Here & Now

Milwaukee Mayoral Race

Lena Taylor:

Hi, I’m Lena Taylor. How ya doing?

Tom Barrett:

Hey folks. Just want to say hello. I’m Mayor Tom Barrett.

Zac Schultz:

Tom Barrett has been mayor of Milwaukee for 16 years and he’s looking to make it an even two decades of running Wisconsin’s largest city.

Tom Barrett:

I’m very, very excited about the future of the city because first of all, there’s a lot of great things that are going on in the city right now. The heart of the city is experiencing a renaissance unlike anything we have seen before.

Zac Schultz:

Challenger Lena Taylor is a state senator and has represented Milwaukee’s north side in the Legislature for 17 years.

Lena Taylor:

I finally decided that I need to step in the race when it became clear that ideas, innovation, vision and equity for all was more lip service than it was action.

Zac Schultz:

While Barrett has focused on the economic revival in the center of the city, Taylor says the neighborhoods of color she represents have been left behind.

Lena Taylor:

Do you think our city needs a change? We have now gone to a place that is the worst place in the nation to raise a black child, to be a black American. You can see the disparities that exist in services.

Tom Barrett:

I’m very aware that we’ve got some very deep-seated problems in some neighborhoods with race issues and poverty issues and public safety issues.

Lena Taylor:

What will he do in the next four years that he could not have done in the last 16?

Tom Barrett:

I’m more optimistic than ever though because the heart is strong now. And our challenge moving forward is to create family-supporting jobs in these neighborhoods that have been historically under-serviced.

Zac Schultz:

Milwaukee has long been a democratic city and the race for mayor has a lot in common with debates happening within the party at the national level about who the party represents and who gets to lead it forward.

Lena Taylor:

Women of color have been the backbone of the Democratic Party.

Tom Barrett:

I do not want to divide the city in racial terms, in economic terms, in geographic terms because I think that that’s a recipe for disaster.

Lena Taylor:

I don’t bring it up as a “oh, we’re divided.” I bring it up as a “this is a reality for people that look like me in this community that are the majority of this community.”

Tom Barrett:

Hello gentlemen. Just want to say hello. Mayor Tom Barrett.

Young Man:

Nice to meet you.

Tom Barrett:

Nice to see you.

Lena Taylor:

I’m knocking on your door, hoping that you will vote for me to be your mayor.

Zac Schultz:

With the election aligning with the presidential primary, Taylor hopes higher turnout will help her cause.

Lena Taylor:

When we have higher turnout, they tend to lean democratic. They tend to be more people of color. And they tend to be African-American women.

Zac Schultz:

The eyes of the nation will be on Milwaukee this summer when it hosts the Democratic National Convention. Barrett says he hopes to showcase the city’s diversity and strength.

Tom Barrett:

The stage and the interior of Fiserv Forum where the whole nation is going to be watching, the national stage is going to be built by a local African-American construction firm.

Zac Schultz:

Taylor says local voters shouldn’t get caught up in the DNC hype.

Lena Taylor:

A four-day party is not the decision maker of what will happen for the next four years.

Zac Schultz:

Beyond the DNC, both candidates say people around the state should understand the future of Milwaukee will impact the whole state.

Lena Taylor:

When people come to Milwaukee and they think about what we are and what we do, they go back and that’s their impression of Wisconsin. It includes you too.

Tom Barrett:

If you go back 13, 14 years, I think you could make the argument that Milwaukee got more resources from the state than it paid in. But with this incredible economic resurgence that we’re seeing in the city, now we are sending a lot more to Madison than we’re receiving in return.

Lena Taylor:

As strong as Milwaukee is will be as strong as our state, right?

Tom Barrett:

Nice to see you. Very nice to see you. We got an election coming up and I’d love your vote, just so you know.

Lena Taylor:

I need your vote on April 7th. Tell everybody.

Woman in car:

I will.

Lena Taylor:

All right now. Have a good day.

Zac Schultz:

Reporting from Milwaukee, I’m Zac Schultz for “Here & Now.”