What to know about the candidates running for 3 vacant seats on the Milwaukee Common Council

In the coming weeks, Milwaukee's 15-member Common Council will return to full strength for the first time in a year.

Voters in Districts 1, 5 and 9 ― all on the city's northwest side ― will elect new council members after months without representation.

The six remaining candidates, two for each of the three seats, were among 20 vying in February's primary for a chance to make it to the April 4 election.

The three new members will come into office at a deeply challenging time as city leaders confront a quickly approaching fiscal crisis while also working to address reckless driving and gun violence.

More:Three vacant Milwaukee Common Council seats draw crowded field

More:Four of 15 Milwaukee Common Council seats empty as big decisions loom

The winners will also have just a fraction of the typical full four-year term to prove themselves before they're again up for election. They will serve the remainder of their predecessors' terms, which end in April 2024.

The District 1 winner will replace Ashanti Hamilton, who left the seat last year to become the director of the city's Office of Violence Prevention in Mayor Cavalier Johnson's administration.

The District 5 winner will replace Ald. Nikiya Dodd, who resigned in November.

And the District 9 winner will replace Ald. Chantia Lewis, who was removed from office in July following her conviction on two felonies related to her conduct in office.

Jump to: District 1 | District 5 | District 9

DISTRICT 1

Milwaukee Common Council District 1 candidates David Bowen and Andrea Pratt.
Milwaukee Common Council District 1 candidates David Bowen and Andrea Pratt.

Andrea Pratt

Pratt said she had long considered a council run. She grew up watching her father, Marvin Pratt, who served as District 1 alderman and later as acting mayor, the first African American elected to that position. Her mother was a librarian at Milwaukee Public Libraries, she said.

"It’s really a passion for me," she said. "I love the First District. It's always been home to me."

She also highlighted her own experience working in Milwaukee Public Schools and at the City of Milwaukee, in Hamilton's office when he was on the council and since last March as an equal rights specialist for the Department of Administration Office of Equity and Inclusion. She is currently on leave to campaign.

Pratt said many people whose doors she knocked on felt their voices weren't being heard. She said other top issues include homeownership rates, especially among Black residents, illegal dumping, streetlights that are out and public safety.

She called for taking steps such as educating young people, especially Black Milwaukeeans, about financial literacy and the importance of homeownership and supporting organizations that are already working to remove barriers to buying homes.

As for illegal dumping, Pratt called for putting blighted and vacant spaces to use and better holding those who dump used tires accountable.

To address reckless driving she said the city needs an approach that incorporates education, enhancements to the roads such as speed humps and bump-outs, and enforcement.

David Bowen

Bowen is a former state representative who was elected to the Assembly in 2014 after serving on the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors. He did not seek reelection last year following his mother's death.

He said the city's immense challenges call for electing people with experience.

A resident of the Rufus King neighborhood, Bowen told the Journal Sentinel he considers serving on the council "a chance to come home" and address quality-of-life issues.

If elected, his top priority would be addressing abandoned properties in the district to prevent illegal dumping, littering and families from becoming homeless.

"Some people look at these as problems, but I look at it as an opportunity as we have the challenges around housing, and the challenges around small business support and expansion," he said. "To be able to take these empty properties that are not on the property tax roll and to get them re-engaged and renovated again and active again, to have families that can build their legacies in this city and in these neighborhoods again."

He also raised concerns about out-of-state investors buying properties but not maintaining them the way resident-owners tend to do.

On reckless driving, he said he would first want to listen to residents' concerns and proposals, given the months that the district has been without representation.

DISTRICT 5

Milwaukee Common Council District 5 candidates Annette Jackson and  Lamont T. Westmoreland.
Milwaukee Common Council District 5 candidates Annette Jackson and Lamont T. Westmoreland.

Lamont Westmoreland

Westmoreland traced his decision to run to the encouragement of a close friend who passed away last summer and, he said, his push for the city to fix his street. He was considering running against Dodd in 2024 when she instead announced last year that she would be stepping down.

He said he founded, built and operated a residential and commercial color coating business after working as a small-business lender.

"I truly believe that the heartbeat of any community is small business and the success of small businesses," he said, noting how many companies did not survive the COVID-19 pandemic.

He also addressed federal court records that show four bankruptcy cases filed between 2005 and 2021. Westmoreland said the bankruptcies were caused by medical bills connected to the births of his and his wife's two children.

"We were drowning in medical debt and needed to stop the bleeding," he said. "Thankfully we were able to keep our cars and home."

If elected, he said his primary focus would be on reckless driving. He said he backs concrete bump-outs and speed humps to change the behavior of reckless drivers.

His next priority would be infrastructure. Westmoreland said he would push to keep road improvement projects on schedule and to cut down on the number of uncontrolled intersections in the city to help residents feel safer.

Annette Jackson

Jackson has worked as a customer service representative at Milwaukee Water Works, an administrative assistant at the Common Council City Clerk's Office and as a license specialist in the clerk's Licenses Division, according to the city Department of Employee Relations.

Her work at the city has given her direct contact with residents and insights into small changes that could solve problems, she said. She is currently on leave from her city position to campaign.

Having 12 grandchildren growing up in the city is another reason she wanted to run for office.

She described community trust in the city's elected officials as "broken" and said if elected she said she would want to better communicate and involve residents in decisions.

Jackson would want to focus on improving the city's infrastructure, saying potholes and other street problems require more permanent fixes so the same spots are not being repeatedly repaired. Among the issues, she said, is that residents' cars get damaged driving on the streets, leaving them with one more bill to pay.

She said she'd also focus on addressing reckless driving. She backed increasing fines and making driver's education more accessible in schools.

Jackson currently lives in Aldermanic District 15. She said she plans to move to District 5, where she has friends and family, regardless of the outcome of the race.

Candidates must move into the district they are elected to represent before they can assume the duties of the office.

DISTRICT 9

District 9 candidates Larresa Taylor and Odell Ball.
District 9 candidates Larresa Taylor and Odell Ball.

Odell Ball

Ball has said he worked in community development, technology, education, and drug and alcohol abuse prevention. His teaching experience includes Milwaukee Public Schools.

Having never run for elected office before, he said his only experience campaigning was when he helped his wife, now-Milwaukee County Sheriff Denita Ball, on her campaign. That experience gave him the opportunity to walk the district where they have lived for nearly 30 years and see the "drastic changes" that have taken place in that time, he said.

He noted the businesses the district has lost, many of which the couples' children could walk to and from for work.

Ball also said he was concerned about reckless and speeding drivers near schools, lead water pipes that connect to tens of thousands of homes, businesses and other facilities, and crime.

He said he was pushing even before the election for the city to install roundabouts and speed humps near schools and in other areas of the district. He also said he would look to technological changes to help address reckless driving.

Ball said he supports the youth prison that the state plans to build in District 9 to replace Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls in central Wisconsin. He cited his teaching experience, saying that he would volunteer at the prison once it opens to make sure it is run properly and adding, "These are our children."

He said if he were an alderman and the Sheriff's Office were to be part of discussions or decisions at the city, it would be his responsibility to participate as his district's representative despite his wife's position at the head of that department.

"This district has gone long enough without representation," he said.

Larresa Taylor

Taylor described herself as a mother of three, military veteran, teacher and community advocate. She said she has been a block watch captain and is a Milwaukee Public Schools teacher.

Taylor said she decided to run to provide the community with an elected official they can rely on to follow through on promises. She said if elected she planned to be visible and present in the community to give residents the opportunity to speak with her directly.

If elected, she said she would want to focus on ensuring there is affordable and acceptable housing. She said she would want to ensure residents understand their options and encourage homeownership.

"I do believe that we have to focus on meeting those basic needs before we can focus on other things, and one of the basic needs is housing," she said.

Reckless driving would be her next priority. She said she hears residents asking for speed humps, more signs and barriers. She said she would also want to work with other council members to strengthen laws that discourage reckless driving, including potentially raising penalties.

On the youth prison, she said she would adopt the stance of the majority of the residents in the district. So far, she said, she was hearing more opposition than support ― but she said much of the opposition comes from residents who still have questions.

Taylor currently lives in District 2, where she said she moved in October during a transition in her life. She said she had previously lived in District 9 since 2017 and planned to move to District 9 were she to win the April election.

She also ran for the District 2 aldermanic seat in 2016 but did not make it through the primary. At that time she lived in District 2, where she owns "several" properties, she said.

Need more help with voting questions? The Milwaukee Resource Guide is here to help. Have something you want answered? Submit a question.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Candidates running for three open Milwaukee Common Council seats