Council votes to delay mayor’s cabinet selections
The Milwaukee Common Council voted unanimously Tuesday to send a series of Mayor Tom Barrett’s cabinetlevel appointments back to committee for further consideration.
Ald. Milele Coggs, who made the motion to further consider the appointments, said her intention was not to hold up the process for an extended length of time but rather for the council to reshape the city’s efforts to serve Milwaukee residents.
“The unrest we see across the globe is sparked by the death of an African American man, George Floyd in Minneapolis, who died as a white officer had his knee on his neck — or the many deaths of Black people at the hands of those charged with the responsibility to protect and serve,” she said.
She noted the protests in Milwaukee following Floyd’s death, saying “this is about more than much-needed police reform. It is about the quality of life for Black people in our city.”
Calling the times “transformative,” Coggs said the council must ensure that the cabinet-level appointees have clear plans to address the concerns the community has raised.
Ald. Russell Stamper II said he was looking for specific commitments on how the appointees would work with council members to change the status quo in the city.
“We are the leaders but we can’t do it without the partnerships of the commissioners, the supervisors, the managers and the staff,” Stamper said. “It’s too hard, it’s back and forth, it’s a lack of transparency.”
Right now, there is the time and the momentum to do more than solely reform the police, he said.
Sent back to committee were the appointments for city engineer, commissioner of the Department of Public Works, superintendent of Milwaukee Water Works, city purchasing director, director of the Department of Employee Relations, executive director of the city’s Election Commission and block grant director.
“Every individual I have nominated is committed to equity and racial justice throughout our city,” Barrett said in a statement in response to the council’s action. “We are eager to share with council members the work we have been doing and how we can work together to transform the city.”
The appointment of Claire WoodallVogg to head the city’s Election Commission to succeed retiring Election Commission Executive Director Neil Albrecht also attracted concern.
Coggs said she felt Woodall-Vogg hadn’t committed to specific outcomes in her committee hearing.
“At a time when there is great fear of potential voter disenfranchisement and various things like that, ‘I don’t want to over-commit’ is not something that I think the community will be satisfied with,” Coggs said.
Common Council members also expressed frustration with a late-night meeting hastily called last week to meet a midnight deadline to approve early voting sites for upcoming elections.
“I really do think we need an explanation as to how that happened and is that transaction indicative of what’s going to be going on for the next six months,” Ald. Robert Bauman said.
Woodall-Vogg did not immediately respond to an email Tuesday seeking comment.
The council also learned at the meeting that Election Commission Deputy Director Theresa Gabriel had resigned on Friday.
Among those concerned at the news was Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic, whose SafeVote program to mail information to households on how to register to vote and request an absentee ballot was unanimously adopted by the council Tuesday.
“We are in the middle of sending out hundreds of thousands of voter packets, and we need to have the most staff available to really implement this program,” Dimitrijevic said. “But at the same time, whoever is leading (the Election Commission) must state on the record what they’re going to do to change.”
With no deputy in place, she wanted to know what would happen if Albrecht were to retire before a successor had been confirmed.
The council is expected to quickly hold special meetings on the appointment.