Organizers in Metcalfe Park's neighborhood see the potential of the structures that still stand. The project of Reclaim and Restore is a community-driven effort to buy up abandoned homes, and renovate them. When the restoration is complete they are given to resident families who have paid rent in the neighborhood for years through an affordable lease-to-own program.

Pre-emptive compliance is the #1 way to cede power to fascism. The Common Council needs to act. Pass an ordinance, and if the fascists object? Take it to court. Fight back, you cowards.

This program has been going on for a year now, and the results are as positive as one would expect… We need to banish the idea of “deserving poor” from our vocabulary. No one has to ‘earn’ the right to a dignified life.

Every time fascists label a group subhuman, they are starting a process that ends with dehumanizing everyone. Blocking that process by actively standing in solidarity with the targeted group is a foundational civic duty in a free society. 

The Democratic Party has been controlled by people who fail that duty, both nationally and locally.

We were warned. There were many Brower skeptics on the left who warned that he was only interested in self-promotion. He had seized control of the Milwaukee’s Democratic Socialists of America chapter, causing many members (including the abolition working group, cooperation Milwaukee, and even the electoral working group) to leave the organization over a couple months.

The modus operandi for those in power who have brought us to this point have blamed each other, and while that blame is not misplaced, it is not a substitute for accountability for the failings by any individual party. The mayor, the common council, MHD and the new leadership of MPS need to come together to address this issue collectively. 

 I feel like some of us forgot that politicians are allowed to have bold ideas. I think I would take 10 Alex Browers over a Cavalier Johnson, a man whose only ideas include conceding to Republicans, enriching his corporate backers and rich friends, and vilifying Milwaukee’s most vulnerable people.

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.

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.