Whatever happens on Tuesday,  if either Brower or Kostal make it out of the primary, we need to all be laser focused on the real battle here, beating back the establishment and winning a seat on the Common Council for the left.

In addition to overtly Republican projects, the core of Cavalier Johnson’s day-to-day politics is simply aligned with Republican values: pro-business, pro-police, pro-oligarchy. You can’t pursue those interests without acting to harm many of the people living in Milwaukee.

There has been an onslaught of news lately about the dire situation of the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM) but it can be easy to miss. While this gross mismanagement is nothing new, it was not until residents and organizations like Common Ground began to advocate for themselves that anything began to change.

What federal judges do or say will change the timeline and the exact shape of the struggle, but people’s active, on-the-ground resistance is what actually frustrates and prevents MAGA attacks on the people they target. Will our local institutions cooperate with Trump? Will we step up and protect our neighbors?

Attorney General Josh Kaul and his office need to hear from us.  We can let him know we’re expecting a swift response and clear guidance that tells our healthcare systems that Wisconsin stands with “science and the law” and our trans community.

Alexander Kostal is running on protecting renters, affordable housing, and preserving district 3’s income diversity. Kostal has been involved in public service his whole life. As a public defender, member of Milwaukee County’s Human Rights Commission, and in other roles, Alexander Kostal has spent years working for the common good. 

With his background as State Superintendent, many thought Tony Evers would be a champion for Wisconsin public education. Evers’ campaign itself made this claim. And perhaps at one point he was, but that is not the Evers governing today. ‘Public-education’ hero Evers is now a staunch charter and voucher school ally. Funneling more and more public dollars into these private schools and giving public education just the scraps. 

Maybe Growing MKE will help prompt the building of more housing that is not single family, but unless we push for the city to actually follow through on the ‘social-justice’ language of the plan, it will remain toothless and will have only a marginal impact on the affordability crisis.