Operative aims at City Hall

Secretive group spends on mayor, council races

A secretive group led by a longtime conservative political operative has spent as much as $200,000 to influence Tuesday’s city elections, including the Milwaukee mayor’s race and key aldermanic contests.

And the group has done all this without disclosing its donors, detailing its spending or even registering with local, state or federal agencies.

Craig Peterson — a veteran GOP operative — said last week that his group, called Milwaukeeans for Self-Governance, has been involved in just about all of the 14 competitive Common Council races. Only one incumbent, Ald. Jim Bohl, isn’t facing a challenger.

Peterson insisted the group and others that he’s created are focused on improving conditions in Milwaukee, such as combating crime and improving job opportunities for city residents, especially African-Americans.

“We’re not registered with anybody because we don’t need to be,” Peterson said. “However, we are going to be around for a long time, so there may be multiple organizations.”

But the diverse slate of candidates backed by Peterson’s group doesn’t appear to have a single unified message or agenda — except possibly opposition to a Milwaukee streetcar — prompting some to wonder what Peterson is really aiming to achieve.

It’s not clear who is putting the money up for the sophisticated operation, which is underwriting radio ads, opposition research and detailed city polling. Peterson will say only that it receives funding from a “network of business

people.”

But one thing is certain: Peterson is out to upset the balance of power at City Hall.

“It really feels like we’re running against him, and not his so-called candidates,” said Ald. Bob Bauman, one of the veteran Common Council members targeted by Peterson’s forces.

Ald. Nik Kovac, who is being challenged by another Peterson-backed candidate, Shannan Hayden, said: “I would describe them as a cynical group of saboteurs from outside the city hoping that the city fails and hoping they can politically profit off that failure.”

Longtime player

Peterson, 54, has long been a player in Wisconsin politics, having been an active Republican for decades. He is the owner of the once-powerful Zigman Joseph Stephenson public relations firm.

But Peterson’s influence waned with the political downfall of his longtime ally, former Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen, a Town of Brookfield Republican who once was considered a likely gubernatorial candidate.

In 2006, Jensen was convicted of three misconduct in office felonies, sentenced to 15 months in prison and banished from the Capitol for five years. But those charges were dropped under a 2010 plea deal.

Peterson’s career hit bottom four years ago when he filed for bankruptcy, reporting more than $2.2 million in debts.

But he didn’t stay down for long.

In recent years, he has joined forces with Eric O’Keefe, a well-heeled conservative activist who helped lead the fight against a John Doe investigation by Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm into the political activity of a number of right-wing operations.

In an interview last week, Peterson said his amorphous group first became active when it helped Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. fend off a tough challenge in the 2014 primary.

It’s not clear to what extent Peterson’s group assisted the sheriff, though it paid for radio ads under the name Citizens for Urban Justice.

“Eric raised money for that campaign,” Peterson said. “And I spent the money. That’s another benefit to our relationship: He’s good at raising it; I’m good at spending it.”

The group ramped up its operations with the current City Hall elections.

“The crime rate, the issues with the police chief, the drug trade, the drug economy, it’s all issues that can be addressed,” said Peterson, who lives in River Hills. “But you have to have a mayor and the leadership in the Common Council that’s willing to tackle it.”

Group surfaced this year

Milwaukeeans for Self-Governance surfaced publicly when it began airing a series of radio ads this year.

Some spots — including one featuring convicted former Ald. Michael McGee Jr. — encouraged people to vote. Other ads by the group slammed Mayor Tom Barrett over increasing car thefts and his streetcar plans. Another radio spot, voiced by Clarke, warned about soaring crime in the city.

Describing his efforts, Peterson said Milwaukeeans for Self-Governance isn’t really an organization but a “conduit” to influence city politics.

Peterson praised Ald. Joe Davis, who was eliminated from the mayor’s race in the February primary election. The group’s ads critical of Barrett would now benefit Ald. Bob Donovan, who is challenging the mayor on Tuesday.

But Peterson’s real focus appears to be on the Common Council. He said he recruited some candidates while others came to him.

“Throughout the last year and a half, we’ve looked at folks who’ve had an interest in running for alderman. We’ve been involved in a majority of the races,” he said. “I’d say in some way, in some way, in almost every single race we have some involvement.”

Peterson said he provides strategic and fundraising advice to candidates, and he’s contributed financial resources to some of them. He added that the candidates he’s backing in Tuesday’s city elections like and support each other, unlike the current crop of city leaders.

“It’s like a dysfunctional family,” he said of City Hall. “People don’t like each other.”

Patrick Curley, Barrett’s chief of staff, bristled at Peterson’s description of City Hall as a troubled political institution.

Curley pointed out that the three-term Democratic mayor has introduced budget after budget, worked through the process and ultimately won the support of a majority of aldermen in the end.

“This idea that there’s some dysfunction is pure myth,” Curley said. “I just think bringing the rhetoric of Madison to Milwaukee City Hall is totally unjustified.”

Not just financial support

Peterson’s candidates see him as more than just a political sugar daddy.

“Listen, he’s been my Svengali,” said Ald. Mark Borkowski, an outspoken conservative and the newest member of the council.

Borkowski added that Peterson had no ulterior motive.

The two agree on a lot of issues, Borkowski said. Most notably, they share the concern that the mayor’s streetcar project will be bad for Milwaukee.

“This is not like some kind of takeover, or something like that. This is more in our eyes common sense,” Borkowski said.

Many of those targeted by Peterson think the lifelong conservative operative’s latest venture is about more than just the streetcar.

“The sense I get is this has nothing to do with public policy. This has all to do with partisan politics and the November election,” said Bauman, who faces a challenge from Monique Kelly, a Peterson-backed candidate.

Bauman said he thinks Peterson is trying to “drive a wedge” between people of color and white liberals in the hopes of “suppressing turnout” in this fall’s presidential election. In doing this, Bauman said, Peterson can help turn the state from blue to red.

He said it’s hard for aldermen to know how to combat this new source of dark money.

“In terms of transparency and accountability, there appears to be things taking place that would not have gone on even 10 years ago,” Bauman said.

Peterson said there is nothing nefarious afoot.

“It is out of the goodness of my heart,” Peterson said. “For my friends who really know me, know me well, they know that I’ve always had this incredible passion for the city of Milwaukee.”

Peterson said all the money comes from local sources, primarily downtown residents, and O’Keefe no longer plays a financial role but still serves as a sounding board for ideas. The group has spent “way over $100,000 . . . but under $200,000” on city races this cycle. He sees it as a counter to the Wisconsin Working Families Party, a union-backed operation led by Milwaukee County Supervisor Marina Dimitrijevic.

The group could form a political action committee or a nonprofit in the future, but for now, Peterson said he doesn’t need to register his group or his activities anywhere because it is doing “issue advocacy,” not promoting specific candidates.