Just days after current Ald. JoCasta Zamarripa’s historic victory in the race for Wisconsin secretary of state, two suitors have declared candidacy for her soon-to-be-open Common Council seat.
Milwaukee County Supervisor Juan Miguel Martinez and Amanda Avalos, a political and youth organizer who previously served as vice chair of the Fire and Police Commission, both announced their runs this week.
Martinez, who represents part of Zamarripa’s South Side aldermanic district on the County Board of Supervisors, announced his plans on social media Thursday.
“I will be running for alderman of the district I currently serve, because I live here and have for my entire life and know I can serve its residents properly,” he wrote.
Martinez, a union organizer, was elected to the County Board of Supervisors in 2022 to represent the 12th District. Martinez has been a strong advocate for Milwaukee County Parks, particularly Mitchell Park, which is located in his district.
He recently supported an effort to remove Flock and other automated license plate recognition systems from county property.
Avalos, deputy executive director of political programs and strategy at the national organization Youth Civic Accelerator, and former co-executive director of the youth advocacy nonprofit Leaders Igniting Transformation has remained active in city affairs.
She is the co-chair of the MKE Community Impact Committee, which is working to create a participatory budgeting process to utilize $600,000 in funds for non-police safety solutions.
She announced her run for Common Council on social media Friday morning.
“It is an absolute honor to announce that I am running for alderwoman of Milwaukee’s 8th District,” Avalos wrote. “For over a decade, I’ve built grassroots political power in our Black and Latino communities, from leading voter mobilizations every election to serving on city committees to make our communities safer.”
Zamarripa became the first Latina in Wisconsin history to be elected to a statewide office, joined by David Crowley, the state’s first elected Black governor, and Yee Leng Xiong, the first Hmong state treasurer.
She has represented District 8 on the Common Council since 2020 and previously served for 10 years as a state representative.
Zamarripa is vacating her seat on the council so that it can be filled during a special election in the spring.
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