Milwaukee Uncut
The podcast that brings you closer to the city of Milwaukee by highlighting entertaining, uncut stories from Milwaukee legends and uncovering the restaurants, bars, spots and events around the city you need to check out! Milwaukee Uncut is hosted by Richie Burke and produced by Story Mark Studios. Located in the heart of Walker's Point, our Milwaukee roots run deep.
Milwaukee Uncut
Milwaukee County Exec David Crowley’s Rise in Politics, leading MKE & running for Gov
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Making his second appearance on the show (and first in a while) it’s been a whirlwind last few weeks for our County Executive. On this episode we cover:
- His story, upbringing, and how he got into politics
- His semi-pro football stint
- Meeting his wife
- Favorite spots around Milwaukee & hobbies
- Why he got back into the race
- And more
You know, when somebody knocks you down, you got to get back up. You know, you got to stand your ground. And, you know, it right now I don't necessarily think I need to fight back because if you're attacking me, that lets me know that we're doing something good, right? That we are building some momentum. And so my my goal, my focus is on the people of Wisconsin.
SPEAKER_01Hey everyone, welcome back to Milwaukee on Co. We've got our county executive David Crowley back on the show for the second time. He is responsible for overseeing 19 municipalities in the area that consist of about a million people, and he manages a budget of well over a billion dollars a year. And you have probably noticed he is in the home stretch of the Wisconsin Democratic primary, which we got into a bit. This was recorded a week ago, and obviously things changed fast in that world, but we got to talk about his story, his upbringing, how he got into politics, including his semi-pro football stint, which I was unaware of. Talked about him meeting his wife, that was a good story, being a girl dad, favorite sponsor on Milwaukee, getting back in the race, and more. Before diving in, I'd like to thank our partners who make Milwaukee Uncle possible. We'll kick it off with Nicola, the Midwest law firm injured. Get Nicolay and Russ, and the team will take great care of you. Annex Wealth Management, if you're looking to get your finances in order, talk to our good friends at AnnexannexWealth.com. Know the difference. That's annexwealth.com. And last but not least, Drink Wisconsin We Beverage Company, best brandy vodka and canned cocktails in the game. Their cherry lime vodka canned cocktails, just absolutely phenomenal summer drink, and I I love their canned old fashioned year-round tab. I'm a big fan of those. Anyway, let's dive in with Milwaukee County exec, David Crowley. Hey everyone, welcome back to Milwaukee Uncut, making his second appearance on the show. First in a while, we got David Crowley, the youngest and first African-American Milwaukee County executive, been in the role for about six years now, responsible for nearly a million people across 19 different municipalities. He is a Milwaukee native, Milwaukee born and raised semi-pro football player in a past life. Just found that one out. We got to touch on that a little bit. And of course, he is a candidate for Wisconsin governor recently backed by Tony Evers, which was all over the news about a week ago. David, thanks for stopping in.
SPEAKER_00Always, always a pleasure. Thank you for having me on Marking Young Cut again.
SPEAKER_01Good seeing you. What was it like for you growing up in this city?
SPEAKER_00Man, it was uh it was like a tale of two cities. You know, um I know that we've had I had access to a lot of great things. My father was a master electrician, did everything that he could to provide for us. My mother was a Jane of all trades, so I'm lucky to have their love. And they taught me the value of hard work. But I also had a lot of struggles, right? My parents, they suffered from drug addiction, suffered from mental health. You know, we were evicted three times before I even graduated high school. And so while I was in high school, though, I found this youth development organization. It was called Urban Underground. And it taught me how to love myself, how to love my community, and it just changed my life. And that's how I got involved in community organizing. And, you know, growing up, I just wanted to have fun, right? I wanted to give back to my community and just make a name for myself because I think, you know, it's about the legacy that you leave on earth. And so for me, it was it was great growing up in the city of Milwaukee. I would not take back anything that happened in my past life.
SPEAKER_01Urban Underground, obviously, so your parents were addicts, you got evicted three times. Um were you on a bad path before? And then did Urban Underground kind of save you, or did you see what was going on and somehow be like, I don't want to end up this way?
SPEAKER_00Great question. So, yes and no, right? And you know, when I was a kid, I was you know, I was very insecure. So I was f I was a follower versus a leader until I found that program. And when I think about, you know, growing up, particularly, you know, started my first couple of years, first 10 years on 23rd in Burlot, then we moved off of 22nd in Brown. And, you know, I grew up there, and many of my kids, the kids that I grew up with, we used to do stupid stuff. You know, I remember my the very first eviction I look at as a blessing. Because two months after that eviction, you know, a bunch of my friends actually went to prison. And they went to prison because they ended up beating a man to death. Um the youngest person was about 10 years old, and the oldest was 17. Um and um the oldest, Marlon, uh, he was recently released back in actually 2020. Uh he spent a good chunk of his uh youth in prison. Um matter of fact, one of the ladies who was involved in that case, prosecuting those young people, still stood by his side the entire time he was in prison. And even when he was released, we were able to do some panels about, you know, how one particular decision can take you down a different path. And so, you know, he's had an incredible life, hard life. Um, but you know, we all had hard lives. And I'm just glad that Urban Underground literally pulled me up from my, you know, from the collar of my neck in a sense, and and put me on this path. But yeah, I was I used to do stupid stuff. I was hanging around the wrong crowds, and when I found Urban Underground as a junior in high school, that changed my entire life.
SPEAKER_01What did you do in that program?
SPEAKER_00So that program, it it it was a youth development organization program. And what I loved about it is that it wasn't like an adult-led program, it was a youth-led program, youth in partnership type of program. The first thing that I started learning about was teen domestic violence. It was the first thing we started organizing around because a uh young woman who went to tech high school while I was at Bayview High School was murdered by her boyfriend because she wouldn't wear her promise, uh, his promise ring. And so getting involved in there and understanding there was a lot more happening outside my neighborhood. A lot more happening outside the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County. And, you know, because of Urban Underground, I traveled across the country for the first time. I seen what success looked like outside of, you know, my father being a master electrician. Uh and so what I what I learned at an early age is that it's hard to uh aspire to be something that you have never seen before. And so I have lived my life and understanding that I want to give back to this community and show what the possibilities really are.
SPEAKER_01And then you ended up going to college very briefly. Yeah. And then did you become an electrician after that or go straight into politics? And you were playing some semi-pro football. Semi-pro football, even though you did not play in high school.
SPEAKER_00I did not play in high school. So there's a whole story on that. So I didn't play in high school, right? Because I had a I have I've always had a summer job since I was in eighth grade. Right? My dad told me you got to get a job. I did lawn maintenance and I worked that job starting the summer of my eighth grade year until I graduated high school. And they wanted me to play football. I was a fast runner, I was very strong, I could jump really high. And I wasn't ready to give up my summer job, you know, because that was how I was buying my clothes, buying my shoes in order for me to go to school. Because my, you know, when I got my first job, my dad said, This is all on you. And so he taught me responsibility at a very early age. Um, I mean, we still joke about it right now about, you know, the fact that he made me pay rent. Um, he gave me the money back uh once I graduated high school, but it taught me to take care of my responsibilities and things of that nature. Um but graduated high school, I had three, three options. I thought I was gonna go to Alcorn State, right? Wanted to leave the state, go to college. Um interesting enough, during that time, my mother did not want to fill out my FACSA forms. And that's because she was afraid for me to leave home. Because for her, having her boys at home was the most important thing because that's what her identity was, especially during some of the roughest times of her life. So I didn't go to Arcorn. So I decided, okay, let me go into the police cadet program. And I was going through the police cadet program while I was in Urban Underground. I started a community justice program. And we were teaching people their rights and responsibilities when encountering police, whether they were in their homes, you know, on the streets or within their car. And I got to the third interview for the police cadet program and decided I didn't want to do that. And so that's when I joined AmeriCorps, became a public ally. My first job was working at Project Return, helping ex-offenders find employment and housing. And I started playing football. Um, a good friend of mine, uh, Ricky, Ricky Rodriguez, uh, he lives now in North Carolina, but he recruited me to come play football because we used to play basketball together. He was like, man, you stocky, you short, you strong, and you could jump real high. Man, you should come play with us. And I'm, you know, I'm thinking, all right, let's do it. So I played running back, I played wide receiver, and I played cornerback. And I played corner more than anything because everybody thought that they could throw the ball over me, but I jumped so high that it, you know, I was a good defender. Um, but I did that for three years, played for the Markey uh Rough Riders, played for uh the Milwaukee Predators and the Menominee Fall uh Panthers and had a great time. And the reason why I stopped playing, even though I love the sport, didn't have health insurance. And I remember one time going to talk to our kicker at the time, who happened to be a doctor, because I was asking him about my knee problem, about some knee problems, and he said, Oh man, you just got a little bit of tendinitis. You should go see your provider. Who's your insurance? What insurance do you have? And I remember talking to him and I said, Well, I don't have insurance. And he looked at me other say and said, Uh, you probably shouldn't be playing this sport without insurance. And no lie, a week later, two of my friends who played on two different teams, towards ACL, one towards MCL, and that's when I decided that I was not going to play football moving forward.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you would have had to take his job as the kicker. Oh, man. Maybe. Maybe.
SPEAKER_00Hey, man, but that's still a dangerous uh position, too.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it couldn't be. Not as much as running back and corner. You're getting you're guaranteed a lot of hits. Oh, absolutely. As running back. Did you hoop in high school at all?
SPEAKER_00I played, I played basketball. I did play basketball in at Bayview High School.
SPEAKER_01You can't really do lawn maintenance in the winter in Milwaukee.
SPEAKER_00No, no. I mean, we did a lot of uh fall cleanup, but basketball is my that's my number one sport. Played a lot of soccer in high school, a lot of, I mean, excuse me, in middle school, baseball and middle school, but when it comes down to basketball, that that was my first love. Are you still out there? Every once in a while. Every once, you know, every once in a while. I haven't been I haven't been at the Milwaukee Athletic Club in a while, especially since I've been on the campaign trail. Uh, but I have to get back out there. That's that's that's not just for my physical uh refuge, but my mental refuge. And so when you're out there connecting with the people you're you're playing ball with, you know, it just does this just does something to me. And so um I can't wait to get back out there. But but everybody's trying to get me either to the Mac or on Sunday nights out in uh in Glendale.
SPEAKER_01So good for you. I I stopped playing in my mid to late 20s. I think it was mid-to-screen.
SPEAKER_00Why is that?
SPEAKER_01Because my my numbers were dwindling. I'd go like three for nine in a league game, put up seven points and be sore for the next three days. And at some point I just had to say, is it really worth it? And I missed the competition and the guys out there, but uh yeah, I wasn't providing too much value to the team anymore, and my soreness was just skyrocketing. I think it hit me early though.
SPEAKER_00Hey, man, we should be.
SPEAKER_01It seemed like a better athlete.
SPEAKER_00Right now, I'm I'm probably good for just the first two games, and then I'm just out there to take up space.
SPEAKER_01So, um, how how did you get into politics?
SPEAKER_00Wow, that's uh that's a great question. So I never thought about politics before. So being a part a part of AmeriCorps Urban Underground, I just did community organizing. And I had bounced around from job to job. So after I was done with AmeriCorps, I worked for Children's Outing Association, COA on Bur Live, a teen coordinator there uh for almost a year. And I got recruited to be a community organizer for the Northside YMCA, and then from there was recruited to do some more community organizing for uh community um partners, safe and sound. And I randomly got a call from former alderman Joe Davis, and he was talking to me about there was an opportunity to work for former United States Senator Russ Feingold. And so, first thing I did is I started calling my family about this opportunity. Like, what do you think about this job? Uh, because I like to, you know, go test the waters, talk to the folks around me. And what was ironic is about this entire story, even with me running for governor, is that, you know, my mother and my aunt started calling me Governor Crowley when I was six years old. And it wasn't because they thought I would be involved in politics, but it was because every time we had a family gathering, every time we had a family picnic, I was always taking care of the family. I was, you know, making up plates, taking out the garbage, or trying to do dishes at a really early age. So I was always trying to serve. And it wasn't governor because they thought that like I was going to be elected, it was because of some old show that they seen a butler that used to be like governor. And so that's what they called me. And so when I remember calling my younger cousin to get his thoughts, um, and uh, you actually may know him, uh, Joe Brown, who used to be the uh in-game host for the Milwaukee Bucks, and I remember giving him a call and he said, Well, how else are you gonna become governor? And I was like, Well, that's a good question. So I got involved in politics and so started working for Russ, and I quickly learned that I was really good at the job and fell in love with the work and met a lot of elected officials to where a politician, once those uh those campaigns ended, called me out the blue and said, Hey, I want you to come work for me. And when I started working for, you know, Nakia Hairs Dodd as a county board supervisor, as well as a state senator, Richie, I want to be honest. That's when I said to myself, I would never run for office. You know, I actually see how this works. Uh, but I got bit by that bug. And and for me, it was about, you know, understanding where I come from. You know, it's a blessing. It's a great opportunity to be in a position to run for office and and and lend your voice to the solutions and knowing that you represent a particular population that doesn't always have a seat at the table, there's no reason why I shouldn't do this. And so um, I was compelled um to actually run for office because I felt that I had one of the best voices to represent a community that has seen so much disinvestments in Milwaukee County.
SPEAKER_01And you got health insurance, I'm guessing. I I got health insurance. You did not get back on the field.
SPEAKER_00I did not get no, man. I mean, this it when you once you're involved in in community work and politics, I mean, this it's not a job. Yeah, right? This is like a lifestyle. And this is, you know, everything that I do, I gotta ask for permission for for my wife and kids to do because they're serving along with me.
SPEAKER_01So um, county executive, you came out of nowhere to win that election, essentially. What was what was that like? Do you want to speak at all on that? Was it did Abley kind of decide not to rerun?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so it was his 20 2019. This is 2019, right? And so I'm serving in the state legislature, and I want to say maybe May of June. He was already gearing up for his campaign. He announced his campaign, he built his campaign team out. Matter of fact, I actually endorsed him earlier that summer. And, you know, so I'm just going through the motions of doing what I have to do as a state rep, supporting candidates that I want to win, you know, the next election around. And so around October, I want to say October, September, he makes the decision to not run anymore. And that caught everybody by surprise. And so I started receiving all these calls from folks all across Milwaukee County.
SPEAKER_01When's the election?
SPEAKER_00So he's he's he stepped out about September, October, the election, the primary is in February. Oh, this is like turnaround. This is like four to six month sprint to this election. And people are asking me to get in this race, and I'm second guessing, like, okay, I don't know if I have the infrastructure. I'm not sure if we have, you know, the network to do this. But I'm getting a lot of these phone calls. So I remember actually heading out to Philadelphia. I was there for a a state conference representing the state of Wisconsin, and I probably spent the entire time um going back and forth between the conference and all these calls about me getting into this race. And that's when I decided, all right, I'm gonna leap before I look. I'm just gonna get into this race. And I remember on November November 4th, um, announcing me running for this seat, and November 5th, my youngest daughter was born the next day. And so when I tell you, it was a whirlwind of events for me and my wife. Um, it absolutely was, but you know, the amount of support that we received, and then we win the the February primary, and as you can imagine, I remember doing our debate uh for the county executive race, going into the general, and the the night of our debate is when uh COVID shut everything down. It was the night of our debate. We did our debate, and every after that, it was stay home. And so that changed the entire paradigm when it came down to this election. But we had to continue to focus on winning this race. You know, we didn't stop working. Instead of knocking on doors, we made phone calls to voters. Um, we continued to raise the dollars, and we won the election by just over 1%. And I still remember the fact that during that time, we had five polling locations open in the city of Milwaukee. People literally stood in line two to three hours at a time to make sure that they were able to cast their ballot, make their voice be heard. And I truly appreciate all of you uh who came out during that time because it was a very critical moment.
SPEAKER_01How surprised were you or were you not?
SPEAKER_00Um I I I absolutely was surprised. You know, I mean, I mean, anytime you're you're running for a major seat, whether it's county executive or running for governor, like you don't know what's going to happen. You don't know, you know, the polls say one thing. You don't necessarily know what you what you need to do moving forward. Um and so I was very surprised, you know, especially with the fact that we had we had never elected, you know, someone as young as me. We had never elected a person of color in this seat. Um, but I'm glad that I earned the trust, I earned the support of so many Milwaukeeans, Milwaukee County folks, uh, that we were able to not only win this election, but do great work since then.
SPEAKER_01What was your biggest surprise when you actually got the job and got into it?
SPEAKER_00The biggest surprise, honestly, a global pandemic. I mean, we haven't had one of these in over 100 years. And so when you're in office and you're up against a global pandemic, you're just wondering, damn, um what are we supposed to do?
SPEAKER_01And the When did you take office exactly?
SPEAKER_00May 4th.
SPEAKER_01So the pandemic happened in March. March, everything should have been.
SPEAKER_00And honestly, I shouldn't say I shouldn't say that because I was sworn in May 4th, right? So the state Supreme Court ordered, even though the election was on April 7, 2020, the or they ordered every clerk uh the clerk of Milwaukee County that they couldn't open up the ballots because they needed to allow absentee ballots to come in because the the mail was delayed so bad. So we didn't know who won the election until April 13th. And so if you think election day, the day itself, is stressful, imagine election day lasting an entire week. And so April 13th, we find out that I'm the winner. Uh Chris Abeley, the current county executive at the time, calls me up that night and says, I need you to come in tomorrow. And I'm like, but I don't get sworn in until May 4th. I don't start getting paid until, you know, I need to figure out how we're going to transition. And I remember him saying on that phone, he said, David, I'm not making any decisions that's going to affect you in the middle of this pandemic. You need to come in tomorrow. So I actually started working April 14th, 414 day of 2020. Started doing everything that we could, start getting things in place so we can make the best decisions in the middle of a pandemic, even though I wasn't sworn in probably 25 days or something days later.
SPEAKER_01Was that a seems like a good thing of him? I know you had to work for free for a little bit, but you probably learned a lot from him that few weeks.
SPEAKER_00I mean, I absolutely did. I mean, and not just it wasn't necessarily learning from him per se, because I did, but it was learning from the staff that was dealing with everything, right? Because those are your frontline workers. They're seeing everything. You're at now, you're connecting with all of your essential workers. And during that time, I made it a point to actually come in every single day starting on April 14th. And for me, it was, you know, I'm the executive, right? I set the tone for Milwaukee County. I can't ask our essential workers to come in and then I'm not showing up to work. And so I wanted them to see my face and literally see me in the place doing the work itself to let them know that I had their back and I was willing to support them in any capacity.
SPEAKER_01And a lot of people don't know exactly what the county executive does and is responsible for and what they're not responsible for. Do you want do you want to clarify that for the for the audience?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so so we only have about 14 county executives across the entire state. And so you have county boards, which is the legislative body. And as the executive, I am the executive branch of the county board. And so here in Milwaukee County, as the county executive, I am in charge of a $1.4 billion budget. We own and operate the Milwaukee County Zoo, the Mitchell International Airport, all of the Milwaukee County parks, the parks all across Milwaukee County, as well as about 13 municipal-owned golf courses. We have hundreds of miles of trail space across Milwaukee County. When you think about South Shore, uh South Shore Beach, Bradford Beach, that's all under the county's purview. But health and human services. When you think about mental health and health and human service needs with the Marsha Peacock Center, that's under our purview. The King Center on the north side, the Casiesco Center on the South Side is under our purview. Everybody likes to call it a city bus, but it's actually the county bus, and that's also under our purview, as well as paratransit. We're the only county in the state of Wisconsin that's actually responsible for a prison, which is the community reintegration center. We also set the budget for the sheriff's office, and we're responsible for the support systems within the Milwaukee County Courthouse. And so there's a lot that we do that people don't know. But, you know, folks will say, well, you need to fix the roads. Well, there's only certain roads that the county is actually responsible for. Majority of the roads are actually city roads, municipal roads, but we also have certain highways, state highways within Milwaukee County, right? And so when you think about Fond du Lac, that's technically a state highway. When you think about Capitol Drive or I believe Mitchell and uh Mitchell Street, right? Those are state highways, and those are actually the state's responsibility. But counties are extensions of the state. And so when you think about programs that the state actually uh sir uh provides, it's actually us as the at the county level that actually implement those services.
SPEAKER_01We're wondering what are some of the weirdest updates or complaints that you that you have received as the Milwaukee County executive over the last six years? Oh man. I mean, I'm sure I'm sure they happen on you know a weekly, if not a daily basis, but have there been a few that were just way out there or caught you off guard.
SPEAKER_00Oh man, well, I won't always want to, you know, one thing is everybody always asks me about all of the the bump outs um and and and some of the traffic calming measures, which many of them I support, but we're not responsible for that as the county. Um there are folks who come to me and say, well, we need to make all the the all the buses free. And I always respond, well, how do we do that when if we don't have the money? Uh because we need the revenue to continue, you know, because the state isn't providing, you know, the necessary resources for us to provide uh the support that we need. Um or uh or that I need to do something about the sheriff's office. And many people, and this is this is a you know, one myth that I want folks to understand is that, you know, people say that, well, we need to get control of the sheriff's budget. And I absolutely agree, but what many folks don't know is that the constitutional officers outside of the county executive's office has a blank check. And what that means is that no matter how much money the sheriff spends, uh county clerk spends, the election clerk spends, I have no choice but to pay the bill. And so if we budget hypothetically $10 million to be spent on a particular budget, let's say the sheriff's department, and they spend $15 million, I have to find the other five million to put towards that.
SPEAKER_01And so we have to actually budget why do they have an a blank check in like I'm assuming the parks do not?
SPEAKER_00The parks do not, right? And the reason that is is because that's written within the state constitution that no matter what, if a constitutional officer goes over budget, it's a county executive or a county board in other places that don't have a county executive, they still have to pay the bill and find a way to do it.
SPEAKER_01Interesting.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01There has been, you know, a bunch has been said about the park's budget being and resources going down over the years. Is there anything that um you're trying to do to combat that at all or some of these other budgets?
SPEAKER_00Well, we we've been doing a lot. The earned media, I mean, excuse me, the uh earned revenue that we have been able to generate through our parks has been phenomenal. So every time you, you know, you come to one of our golf courses, that money goes right back into our parks. Uh but it's not just our golf courses, our beer gardens, right? We know that's a huge attraction. A lot of people like to go to South Shore or go to Juneau Park or go to one of go to the traveling beer garden, which we have a great partnership with Sprecker Brewing with. And that helps to go right back into the parks. Um, but we we are facing, you know, major deficits right now because we have not been able to keep up with uh the pace of inflation. You know, we know that there has been past administrations that have made very dumb decisions that we are paying the price for now. Like, for example, many people don't know that, you know, our former uh county executive Scott Walker ran up a $400 million uh credit card and actually put that on people's property tax bills in order to save, you know, county dollars towards the pension. And that's why we needed to pass Act 12 to save more money and actually provide that property tax relief, which will be paid off uh within the next two years or three years, uh if I'm not mistaken. And so we have to one continue to develop the partnership with the state level. The state is almost dead last when it comes down to investments in public spaces, in parks, in recreation, and not just here in Milwaukee County, but for all communities. And so if you like to, you know, if you like outdoor activities, it's extremely important to lobby your state representative or your state senator or the next governor to make sure that we're making those incredible investments. But we're taking a holistic view to make sure that we can bring in more revenue, but we want to be creative. We want to be as innovative as possible to make sure that we're not creating any undue burden on Milwaukee County residents.
SPEAKER_01And uh, what are what are you most proud of that you accomplished as county executives so far? And and what are some of your biggest hurdles that you haven't been able to get over?
SPEAKER_00Uh so we haven't we haven't felt the effects yet, but you know, getting Act 12 done for Milwaukee County was extremely huge. And this is gonna get a little wonky, but getting that done allowed us to not only uh create shared revenue reform, it brought in more revenue to where our pension, which is you know, which didn't get fixed until 25 years later after the scandal happened, our pension now will be fully funded in the next 15 years. So in 15 years, you're gonna see a huge drop-off as far as what we're paying into the pension, right? And we did a soft freeze moving new hires into a much stronger pension system with WRS. And because and you couple that with even the brewer's deal that we got done, that's gonna provide even more financial flexibility in the upcoming years. And so we may not feel it right now, but people are gonna say, wow, how do we how do we save so much money? Why do we have more money than we ever had before? Um, the other thing is that we've changed the perception of leadership here in Milwaukee County across the entire state, to where we've been able to build relationships with Democrats, with independents, with Republicans, and people who don't care about politics, quite frankly, and now believe that we're rolling in the right direction. And the other thing that I would say is that, you know, we've done great work around housing, we've done great work around mental health. But what I want to continue, what I want to tackle right now is the immediate assistance that we need. But that's going to require, right, not just having a good governor, but making sure that we got state representatives, state senators that understands that municipalities across the state has not been getting its fair share and it's been getting the short end of the stick. And so we have to provide relief right now because we know that there are residents desperate. And with the many holes that we're going to see in our budget because of the decisions that have been made in Washington, D.C., it's going to be very difficult to make sure that none of our vulnerable residents fall through the cracks. And so we need to strengthen that partnership because we have a responsibility to our entire community.
SPEAKER_01And what are a few of the things that you've really been proud of?
SPEAKER_00Proud of, man, um, you know, having the lowest unsheltered homeless count, right, per capita in any community in the entire country. You know, we we ranked number one in 2024 and we ranked number two just last year. And I think that's extremely important for us. Um, the other things that I'm I'm really proud of is that we created the first strategic plan. And so we're not just flying, you know, from the seat of our parents anymore. We're being very intentional. And when I say being intentional, we're measuring our success so we can hold ourselves accountable and making it public-facing with all the different dashboards that we've created. Uh, we've been leading in the community violence interruption space to where we have helped reduce violent crimes here in the city of Milwaukee and across Milwaukee County. And we've been able to work with, you know, uh community-based organizations and provide opportunities for folks. We've created thousands of jobs for community members, you know, because of affordable housing. And right now we're on a trajectory of making the largest capital investment in Milwaukee County history if we're able to rebuild this courthouse in the same footprint so we can deliver justice on time and take care of our residents.
SPEAKER_01Um, I want to get into a few Milwaukee questions, but I got to ask you about the race right now. Has this been the craziest last couple weeks of your life?
SPEAKER_00Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01How are you doing?
SPEAKER_00You couldn't write this. You know, it's this has been a whirlwind uh uh for me. I mean, it was a difficult decision to get out of this race, and it was a difficult decision to get back into this race.
SPEAKER_01Let's start there. What was it like to get out of it? You put you invest almost a year of time in in into this every day, essentially, just pounding the pavement. There's ups and downs, and then yeah, you get you pull the plug on something.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean And then you don't. You plug it back in. And uh, you know, so my my thought process during that time was like based off of the data and the facts that we had, it looked, you know, it was like, okay, there's there that this path doesn't seem like it's viable for me. And so, you know, for me, it was like, okay, I'm putting my ego aside, and I feel like I need to get out and and suspend this campaign and support the best candidate that was out there. But as you can imagine, we got so much more information every single day to where we learned that the information, the data that we had was actually false. And so, and even though we learned that it we learned that it was false, we didn't learn it was false until the lieutenant governor actually dropped out. And I had conversations with her twice before she dropped out, the Sunday before she dropped out and that Thursday, right?
SPEAKER_01Which was the night before.
SPEAKER_00Which is the night before. And I had no indication that she was gonna drop out of this race. So I find it hilarious when people say, Oh, y'all been, y'all been cooking this up. And I'm like, if we was cooking this up, I would have gotten an endorsement a long time ago. And I wouldn't, this wouldn't have actually happened, you know. But me and my wife, you know, we were an absolute no. You know, uh, we booked a vacation to Jamaica, we did all these different things, but we just kept getting these calls. And, you know, my me and my wife were big believers, and so we we we decided to pray. And when we prayed, you know, we were given, we were, we were given a vision, and then and and and and and God pretty much answered us, and that's when we felt that we needed to answer the call and get back into this race. But Richie, one thing I will tell you and tell all of the listeners, though, there's one thing that I learned in the past two weeks, which is extremely important. Buy travel insurance. So I'm supposed to be leaving on the 30th of July, no longer leaving because we didn't buy travel insurance.
SPEAKER_01So uh Are you happy to be back then?
SPEAKER_00I am happy to be back in. I and and it has been, I've been re-energized. Um, there's been a lot of excitement, a lot of momentum that's been growing in this campaign. And I'm not just happy to be back in. What was important is my wife being happy because I can't decide to run for office if my wife isn't in, if my daughters isn't in this, because you don't run by yourself. There, you know, my wife, I call her my better three-quarters because when she's now on a campaign trail with me, she's at work, she's at home, she's making sure that the girls are taken care of. And so, you know, I called her my better three-quarters because that's exactly who she is. And um, you know, it's it's it's been great. It has literally been great. Don't get me wrong, it's it doesn't take away the stress of running for governor. Um, but uh I have a whole different level of energy for the next couple of weeks and looking forward to not just getting through this primary, but ultimately winning in November.
SPEAKER_01You guys have uh two daughters together, one stepdaughter. How did you guys meet?
SPEAKER_00So I have a friend uh named Abra, and she used to, she was, she lived in a neighborhood I used to do community organizing in. And I remember back in 2014, is the year I met my wife, um, and she said she wanted to hook me up with someone. And my wife used to volunteer for a magazine. So Abra decides that she's going to nominate me to be interviewed in this magazine. And um the the nomination was for my style, and I was just like, I don't know if that's necessarily, you know, the nomination. I was, I mean, I'm you know, I've you know, I got my bad bunnies on, and you know, and so so we ended, so I remember calling her up and said, you know what, let's let's meet to do this interview. And that took her back because she's like, I've never met anybody in person to do this interview. So on April 16th, 2014, we met at the Starbucks at Midtown. And and I still remember, you know, I was sitting there waiting for her, and when she walked in, it was like she was just gliding in, right? Like she was just floating in, just this beautiful young woman in her heels, very put together. And I'm just so she got dolled up for the interview. She got dolled up for the interview. This was interesting. The interview lasted 45 minutes, but she stayed an extra two hours. Oh, wow. And um, so that's when I knew I was like, all right, this this is this is working a little bit. And so we we chatted, and when and I remember, so we became we became friends first. And like the first four months we were hanging out just with all of our friends together, and I'm talking to her and said, hey, we should start dating. And my wife said, dating? She said, You're gonna have to court me first. And I'm like, oh. I didn't do that the whole time. I didn't do this the entire time. So maybe like, so maybe like eight months into it, maybe we're we're now dating. And you know, and so uh I I uh ended up proposing to her, it was in 2014, we started dating early 2015, and we spent a lot of time together. And I proposed to her actually the day before Thanksgiving in 2015. And I remember, you know, when I first I first the first office I ran for was actually city council and I lost that race. And I had proposed to her before then, but I knew that was the one for me because I had to take a leave of absence, and even though we didn't live together, my wife paid all of my bills as my girlfriend. And that's when I knew that she was the one. And when I lost that race, we ended up having a secret wedding. We got married two years to the date that we met. So we got married April 16th, 2016. And we actually we had a secret wedding, only our siblings and parents knew about it. We thought we were gonna have our wedding a year after, because you know, we're just we're just in entry-level workers. We weren't making a lot of money to actually invest in a in a wedding. So we're gonna have our wedding, you know, in 2017. In the midst of 2016, running for a state representative, uh my wife found out that she was pregnant. And my wife was adamant, I am not going to be a pregnant bride. And I was like, okay. So now we gotta make that dreadful phone call and start telling everybody that we got married. And I remembered that, but we had a plan. I told my wife, we gotta be strategic about this. And she said, What do you mean? I said, people are gonna be upset when they find out that we're married. But we have to tell them that we have a baby right away after that, and they'll forget about everything else before then. And I remember calling folks, and when we called my family and started telling them we were married, oh, absolutely everybody was upset, you know. But we always waited a minute to let them, you know, vent and tell us how we, you know, how upset they were, and then we said, well, we're having a baby.
SPEAKER_01On the same phone call.
SPEAKER_00On the same phone call. And we say, We're having a baby. And then us being married did not matter anymore. And so everybody is and so like just not shut it, right? Yeah. And so we've been together ever since, celebrated 10 years of marriage uh back in April. Um, and uh we've been doing great. We've been doing great. And when I say that, like, you know, there's no way I could do this work, I'm you know, every decision when it when I know that I'm going to be taking my time, more time away from my home, if my wife is not okay with it, I'm not doing it.
SPEAKER_01And you got you got two, two, less than two weeks left. I think 13 days. I think you're hitting the trail with Evers soon.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01You got that endorsement. How how how are you feeling right now?
SPEAKER_00I'm feeling good, man. I'm feeling really good. I mean, to, you know, when I think about Governor Evers, I mean, for the past eight years, he has been not just the best damn goalie that we've needed, you know, in the in the in the state capitol, but you know, seeing how he is governed, right? He's run statewide. And to have his endorsement lets me know he has confidence in my leadership, confidence in my judgment, confidence that we can reach people across the political spectrum, no matter where you lay to build the necessary coalition, not just to win, but to make sure that we're pushing policies that benefit everybody in the state of Wisconsin. So, you know, to have the governor's support means a lot. Uh, but it that doesn't mean it's going to be a cakewalk, right? You can get all the endorsements that you want. You can get all the labor unions that you want. You can get, you know, elected officials and community members, but you still have to put in the hard work to earn every single vote. And that's what I plan to do.
SPEAKER_01Um you've had to deal with a lot the last couple weeks. There have been attacks, things that came out, you know, down a bit in the polls. How do you mentally is that difficult? Do you block it out? Do you get rattled by it? Do you keep pushing forward? Like I give a lot of credit to you and anyone who takes on running for a public office. It's it's brutal.
SPEAKER_00It is a full contact, it's like similar pro football.
SPEAKER_01You got some experience without insurance.
SPEAKER_00You know, um, and and and I mean it's a full contact sport. And and I always tell people, even if you want to sit on the sideline, doesn't mean you won't get hit. Right. And so, like, it it's it's difficult, you know, and you gotta be headstrong. You know, I don't have a huge ego, but you have to have some level of an ego in order to run for these seats. Um, but you know, I was taught the value of not just hard work and resilience, but I was taught, you know, when somebody knocks you down, you got to get back up. You know, you got to stand your ground. And, you know, it right now I don't necessarily think I need to fight back because if you're attacking me, that lets me know that we're doing something good, right? That we are building some momentum or taking away support from others. And so my my goal, my focus is on the people of Wisconsin. I'm not in this race focused on these other candidates because I'm not running against any of them. I'm running for the voters. I'm running for each individual vote that is out there. And so there may be candidates, there may be outside groups who are going to attack me, but also understand they're attacking me because they want to bring me down, because they rather focus on the candidates that they want to win. I mean, right now we have the Republicans Governors Association spending more money than all of us combined have raised in this primary, right? To prop a particular candidate of their choice. But I'm focused on the policies that that allows the tide to rise and all the boats to rise. I'm focused on the policies that cuts across, you know, geographical and political lines. I am focusing on, you know, young people and making sure they get access, you know, to opportunities to succeed and thrive themselves and making sure that our older adults can age and live with dignity. And so, you know, for me, I let it roll off my chest. Sometimes it may you may get to me, but that's when I go home and I have a little nightcap with some good whiskey or bourbon or tequila.
SPEAKER_01So speaking of uh Milwaukee show, where are your favorite spots to around the city to uh either have dinner or get some whiskey or bourbon or tequila? Where where are you going?
SPEAKER_00So it's two spots for tequila that I like to go to. Um you have a place called La Pina?
SPEAKER_01Right down the road. Right down the road. That's a great spot. Have you ever had their tequila old-fashioned there?
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. That thing is good. Absolutely. Actually, I've been ordering tequila old-fashioned so people look at me crazy and go, really? You're in Wisconsin. But I always say it's like summer in the glass. So I would always recommend.
SPEAKER_01Do you know Michael Shepard? Yeah, no Shepherd. We call him we call him SimGod because he um installed a expensive simulator in his house and was talking shit to us all winter and still can't really perform on a real course. So we started calling him SimGod or SimGadder. Sim E G, but Sim Sim Sim Simmer. Well, he was the first guy I saw ordering to be able old fashioned. And I mean, he he's good, he's got some good qualities to him. So I'd uh let me tell. A couple sips of it and then I love those things.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yeah. I mean Central Standard Distillery, good spot to go to.
SPEAKER_01Where else other than La Pina are you going for?
SPEAKER_00For tequila, uh Blue Bat. Bluebat, that's another good spot.
SPEAKER_01Their chips are really good too.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, oh, they got some good food. They got good food. They got some good food. Now, if I want a good steak, um, good steak, I always go to Carnivore. That is my my wife's favorite restaurant.
SPEAKER_01Omar gets too much love on this show.
SPEAKER_00Or if we're going to get some Italian food, then we're heading to uh Gino Spot. Um uh Wama Blake on the name Calderon Club. Calderon Club. And so my wife is a big pasta, she loves pasta, so we go down there a lot. Um but I am open. But I will also encourage everybody to go down uh to the the new spirits spot that we just opened up, MKE uh spirits. And so this is actually inside the airport. And so we are now showcasing uh local spirits all across the state of Wisconsin so people can actually bring these spirits back at home whenever they're uh local uh utilizing our local hometown.
SPEAKER_01Well, I went in there, I was at the airport the other day. Yeah, you got the local brands. Yeah, the drink Wisconsinably branded in there, which is that's some good stuff too.
SPEAKER_00Oh yeah. And the crazy thing is that, you know, if people want to bring more to take with them, they can buy their luggage there and actually, you know, go to baggage claim right there. Um, and so we want to continue to promote that. But you know, Wisconsin, we got a lot to offer. And I think that there's there's a lot of hidden gems, right? And there's a lot of people say, Oh, there's not enough to do. And if you when you say there's not enough to do, that means you have not gone to search out anything in Milwaukee County because there's so much, so many other things.
SPEAKER_01Are there any other hit hidden spots you love? It doesn't need to be food or drink related, but it could be.
SPEAKER_00Oh. Well, you know, I I love a good golf course, you know, and I would tell people, you know, if if you like golf golfing, definitely head down to Dretzka. It's the first golf course that I I got an opportunity to to learn. Um, another good spot that I like to go to is South Shore, uh South Shore Beach.
SPEAKER_01The uh I jumped in the lake there today.
SPEAKER_00Oh, did you?
SPEAKER_01I do that. I like cold, but uh the water's not too cold now, but yeah, it's 10 minutes. It's um it's it's healthier than having one of those energy drinks that wakes me right up. So I hope so. That beer garden's phenomenal too. And that's what I like to do. I did not get one of those this morning. Well, I hope I hope you're not doing that and jumping in the lake. Speaking of proposal, that's where I propose debris. Right for a park. Yeah. There you go. A year and a half ago, we need to start wedding planning. Now we're a little behind on that. But yeah, that's a fantastic. You guys do a great job with the the parks and the beer gardens and the golf courses.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we do.
SPEAKER_01Milwaukee County, the great county courses.
SPEAKER_00And then, you know, the other thing, I'm a big sports guy. So if I can get to a brewer's game or a Bucks game, like that's my highlight. You know, I love this, I love to watch sports all day, every day.
SPEAKER_01Did you get to meet Giannis at all or spend any time with him as the county exec? And do you have any good story with those guys?
SPEAKER_00Um, I mean, the first time that I met him, we were uh we were recognizing the work that him and Mariah was doing. You're all across the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County, uh, because they were great partners. They were just great citizens because they gave back to this community. And I think that was at his restaurant, Avley, uh Avily. Uh and uh the funniest thing is I remember taking a picture with him, right? And I was standing on a platform, and so I was just above his eyes, and everybody looked and said, You're not that tall. Um, and so that was the first time that we met. And then the second time, or we met a few different times, but the last time was when we were actually honoring uh Peter Fagan. Um, when he was uh, you know, he was stepping down as the president, and I got a time to I got a chance to see Giannis again, and you know, like, yeah, I've met Giannis before, and like I'm like, he doesn't know who I am. And I remember him after taking pictures and talking briefly to him, he doubled back as I was getting uh ready to leave, and he came up to me and said, Hey man, I just want to tell you how much I appreciate you and what you're doing for the county. I was like, oh, oh, you do know me. But I've had, I mean, I've had great opportunities, right? And I remember when when Dame Lillard got traded, and I got a chance to actually be the first one to greet Dame Lillard when he first came to Milwaukee and meeting him and his family, and you know, that was that was great. And you know, and I've been a seasoned ticket holder with the for the Bucks for you know six years. And so for me, you know, it's not just it's not just enjoying the sport, but it's it's an investment in our own community because this is how we increase the level of economic activity as well.
SPEAKER_01Well, then thanks for coming in today. I won't keep you any longer, but yeah, always good seeing you.
SPEAKER_00Man, always a pleasure. You man, you make this easy, so I appreciate it.
SPEAKER_01Hey everyone, thanks so much for tuning in to this episode of Milwaukee Uncut. Thank you to David for dropping in. And before signing off, just want to thank our partners for making this possible Nicola, Drink Wisconsin Weed Beverage Company, and Annex Wealth Management.
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