukee County. So,
absolutely.
Okay, so second question.
There's a lot of people that want to
volunteer.
There are the wild ones, lots of
different environmental
organizations that are wanting to
do this.
Is there a place in,
as a county commissioner,
within our natural areas
that we have and our parks for
people to be doing this kind of
work? Absolutely.
Absolutely.
So many, if not all of our parks
have frames of parks, which is
basically non-profit groups who
actually support the park that
they're basically adopting.
And so those individuals, they raise
their own funds, and when they're
able to raise their own funds...
That actually helps us get the
project done a little quicker,
because now we've been able to
leverage private resources.
And so we encourage that.
And we should be encouraging that
across our entire state.
But unfortunately, our state is
either dead last or second to last
when it comes down to investments in
natural resources.
And we have to flip that on its
head, because our natural resources
is our most precious commodity in
our state.
Thank you.
So, as you know, if we
look in the future, transit funding
does not look very good.
It didn't look good this year, it
doesn't look like good next year.
It's just service cuts are writing
on the wall.
If you become governor,
how are you going to work with other
municipalities and groups,
besides just bringing them to the
table, but what's the strategy to
make sure we have a robust
transit system?
Transit is a difficult one.
I mean, as Milwaukee County
Executive, right, a
quarter of our transit budget comes
from the federal government.
So if they cut transit, you
can imagine how that affects us.
And there's a certain amount of
money that we also receive from the
state as well.
And unfortunately,
the pot of money we get in those
public transit days has not grown
with inflation.
We just recently seen a
small tick, but
it's not and actually saving
these services.
And so, just to give you an example,
in 2020 when we received, or
2021 when we received all of our
American Rescue Plan Act dollars to
help our transit system, you know
what the state of Wisconsin did?
Cut 40 million dollars from our
public transit system.
It was the first thing that they
did. Oh wow.
And so one, we need to
increase those those public transit
eggs.
Two, we needed a regional
transit authority in the state
of Wisconsin.
We have to have a regional
transitory in this state.
We're a county based system.
Racine is city based.
Think about the old Clare Stevens
Point area, they have a city based
system, all of us are
struggling.
Hey, we actually tried to,
we actually wanted to build a
walking shop bus
system.
And ironically, they decided not
to go with us, they hired our
subcontractor.
And so we have
to focus on the RTA because Thank
you. Without an RTA,
we won't have the necessary funding
to have a robust system.
And without a robust systems, it's
gonna be hard to grow our economy.
I'm tired of people when they just
talk about Foxconn, talk about how
that was the eighth wonder of the
world. Now we're talking about these
data centers and businesses that are
popping up in places like Kenosha,
Racine, Sheboygan.
I'm glad that they're happening, but
the problem I have is that I can't
get anybody in my community to those
jobs.
And so by having a regional
transit authority, we could
actually spread out a
little bit more.
And I say spread out little bit more
because that's the city of
Milwaukee. I don't compete with
Chicago.
Chicago is huge.
But we do compete at Southeastern
Wisconsin.
Yeah.
Against your current.
And so the more we can take a
regional approach with our transit,
the more will be able to create more
opportunities for those that we
represent.
I think it's safe to say
on Election Day,
Milwaukee County will vote for
whoever is the Democratic candidate
for governor.
Can you speak to the coalition of
support you've built around the
state of Wisconsin and any
endorsements you've secured that
give you hope for winning
in other places across the state?
So, so coalitions that I have built.
So I've been working campaigns
my entire, I can say my entire life.
Started working on campaigns in
2010, working for Russ Feindl.
And so I had the opportunity to
start actually building those
coalitions as a staffer before I
even ran for office.
I'm an organizer.
I come from a community organizing
background, that's how I got
involved in this work.
And so for me, I've be organizing in
many of these communities for the
past 10 years, and not around
politics, but about the issues that
matter most to them.
So I've been to, I've organized in
Kenosha, organized in Racine,
organized here locally, Rock County,
which is basically in Beloit,
Beloit in Rock,
Jamesville.
Been to the Eau Claire,
been to the O'Clair area doing
organizing, been to Sheboygan doing
organizing.
Fox City's area doing organizing.
And so for me, we've been
able to bring people, not just
Democrats, but quite frankly,
Republicans who don't want to say to
the Republicans anymore, and
independents now, who just
want somebody who can deliver
results.
And the only reason why they're
looking to me for is because they
know that we have a track record of
being able to deliver results,
especially as a Democrat, because
we've done so much in the
Republican-controlled legislature.
And when it comes down to
endorsements, we're getting
endorsements that's just here
locally.
We just announced one,
for me to try to name them all would
be crazy, but we just announced one
from Trimpleau County.
We have the lacrosse mayor, you
know, and so, you know, we can focus
on endorsements but I would say
that,
for me personally, I
don't want your endorsement if it's
not going to come with work.
If it's not going to bring something
to the table, putting your, slapping
your name under mine,
I don't think anybody's ever went in
there and said, oh,
David Crowley's endorses
such and such, I'ma vote for him
because of that, right?
People wanna see the work.
And I think that that's what matters
most to anybody and everybody
right now, because we can all make
promises.
We can all say what we're going to
do.
The question is, can you deliver?
I think that's the most important
question all of us should be asking
every single time.
Just kind of speaking on that, you
touched on it earlier, but can you
kind of go into detail on how you
got the sales tax kind of passed,
and obviously you had to work
across the aisle, and what
some of those conversations were,
and how you would use that
skill set.
Yeah.
Yeah, that was fun.
So it started off when I was a
state rep.
It started before I even ran
for county executive.
I even thought about running for
county execute.
And so I was already working with
Milwaukee County as far as how to
message this to come to
the state. And while I was the state
representative, we were able to get
the very first hearing.
And that helped.
When I became a county executive,
I wanted to focus on building
relationships.
Now I'll tell you, it's very hard to
build relationships because I was
sworn in May 4th, 2020,
instead of the pandemic.
So getting to know people was very,
it was very difficult, right?
And so first thing I did is I
started to build relationships with
every municipality. I did a
municipal tour, visited every
municipality, which I thought was
normal, and I realized it wasn't.
But the second thing, when I
start talking to people here locally
and started to get people on board
with the plan that I wanted to bring
to the state, we realized,
well, we're the political lightning
rod.
Democrats and Republicans, they all
real on Milwaukee.
So how do I change the perception
of Milwaukee,
where you go meet them where they
are? So we went on a statewide tour.
I went to Leinenkuhl's,
right, I was able to tap a golden
keg, but was able to have a
conversation about shared revenue
that most have never had before.
I went Ryanlander for a
joint finance hearing.
It was great to be there for the
whole day, it was my first time
seeing the whole day.
If you've never been there, it's a
mythical creature that's actually in
the lander.
And it was the furthest that
I traveled as it relates to
speaking at a joint finance hearing.
Two stories going up to Rhinelander.
I was in a supper club.
The only person of color in the
supper club, and I made it a point
to talk to people that I didn't
know.
So I met this couple.
The wife at the moment just blew me
off, she was not trying to have any
conversation, but I sparked up a
conversation with her husband.
And we started to engage.
And one of my, you know, former
Republican colleagues, she
said that she was going to stay next
to me because she didn't know where
this conversation was going to go.
But he wanted to smoke, and so we
walked out of the supper club, and
he's having a smoke, we continue our
conversation.
His wife walks out of supper club
demanding to leave.
He looks at his wife and says, well,
we can go, but you can't leave until
you meet Dave.
He talked about the fact that
he had a great conversation.
I was a Democrat.
I was from Milwaukee
and he really liked it.
This is what I mean, you have to
build these relationships.
The next day, we have the hearing,
and they allowed me to go first
because I traveled further than
anybody else.
And so while I was at this joint
finance hearing, I spoke to all
Milwaukee issues.
The only thing I did different was
I didn't say the word Milwaukee.
When I was done with my speech,
everybody gave me a standing
ovation.
Because we were able to speak
directly to the issues,
not the partisanship, not the
geographical locations and fights
that we create.
We have to recognize that the
divisions and the distractions,
that's a part of the strategy so we
never come together.
And so when
we were able to get other
communities on board,
because I will say, everybody said,
well, why would we help out Milwaukee?
We have our own problems.
And that's when it was,
well, if you help out in Milwaukee,
you can help out yourself because
you should be at the table too.
And so Milwaukee County,
City of Milwaukee, Towns
Association, Wisconsin Counties
Association, you had
business groups across the entire
state, you had real estate groups
across the entire State who signed
on to our plan.
And now it became harder for them to
ignore us.
So then I go to Robin Voss and I
say, hey, we want this to happen.
He said, hell no, for like three
months.
And it went from hell no.
To just no and
it went from no to
I think about it
to then we started actually having
meetings and
one thing that I'm extremely proud
related to what I was able to
negotiate is that we were able
to protect everything in Milwaukee
County.
I didn't have to give up my DEI
program in order to do this work and
I didn't have to give anything to be
honest with you.
Because I've been there, I had a few
laps around the track, it gave me
enough skills and enough knowledge
to actually know how to come into
that table to negotiate.
Now, I also tell you, it didn't
solve all of our problems.
But let's face it, you think they
was going to help me solve my
problem?
But where we are today is
the best fiscal place
we have been in Milwaukee County.
Yeah, we talked about the deficit
that we were facing this year.
I'm proud to report we actually
ended in a surplus.
And matter of fact, we've ended in
the surplus every
year that I've been county
executive.
And so I want to build upon that
success.
I want build upon the hard work that
we have been doing advocating and
lobbying on behalf of local
communities because our government
is local.
But we have to also make sure that
the state doesn't continue to
allow cities,
towns, villages, and counties to
fall by the wayside.
Thank you very much.
Well, thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you
Thank you.
All right, the hot seat is up on the
top seat.
Thank you, sir.
Can I get a selfie with you?
Thank you so much.
Thank you. Do you want me to do it
with my capture?
Yeah, thank you.
I don't have to do that.
I could do my best to do this
stuff.
I do.
I don't
t know exactly.
Thank you very much.
But that would be a question.
I think the preparation is coming
up. And now that all of you are
here, I think it's time to go. You
know, so it's a
home rule.
Okay, so Franklin has
cost a couple hundred of that child.
Absolutely.
The county has no say in
working with them.
So, because we don't have a zone.
Yeah, but transportation.
Yes.
And, you know, I just wonder if
these corporations help
transportation in their employees.
And that's too hard.