Daniel Bice
Paperwork is filed, but campaign never really started
All signs suggest Milwaukee Common Council President Ashanti Hamilton will not run for mayor.
Milwaukee Common Council President Ashanti Hamilton says all the right things when discussing a possible run for Milwaukee mayor.
But Hamilton doesn’t sound like a guy whose heart is in it.
Hamilton lacks what political insiders call the fire in his belly, the political passion and energy needed to galvanize a long-shot campaign to victory.
Yet that’s just one of several shortcomings with his tentative mayoral bid. Since filing his initial paperwork to run for mayor late last fall, his campaign has had more fizzle than sizzle.
“I think it’s fair to say it’s been underwhelming,” said one alderman.
On Tuesday, Hamilton said he will spend the next few weeks during the city’s August recess talking with advisers as he decides whether to challenge potentially vulnerable Milwaukee Mayor
Tom Barrett next spring.
“I’m fully in an analyzing position,” said the 46-year-old pol.
But, as with most things, actions speak louder than analysis. Consider this:
Since the beginning of the year, Hamilton has raised $85,000 for his mayoral campaign. Of that, two-thirds was the result of a transfer of funds from his aldermanic account. Hamilton has a balance of $68,000, with the primary a mere seven months away.
Not good.
By comparison, Barrett is sitting on $811,000 and Ald. Tony Zielinski — the third major candidate — has more than $574,000, most of which came from his own pocket.
Hamilton has shot a campaign ad, which is not public yet, and hired at least one campaign staffer. He has met with few business leaders. He’s held few fundraisers.
That has left many people unimpressed with Hamilton’s mayoral campaign.
“At best, it’s laughable,” said a city political type who backs Barrett. “At worst, it’s counterproductive to his long-term
political future.”
Even those close to Hamilton said they were disappointed with his effort so far. Some acknowledge they were hoping that he would have raised as much as $250,000 by this point.
That has some of Hamilton’s allies suggesting that he will soon be shuttering the nearly inert mayoral campaign.
Hamilton said this is just speculation. He said he is still exploring his options.
But the council president acknowledged he could have done more. He said he has not dedicated himself to raising money as he must if he runs. He said he would need a campaign budget of at least $1 million to take on Barrett.
That would mean immediately raising more than $100,000 a month from a business community that has grown used to writing checks to Barrett.
One business leader said this week that he has not heard from any corporate type who has sat down with Hamilton to discuss his mayoral bid.
So far, only one individual — Dennis Klein, former CEO of KBS Construction — has written Hamilton a maximum donation of $6,000. Three months later, Klein sent $5,000 to Barrett’s campaign.
For the most part, Hamilton said he has been busy with his day job as head of the Common Council. “A lot is going on in the city right now,” he said.
Besides, he noted that Barrett has yet to officially announce his bid for a fifth term, though he’s given every indication that he’s going to do just that. Hamilton said he doesn’t feel compelled just yet to make a formal declaration.
“He’s still got time to consider his options,” said H. Carl Mueller, a well-connected public relations executive and top Hamilton adviser. “He wants to do it.”
The Chris Abele factor
But inaction has consequences. At one point, it was assumed that Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele would dip into his vast political resources to help Hamilton. Abele is no longer the close ally with Barrett that he once was; the two are now more competitors than colleagues.
The day that Hamilton announced his interest in running for mayor last fall, he joined Abele and his girlfriend at their courtside seats for the Milwaukee Bucks.
But those close to Abele say it is more likely that he will simply sit out the race, especially after Hamilton posted such meager fundraising numbers. An official with Abele’s campaign did not return messages this week.
“Hamilton over-assumed Chris’ support,” said one official close to the county exec.
Yet it’s not like Barrett, who has won his last three races with at least 70% of the vote, doesn’t have his shortcomings.
Many business leaders don’t feel he has a vision for the city. The benefits of downtown have not trickled to the neighborhoods. Milwaukee remains a highly segregated city. And his administration was slow to respond to a childhood lead-poisoning crisis last year.
Asked whether he had the passion to take on the mayor, Hamilton said there are many things he feels strongly about.
“What I have fire in the belly about is the future of the city,” he said. “I really want to see this city pay attention to the neighborhood growth that we’re seeing in the downtown and to tackle some of the major issues that have been plaguing the city and its reputation.
“In whatever capacity that I can help do that in,” he added, “that’s what I’m going to do.”
Does that mean Hamilton would run for a fifth term as alderman if he ends up taking a pass on the mayor’s race? He said that was the plan.
“I’m not finished with public office,” Hamilton said. “That I know for sure.”