Q&A: Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley at the RNC
"This gives us an opportunity to change the narrative and the perceptions of how people view Milwaukee."
The Recombobulation Area is a thirteen-time Milwaukee Press Club award-winning weekly opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. Learn more about it here.
Disclaimer: This interview happened prior to the incident that occurred outside of the RNC security perimeter where a Columbus, Ohio, police officer reportedly shot and killed an individual near the corner of 14th Street and Vliet Street.
Q: Mr. County Executive, how has your experience been at the RNC thus far?
A: I will say something I never thought that I would say: So far, it's been good. And I say that because this is just a great opportunity for Milwaukee to showcase our great restaurant scene, our micro breweries, all the things that we have to offer throughout the entire state of Wisconsin. And our goal is to bring as much tourism back, and we've been doing that — hitting record numbers for the past two years. Not only did the DNC help put us on the map, the championship run with the Milwaukee Bucks has done that, and it is my hope and my goal that the RNC will help with the same level of publicity. This is our Super Bowl. This is our Final Four, and this, again, gives us an opportunity to change the narrative and the perceptions of how people view Milwaukee — and not just in the state of Wisconsin, but across the entire country.
Q: What type of perception and narrative do you hope this convention conveys to the country?
A: Well, I hope everybody understands that one, we're not a horrible city. And I think that there are so many convention goers and delegates who have come here and realized that this is a beautiful community. We have a hospitality scene second to none. And we always talk about Midwest nice, but we have a step higher than that, and that's that Milwaukee, Wisconsin nice, that we have. And so, for me, again, it's really combating that narrative that we're not a good city. But I think folks who are here enjoying this entire convention, they're starting to think otherwise. And I want to say to them: I told you so (laughs).
Q: Told you so, in what sense?
A: Well, that this is a great city to come to, right? And at the end of the day, just like any other major community, we have our set of challenges. But if you just come here and visit, you'll learn so much about what we have to offer. It's a great place to work, to live in and to play.
Q: Obviously, there's been some criticism over the past few weeks about just the level of activity. This is something I've reported on, and there's been a number of social media posts since the convention started about where the activity is around town. Does that concern you at all?
A: I'm not going to say it's concerning me right now. Let's remember today is Day Two. We just got through the first day, and yes, we've heard from businesses that have been booked and businesses that have not been booked. So I'm going to reserve my assessment for after the convention to see what happens. But as we continue to talk to our tourism organization, VISIT Milwaukee, they believe that we're still on track to reach those economic goals that were once talked about.
Q: This convention is happening in a rather historic moment, happening just days after the former president survived an assassination attempt. From your vantage point, as the county executive, obviously, you have a role in the public safety of this community as well. What types of steps have you in your office been taking in the days since Saturday to ensure that level of safety here in Milwaukee?
A: First and foremost, my thoughts and prayers are definitely not only with the former president because of what he just went through, but also the families that were directly affected by that. And so with our Office of Emergency Management, we've been working with all the law enforcement agencies at both the state, the federal and local level to make sure that this is one of the safest places, quite frankly, on Earth. And I think that that is the case right now. And so, whether we're talking about crowd control, traffic mitigation, etc., we are making sure that all the law enforcement has the ability to coordinate, and making sure that not only those delegates and folks attending the conference is safe, but our residents who live throughout the entire county and region continue to be safe as well.
Q: Were there any specific measures that you had to incorporate before, before the convention started yesterday, before the protest happened yesterday because of what happened on Saturday?
A: No, no. I mean, there was the one report that I saw, coming from Governor Evers’ office, on checking to make sure that there weren't any guns in the soft perimeter — something that I absolutely agree with. And the Secret Service didn't feel that that was needed. So, I truly believe that all the work that we have done — and not just my office, working the Milwaukee Police Department, with Chief (Jeffrey) Norman, as well as Mayor Cavalier Johnson — that this is going to be a safe space, and our job is to make sure that they have a good party.
Q: As you've said in the past, you're a proud Democrat. You don't agree with much of the policies of the Republican Party. As the event unfolded yesterday, as the speeches happened, what was your reaction?
A: Well, for one, I think a lot of folks are out of touch, particularly for Milwaukee, right? And I think that when it comes to Sen. Tim Scott's comments saying that racism no longer exists, I don't think that he realized that he's actually saying that in one of the most segregated communities in the entire state of Wisconsin — a community that was literally built on segregation.
Even seeing the vice presidential pick in JD Vance, I don't think that that really speaks to Wisconsin values. (He’s) a guy who not only wants to see an abortion ban across the entire country, but doesn't believe that you should have exceptions for rape or incest, and I know that there are many rural, suburban and urban women all across the state of Wisconsin who absolutely disagree with him. And so, while I get an opportunity to enjoy the economic boom with the green coming in, I think this also gives me an opportunity to see firsthand what their messages look like in the way that we need to contrast that moving forward with Democrats.
Q: Are you still confident in the Democratic ticket right now with Joe Biden at the top of it?
A: I am. I know that there's been a lot of calls out there asking for him to remove himself from this election, and quite frankly, I think those are distractions. Those are distractions from the conversation that we should be having around abortion, around education, around affordable housing, around opioid addiction, around, you know, insert here. And so if you think about it, go back to 2016. No matter what Trump did, nobody asked him to step out of that race, and then he's president, and he loses that race in 2020 and we've seen what happened Jan. 6, and we know that there were independents and conservatives alike who did not expect him to be the presidential nominee. But you know what, nobody is calling for him to still step down.
And I think at the end of the day, we have to step up, because the president is not just about a personality. This is about the future and the soul of America. Everybody talks about President Biden being older, but let's be clear, both candidates are old. But one has older ideas that are going to take us back to a time where rights and freedoms were fought for and won before I was even born, while the other one is looking towards the future that's going to benefit my neighbors — but more importantly, benefit folks like my three young Black girls. So I think that there's a stark contrast between our presidential candidates. But again, we just have to focus on telling our good story and telling the vision of the future.
Q: Any other big picture thoughts on the convention being here, on what you've experienced in the first couple days of it here in Milwaukee?
A: This is probably not only my first but probably my last Republican National Convention. But I'm really excited, in the next few weeks, to visit our largest suburb in Chicago and going to the Democratic National Convention. And so I'm going to have an opportunity not only to see the stark contrast and messaging, but what is the enthusiasm? What do we need to do to make sure that folks understand that we can't allow the appearance and the gaffe that we have seen, particularly coming from President Biden, overshadow the great work that he has done in the past three and a half years, and even prior to that. So, let's focus on the vision, the substance of these policy discussions that we need to be having, versus the personalities and appearances of these presidential candidates.
Dan Shafer is a journalist from Milwaukee who writes and publishes The Recombobulation Area. He’s also written for The New York Times, The Daily Beast, Heartland Signal, Belt Magazine, WisPolitics, and Milwaukee Record. He previously worked at Seattle Magazine, Seattle Business Magazine, the Milwaukee Business Journal, Milwaukee Magazine, and BizTimes Milwaukee. He’s won 18 Milwaukee Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards. He’s on Twitter at @DanRShafer.
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