Amani residents on Tuesday took the opportunity to vote either to elect the candidate who could become Wisconsin’s first Black governor, or return a Republican to the position for the first time in eight years.
David Crowley, the Democratic candidate for governor and current Milwaukee County executive, is facing off against Republican Tom Tiffany, who represents the state’s 7th District in northern Wisconsin in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Crowley grew up near North 23rd and West Burleigh streets in the 53206 ZIP code area, the same block the COA Goldin Center is now located.
Amani residents headed to the COA Youth & Family Centers, 2320 W. Burleigh St., early on Election Day to cast a vote in what could become a historic election.
One of them was Amina Abdi, 19, a first-time voter who is desperate for change in the community. She said that’s why she chose to vote for Crowley.
“A lot of young people think our vote doesn’t matter, but I think ours matter the most because we’re the majority,” Abdi said.
She studies education at Milwaukee Area Technical College and hopes the next governor will prioritize safety within Milwaukee Public Schools.
“You see Rufus King High School on the news nearly everyday,” she said. “Somebody needs to step inside these schools and fix it.”
Abdi said she would be happy to see Crowley become the first Black governor in Wisconsin.
“That’s what really needs to be celebrated,” Abdi said. “I’m tired of the Republicans messing everything up.”
Priorities for voters
Patrick Jordan, director of operations at Adullam Outreach, voted for Crowley and also wants to see changes to education in his neighborhood.
He said his neighbor’s child, who has an Individualized Education Program plan, was enrolled at a private school and then turned away after that school received the state’s funding for his education.
“I didn’t even know they could get away with that,” Jordan said. “I found something for the kid to do for like two months.”
Childcare provider Carmella Brown, 40, said she’s also ready for a change, especially within the healthcare system.
“I have loved ones that are going through situations with healthcare and I recently just lost my sister,” Brown said.
Brown said her sister passed away from respiratory system failure and had challenges with her insurance.
“Her health insurance didn’t cover everything she needed,” Brown said.
Ricky Welch, 62, a carpenter, said he has health insurance through Obamacare and hopes that it doesn’t go away.
Living the past five years in Amani, Welch said he credits Crowley with recent changes that have helped reduce reckless driving in the neighborhood.
Particularly helpful, he said, are curb bump-outs, which are part of a collaborative effort that includes Milwaukee County to improve safety through traffic-calming.
“If he (Crowley) could keep all of those things going, then that would be good,” Welch said.
A neighborhood connection
Kenyette Blue, clerk at House of Prayer Restoration Missionary Baptist Church, wants to see someone from her neighborhood become governor.
“It’s going to be a connection,” Blue said. “I do want to participate and see what’s the next step.”
Brother Rice Bey, a former president of the neighborhood group Amani United, said he came out to vote because it’s his civic duty.
Bey said if the state elects Crowley as its first Black governor, it would show a degree of progress. He said he hopes Crowley gets a chance to prove himself in the state’s highest position.
“Just do your job as best as you can,” Bey said.
Jordan said it would be fantastic if the next Wisconsin governor came from his neighborhood. He said people from the neighborhood don’t always get opportunities.
“Even if we have businesses in this neighborhood, the city keeps us down,” Jordan said. “To get a position right in this neighborhood is hard to do, even if you do everything right.”
Alex Klaus is the education solutions reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America plays no role in editorial decisions in the NNS newsroom.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
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