The municipal government of the U.S. city of Milwaukee, located in the state of Wisconsin, consists of a mayor and common council. Traditionally supporting progressive politicians and movements, this community has consistently proved to be a stronghold of the Democratic Party. As the largest city in Wisconsin, Milwaukee receives a significant amount of attention during elections.
Beginning with the city's first major wave of German immigrants, the 48ers, Milwaukee, Wisconsin has traditionally supported progressive 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 mayors.
Since 1960, Milwaukee has been a stronghold of the Democratic Party 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. [1] Many supporters of Marvin 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 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 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 in the WOW counties, such as Mequon, Waukesha and Brookfield. [2]
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, who served from 1948 to 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 (1997), Communist Party USA (2001) and the Green Party of the United States (2004).
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. 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.
The mayor of Milwaukee is Cavalier Johnson. He was elected to a full term in 2022 after the previous mayor, Tom Barrett, was appointed by President Biden to serve as the United States Ambassador to Luxembourg.
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, and incumbent legislators would often seek a position on the council, resigning their legislative positions if they were victorious. [3] 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, who took office as mayor.
All members of the Common Council serve on a nonpartisan basis.
District | Member | Took Office |
---|---|---|
1 | Andrea Pratt | April 18, 2023 |
2 | Mark Chambers Jr. | November 15, 2022 |
3 | Jonathan Brostoff | November 15, 2022 |
4 | Robert Bauman | April 20, 2004 |
5 | Lamont T. Westmoreland | April 18, 2023 |
6 | Milele A. Coggs | April 15, 2008 |
7 | DiAndre Jackson | April 16, 2024 |
8 | JoCasta Zamarripa | April 21, 2020 |
9 | Larresa Taylor | April 18, 2023 |
10 | Sharlen Moore | April 16, 2024 |
11 | Peter Burgelis | April 16, 2024 |
12 | José G. Pérez | April 17, 2012 |
13 | Scott Spiker | August 20, 2019 |
14 | Marina Dimitrijevic | April 21, 2020 |
15 | Russell W. Stamper | April 15, 2014 |
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.
The City of Milwaukee Youth Council, the city's youth commission, represents the student voice to the Common Council and Mayor.
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. 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 U.S. Representative.
The Socialist Party USA, officially the Socialist Party of the United States of America, is a socialist political party in the United States. The party was established in 1973 as one of the successors to the Socialist Party of America, which had broken up a year prior, resulting in another group called Social Democrats, USA and the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (split).
Frank Paul Zeidler 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, is the last Socialist Party candidate to be elected mayor of a large American city.
Daniel Webster Hoan was an American politician who served as the 32nd Mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1916 to 1940. A lawyer who had served as Milwaukee City Attorney from 1910 to 1916, Hoan was a prominent figure in Socialist politics and Milwaukee's second Socialist mayor. His 24-year administration remains the longest continuous Socialist administration in United States history. A panel of 69 scholars in 1993 ranked him among the ten best mayors in American history.
The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is currently headed by chair Ben Wikler.
Buffalo, New York's government is run by a democratically elected mayor and council of nine members.
The Nebraska Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Nebraska. Over 700 Democrats are elected across the state of Nebraska. Jane Kleeb is the chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party and also serves as the Midwest Chair of the Association of State Democratic Committees.
Sewer socialism was an originally pejorative term for the American socialist movement that centered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from around 1892 to 1960. The term was coined by Morris Hillquit at the 1932 Milwaukee convention of the Socialist Party of America as a commentary on the Milwaukee socialists and their perpetual boasting about the excellent public sewer system in the city.
The 2006 congressional elections in Wisconsin were held on November 7, 2006, to determine who would represent the state of Wisconsin in the United States House of Representatives. Representatives were elected for two-year terms; those elected served in the 110th Congress from January 3, 2007, until January 3, 2009. The election coincided with the 2006 U.S. senatorial election and the 2006 Wisconsin gubernatorial election.
Henry Smith was a millwright, architect, builder and politician who was elected a member of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin from 1887 - 1889 as a member of the Union Labor Party. He also served as a Socialist member of the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1878. At different times, Smith ran for office on the Socialist, Greenback, Democratic and Union Labor tickets.
The 2008 congressional elections in Wisconsin were held on November 4, 2008, to determine who would represent the state of Wisconsin in the United States House of Representatives. Representatives were elected for two-year terms; those elected served in the 111th Congress from January 3, 2009, until January 3, 2011. The election coincided with the 2008 U.S. presidential election and other Wisconsin elections.
The 2008 Wisconsin fall general election was held on November 4, 2008. All of Wisconsin's eight seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election. Within the state government, sixteen seats in the Wisconsin State Senate, and all 99 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly were up for election. At the presidential level, voters chose ten electors to represent them in the Electoral College, which then helped select the president of the United States. The 2008 fall partisan primary was held on September 9, 2008.
Wisconsin's political history encompasses, on the one hand, Robert La Follette and the Progressive movement, and on the other, the Republican and anti-Communist Joe McCarthy. From the early 20th century, the Socialist Party of America had a base in Milwaukee. The phenomenon was referred to as "sewer socialism" because the elected officials were more concerned with public works and reform than with revolution. Its influence faded in the late 1950s largely because of the red scare and racial tensions. The first Socialist mayor of a large city in the United States was Emil Seidel, elected mayor of Milwaukee in 1910; another Socialist, Daniel Hoan, was mayor of Milwaukee from 1916 to 1940; and a third, Frank P. Zeidler, from 1948 to 1960. Succeeding Frank Zeidler, the last of Milwaukee's Socialist mayors, Henry Maier, a former Wisconsin State Senator and member of the Democratic Party was elected mayor of Milwaukee in 1960. Maier remained in office for 28 years, the longest-serving mayor in Milwaukee history. Socialist newspaper editor Victor Berger was repeatedly elected as a U.S. Representative, although he was prevented from serving for some time because of his opposition to the First World War.
The Wisconsin Progressive Party (1934–1946) was a political party that briefly held a dominant role in Wisconsin politics.
Alex C. Ruffing was an American machinist and Socialist from Milwaukee who served four terms (1919–1926) as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly and one shortened term in Wisconsin State Senate representing Milwaukee County-based districts
Edwin William Knappe was an American machinist from Milwaukee who became a lawyer, and who served one term as a Socialist member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.
The 2017 United States elections were held, in large part, on Tuesday, November 7, 2017. This off-year election featured gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey, as well as state legislative elections in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature and in the Virginia House of Delegates. Numerous citizen initiatives, mayoral races, and a variety of other local elections also occurred. Special elections were also held for one seat of the U.S. Senate, representing Alabama, and six seats of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Democrats picked up the governorship in New Jersey and the Alabama Senate seat that was up for a special election. The governorship in Virginia and the six House seats that were up for special elections did not change party hands.
The 2020 Wisconsin Fall General Election was held in the U.S. state of Wisconsin on November 3, 2020. All of Wisconsin's eight seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election, as well as sixteen seats in the Wisconsin State Senate and all 99 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly. Voters also chose ten electors to represent them in the Electoral College, which then participated in selecting the president of the United States. The 2020 Fall Partisan Primary was held on August 11, 2020.
The 2022 Wisconsin fall general election was held in the U.S. state of Wisconsin on November 8, 2022. All of Wisconsin's partisan executive and administrative offices were up for election, as well as one of Wisconsin's U.S. Senate seats, Wisconsin's eight seats in the United States House of Representatives, the seventeen odd-numbered seats in the Wisconsin State Senate, and all 99 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly. The 2022 Wisconsin fall primary was held on August 9, 2022.
The 2022 Orange County Board of Supervisors elections were held on June 7 and November 8, 2022. Three of the five seats of the Orange County, California Board of Supervisors were up for election. This was the first set of elections held after the 2020 redistricting cycle. County elections in California are officially nonpartisan. A two-round system was used for the election, starting with the first round in June. Runoffs were held in all three districts, as no candidate managed to reach the 50% + 1 threshold.
Robert G. "Bob" Donovan is an American Republican politician from Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. He is a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Wisconsin's 84th Assembly district since January 2023. Following the 2024 redistricting, he has announced he will run for re-election in the redrawn 61st Assembly district. He previously served 20 years on the Milwaukee Common Council and was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor of Milwaukee in 2016 and 2022.