Milwaukee mayoral race; Kevin Nicholson calls for part-time Legislature

Milwaukee mayoral race

After weeks of debates, forums and joint appearances, Acting Mayor Cavalier Johnson and former Ald. Bob Donovan are headed to the April 5 finish in Milwaukee's race for mayor.

Here's a look at the two men.

Johnson, who overcame challenges in his youth, was determined to serve others and pursued a political career against all odds.

Donovan, the raspy conservative voice in a Democratic city who came out of retirement to make one more run for mayor.

And here's some late news in the race.

Johnson's fundraising machine got a boost with the Democratic Party of Wisconsin pouring $100,000 into his campaign.

And while Johnson is bidding to become the first elected Black mayor in Milwaukee's history, it turns out he doesn't have backing from Black aldermen on the Common Council.

Finally, Johnson says he has not had time to implement his full public safety plan even as Milwaukee contends with a spike in murders.

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Kevin Nicholson calls for part-time Legislature

Kevin Nicholson, running for governor as a Republican, has an idea to fix Wisconsin's Legislature.

Cut the pay and hours of members.

The proposal to turn 'em all into part-timers probably won't go anywhere, since the lawmakers would have to pass the measure.

But it's a pretty interesting idea. And it's also a shot across the bow at Assembly Leader Robin Vos, who has been criticized by some of the Republican base.

"It's for more than just the financial purpose. It's also to say, let's free this up so that more people can serve," Nicholson said in a recent interview.

"People that work regular jobs in the private sector that can start to say, ‘OK, you know, I can't park my business or my life or my job, just to be a legislator. But you know what, honestly, if this is a more constricted thing, and it's a part-time role, and everybody accepts that you continue to work in the private sector, sure, I could stand up and serve.'"

You can read the article here.

Redistricting saga

When the U.S. Supreme Court threw out Wisconsin's Legislative maps last week, they effectively threw the case right back to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Patrick Marley breaks down the options for the state court as the judges race to establish new legislative districts within weeks.

And like with most everything these days, it all likely comes down to Justice Brian Hagedorn, who has emerged as the court's swing justice in key cases.

Marley writes that the state justices could go in a number of directions as they decide what to do next.

They could reapprove Gov. Tony Evers’ maps "after providing more analysis regarding the Voting Rights Act. They could keep most of Evers’ maps for the state but modify the ones for Milwaukee. They could abandon Evers’ maps and instead use ones drawn by Republican lawmakers or others.

"They could also give up on establishing new maps for this fall and keep in place the ones that were drawn in 2011."

You can read the article here.

Around the horn

Chairman of veterans board steps down after being charged with possessing child pornography.

Clerks in two Washington County communities provide wrong information to voters about how to return absentee ballots.

Wisconsin candidates for governor offer sharp differences on abortion as the U.S. Supreme Court weighs the future of the procedure.

Manufacturing has become a focus in the Democratic race for U.S. Senate.

What you should know about the spring election.

Tweet of the week

This one comes from presidential historian Michael Beschloss: "Did someone tear up and eat the White House phone logs for seven hours on January 6, 2021?"

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee mayoral race; Nicholson calls for part-time Legislature