Milwaukee Mayor’s Race A Battle Of Endorsements, Public Safety And The Economy

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is trying to keep his job in a contentious election contest with Bob Donovan, an alderman who has the backing of the city’s police and firefighter unions, as well as the high-profile local sheriff.

Still, Milwaukee doesn’t change mayors very often. Barrett has run the city for 12 years, even with two losses against Scott Walker in gubernatorial contests and he’s lined up high-profile endorsements.

He has the backing of former Democratic U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl:

“He is as strong an advocate of Milwaukee as we have anywhere. So, it is easy for me to support him, as I have since he began his career.”

Milwaukee U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore and some unions, including the United Steelworkers and AFSCME, are also Barrett backers.

Even President Barack Obama is supporting the mayor, giving him a shout-out and calling him “outstanding” during a recent visit to the city.

Throughout the campaign, Barrett’s basic message has been that the city’s economy is improving.

“There are more people working in the city of Milwaukee who are residents of the city of Milwaukee than at any time since 2001,” he said recently. “That’s a significant step forward.”

But Barrett’s challenger, 16-year Milwaukee Alderman Bob Donovan, is betting most city residents haven’t seen economic gains. And Donovan says he doesn’t care about the mayor’s big name endorsements.

“The real, most important endorsement that I’m looking for is the endorsement from the people on April 5,” he said.

Donovan says he’ll work with anyone to try to bring more jobs to the city, including Walker and Republican lawmakers. The alderman is also promoting an anti-crime message, promising to add 200 police officers to the city’s ranks. Donovan says he would find the funding within the city budget, but also says the state could be of some help.

“I believe there are opportunities for the state to get more involved in the funding of additional police resources,” he said. “Not only for Milwaukee, but for our surrounding areas because of the problems that are occurring.”

Donovan’s plan to boost law enforcement jobs has made him popular with the Milwaukee labor groups that also usually back Walker: the city’s police and firefighter unions.

At the firefighters’ hall this week, police and fire union leaders endorsed official through their support behind Donovan. But the main address came from Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, who claimed Barrett has focused too much on improving downtown and left some low-income neighborhoods very vulnerable .

“You and your neighbors live in fear of crime, gang violence, drive-by shootings in daylight, carjackings and drug-dealing,” Clarke said. “All of this squalor has occurred during Tom Barrett’s reign over the city of Milwaukee.”

Barrett has defended his record by saying the police are targeting high crime areas but conservative activists have run radio ads criticizing Barrett on crime issues.

Meanwhile a Barrett ad says Donovan has Walker’s ideas and GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump’s temperament. Donovan this week refused to say what he thinks of Trump, but did praise a quote from Democrat Hillary Clinton.

“Oh, what did she say? ‘Fighting for a better — fighting for all of us,’ I think.”

Donovan will try to take that fight to Tom Barrett over the next two weeks, despite Barrett’s large lead in campaign fundraising and a Milwaukee electorate that typically doesn’t throw out mayors.