State Politics News

12 News is getting coffee with the candidates running for Milwaukee Mayor and City Attorney in April’s spring election. In the race for mayor, incumbent Cavalier Johnson is facing challenger David King. 12 News anchor Gerron Jordan (GJ) talked with Johnson (CJ) about his vision for the city if he’s re-elected. GJ: Why do you want this job? CJ: I want this job because I care about Milwaukee. I really do. I mean, I started off as a 14-year-old kid volunteering in Milwaukee and trying to help seniors rake leaves and shovel snow and come to find out some years later, when I went off to the University of Wisconsin- Madison and became the first person in my family go to college, I found that I can go into a career in politics where I actually had an opportunity- a career where I got to wake up every day to help people like I fell in love with doing when I was a 14-year-old kid.There are so many challenges in Milwaukee, and being the mayor presents an opportunity to tackle those challenges for the people that live in this city- particularly the folks who live in the challenged neighborhoods or the neighborhoods that have the most promise like the ones that I lived in growing up.GJ: What do you think is the number one issue facing the city?CJ: Public safety, hands down. I’m a public safety mayor; I’m also development mayor. But public safety, I think, is at the top of the list for me. There are a number of challenges as it relates to that. But I’m proud to report that in the time that I’ve been Mayor, we have seen improvements in public safety.We’ve been increasing safety in 2021 and 2022. Crime, major crime dropped 15% in the city of Milwaukee and then, over 2022 to 2023, dropped by an additional 9%. So I think we are headed in the right direction as it relates to public safety, but more needs to be done, and I’m looking forward to doing in the next term.GJ: How do you get people to realize the real consequences of their decisions, like reckless driving?CJ: Well, first, I want people to understand that when they drive recklessly, there’s danger in that. I want them to understand that when they drive recklessly, the people that could be hurt not just themselves, but the other folks on their side that could be their mother, that could be their father, that could be their children, somebody that they care about. So they should understand on a human level that first and then in addressing the issue of reckless driving– I mean, there’s engineering, which obviously we’re doing in the city of Milwaukee and I think possibly is the most effective tool to rectify the issue. There’s education, which I think is critically important. And then there’s enforcement. In my administration, we’ve worked very, very closely with the police to make sure that folks who are driving recklessly, they’re held to account. And that’s important.GJ: What can you, as the mayor of the city, do in order to curb something like gun violence?CJ: Public safety is not just in the hands of police. I’ve consistently said that it is not and will not be an issue only for police to solve. Certainly, they play a huge role in that, and that’s why we’re growing the police department under my watch in the city. But I can encourage, and I do, individual citizens in Milwaukee to raise their voice, to call information in, to report information to Crime Stoppers. We can work to grow family support and jobs in Milwaukee, because where there’s stability in people’s lives, that means there’s going to be stability in neighborhoods. And when neighborhoods are stable, and folks are not moving around, they’re not transient; the neighborhoods are not porous. That’s how you get to the stability that we want to see. And we have that stability.GJ: What’s a hobby people may be surprised you have? CJ: I am a video game player playing the Legend of Zelda. Right now. Whenever I have free time, which is not very often, but I like playing video games.GJ: Who do you have winning the NCAA tournament? CJ: Well, I had my Badgers winning. In my mind. That obviously didn’t pan out. So now I’m rooting for our hometown team here, Marquette, Golden Eagles.GJ: What was the last book you read? CJ: Just last year or so finished Michelle Obama’s book “Becoming.” I’m reading the newest book by Barack Obama. Election day is Tuesday, April 2.