MILWAUKEE – In about two weeks, the race to represent Milwaukee Aldermanic District Three will be narrowed down from eight candidates to two.
Each of the hopeful representatives for the district which encompasses much of the city’s east side and a portion of the Riverwest nieghborhood spoke to a packed house at the Gordon Park Pavillion Tuesday. Several acknowledged hoping to carry the torch of late Alderman Jonathan Brostoff, who took his own life last fall, while others said their vision for the district will be uniquely their own.
The candidates for the currently vacant seat on the Milwaukee Common Council include:
- Josh Anderson: A customer service manager and activist who participated in the Wisconsin Act 10 protests at the State Capitol. Anderson is a member of the LGBTQ+ community who promises to defend marginalized people groups.
- Daniel Bauman: Bauman has received the endorsment of both Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson as well as Brostoff’s widow Diana Vang-Brostoff. Bauman is a staunch advocate for the city’s Growing MKE plan, in particular its efforts to reconfigure zoning to allow for more diversifyed housing.
- Alex Brower: President of the Milwaukee Substitute Teachers’ Association, Brower has vowed to replace We Energies with a municipal utility by using Chapter 197 of Wisconsin state law.
- Franco Ferrante: The grandson of Italian immigrants, Ferrante’s family previously sold Christmas trees in the city, and he now serves as the full-time gardener for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Ferrante hopes to “create a safer, equitable, affordable, and environmentally conscious future”.
- Ieshuh Griffin: Founder & CEO of The Office For Human Rights Violation Investigations & Consultation and a perennial Milwaukee political candidate who last fall ran for both mayor and Milwaukee County Executive, Griffin is a staunch critic of the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee. She spoke Tuesday of her plans to fight against absentee landlords and property owners, alleging some of them have used AirBnB’s in the third district as pop-up brothels to facilitate sex trafficking. While campaign rules state a candidate must live in the district they are running to represent, Griffin per her campaign filing resides in the city’s Harambee neighborhood which falls under District Six. CEO of the Office for Human Rights Violation Investigations and Consulation
- Bryan Junco: Over the summer of 2024, Junco self-patrolled the district monitoring for car thieves, noting “nobody was doing anything about it”. Junco has also advocated for stronger criminal prosecution. He was involved in an exchange at a prior candidate forum held at Zao MKE Church on January 23rd where he was asked to leave the event by an organizer following the forum’s conclusion.
- Alexander Kostal: A public defender and President of the Brady Street Area Association, Kostal has also received the endorsement of the Milwaukee Teachers Association. Kostal notes he is opposed to the elimination of single family housing as part of the Growing MKE plan, while acknowledging he supports the development of abandoned lots.
- Nas Musa: The owner of Casablanca on Brady Street, Musa says he was compelled to run for the position following Brostoff’s death. Musa states “Keeping District Three affordable is the goal, increased housing options reduces scarcity that raises rents”. His cousin was killed in a car crash, and he emphasized pursuing a peer mentoring program to combat youth reckless driving. Musa also pledged to connect with over 100 small businesses a year to conduct a survey to improve expansion and hiring efforts.
About halfway through the forum, many cell phones in the room went off with updated Amber Alert information regarding missing and pregnant 16-year-old Sophia Franklin, who is believed to be with the father of her unborn child 40-year-old Gary Day.
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After the forum, candidates expressed their overall satisfaction with the tenor of conversations at each forum, while also acknowledging they still aren’t fully decided given the similarity of many candidates’ platforms.
“I’ll probably continue to do some more of my own research to narrow down who’s the best fit, but I think it’s promising that we have so many candidates that spoke so well about the needs of our district,” said resident Stacy, who said she’s primarily concerned with rising rent prices and gentrification within District 3. According to Rent Cafe, the average rent in the three neighborhoods within the district is 1,580 dollars a month.
“I think the format and time constraints made it so people weren’t able to devote time to HOW they might want to do what they were doing” adds Brad, who said he hopes to learn more about what each candidate’s stance on traffic calming measures are. The addition of raised crosswalks and protected bike lanes was among Brostoff’s biggest efforts during his time in office, with notable additions on Van Buren and North Avenues.
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