After serving as Milwaukee County Supervisor from the 12th District, Tony Zielinski was first elected as Milwaukee Alderman from the 14th District in 2004 and was easily re-elected in 2008. Besides degrees in political science and business administration, Ald. Zielinski holds a law degree from Marquette University.

Ald. Zielinski says he went into high gear for a campaign immediately after Attorney Jan Pierce announced his candidacy for alderman. He said it takes a totally different frame of mind to run a campaign and when not working on city issues, he’s always out there getting the campaign geared up. He promises to focus on running a positive campaign.

Over the past eight years, Ald. Zielinski has actively supported the renaissance in the Bay View area. He’s been instrumental in developing the restaurant and bar area around the Kinnickinnic and Lincoln intersection…including the recent development for an Alterra coffee location including their wholesale bakery currently under construction. When the Alterra plans were originally revealed, Ald. Zielinski held two public hearings featuring the owners and planners for the development. Although many residents were concerned about a threat to Bay View’s existing coffee shops and cafes, the local owners didn’t feel it was an issue and the Alterra plans were generally accepted by the local residents.

Just north of Lincoln, Alderman Zielinski strongly supported closing down Chasers bar which was a known trouble spot. The location is currently The Backyard. And across the street, he brought Omega Burgers and Custard to revamp the closed Burger King location. More recently, after Omega also closed, Ald. Zielinski suggested the location to the local franchisees of Hamburger Mary’s.

He has also supported the new apartments being constructed on Kinnickinnic at the intersection with Conway. This 5 story, 70 unit complex replaces a group of colonial revival apartments built in 1903 and the Trading Post that was right at the corner.

Ald. Zielinski is also a champion of renewable energy, working on the recently announced solar initiative that provides city homeowners with no money down, low interest loans for solar panels. He also worked with Bay View residents on a compromise on placement of the wind turbine that is scheduled to be built next to the Port of Milwaukee administration building on Lincoln Memorial Drive east of the Hoan Bridge.

Other city wide initiatives that the alderman is particularly proud of: leading legislation to make Milwaukee the first major US city a Fair Trade city. This requires the city to purchase fair traded items. And Ald. Zielinski protecting American workers via legislation which prohibits the City of Milwaukee from purchasing items manufactured in sweat shops.

Bay View has been fortunate that one of Milwaukee’s major urban farming projects, Sweetwater Organics, chose Bay View for its initial location. They now need to expand and Ald. Zielinski has supported city help in their planned expansions. Possible future expansion includes a new building and facility on the old Army Reserve property on Bay Street north of the Buelah Brinton play field.

In an email to me, Ald. Zielinski promised continued empowerment of the constituents in the 14th district. He will continue to hold meetings in his district, particularly on major projects that will affect the residents. He will continue to work towards improvements in public safety with new programs similar to his efforts against graffiti and installation of security cameras by the Kinnickinnic Business Improvement district. He will continue to support a strong Milwaukee Police Department presence in the community.

Realizing that good jobs that pay well and provide benefits are a recurring issue in the district, the alderman will work toward more developments that provide industrial jobs that provide family supporting wages.

Ald. Zielinski feels that he has been a proactive advocate for the district at not only the grassroots level but at the macro level as well. That he has a proven track record of being proactive, hard working and responsive. The alderman also stated “Every year as I grow I become a more effective advocate for my district and the greater community”.

Being the incumbent and a known quantity, Alderman Zielinski has accumulated a large number of endorsements from elected officials and organizational leaders as well as business people and residents of the district. Some of these are: District Attorney John Chisholm, State Senator Chris Larson, County Supervisors Marina Dimitrijevic and Jason Haas, State Representative Christine Sinicki, the Milwaukee Police Association, and Milwaukee School Board Director Terry Falk.

Alderman Zielinski says that he is responsive. And from my own experience (even before I was involved in politics or blogging), when I had an issue he always responded to my emails or phone calls within 24 hours. Now I won’t always say that I got exactly the answer I was looking for…but he responded. I have heard of issues where the alderman was brusque in his responses to some residents, but I don’t have any particular instances that I can relate. But it is quite possible that that could occasionally occur.

There have been the usual plaints that the alderman is a career politician. And looking at his history, yes, certainly he has been in public office for sometime. And it is an open secret that Ald. Zielinski would like to advance to higher office at some point in his career. Early in 2010 for instance, he started to campaign for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin. But it will be up to the voters in April to decide if he’s the best fit for alderman in 2012 and forward.

Obviously Ald. Zielinski is taking Jan Pierce’s challenge very seriously. He’s been at my front door twice this past fall and a few days after yard signs became legal, literally hundreds of orange Re-elect Zielinski signs appeared all over the district. There was one issue with a sign erected on a former barbershop on South Howell Ave. The sign was declared illegal but the alderman said that an enthusiastic supporter erected it. Campaign signs in yards or exteriors of buildings can not be displayed until December 1st of the election cycle and must be removed within 5 days of the election date in the City of Milwaukee. And of course I’ve received a pair of campaign mailings.

But one of the standards of modern campaigning is the effective use of social media. So far this seems to be a little beyond the alderman’s grasp. Although he has a personal Facebook page, he doesn’t have one dedicated to the campaign. That would be a major asset in talking about progress during his campaign. He would have the opportunity to link to events and articles of interest to the district and his campaign…as well as relate anecdotes from the campaign trail. All the cool kids are doing it!

His campaign website is a bit dated looking and needs to be brought up to 2012. The home page lists some of his major endorsements and a bit of biographical background…but I’d think a better use would be outlining his policy positions and campaign theme similar to his mailings and hand cards. And the items need to be updated – the issues should be new and current – there are only two archives shown: one from April and one from June 2011. Modern websites are the perfect place to toot your own horn but they need to look fresh and stay fresh (static sites aren’t that impressive, I know from my personal experience). And please update the photo? A less vibrant tie perhaps? And contemporary versions of Photoshop should make the alderman look more part of his website!

I also would have expected more comments on current city events…such as the trolley, the budget, and other city wide issues.

I recently heard a criticism that Ald. Zielinski had too many pictures of himself with residents. Well, it’s rather quaint that his neighbors and constituents are willing to pose with him when he’s helped them and their neighborhood or business. And doesn’t it dispel any issues about the alderman being not being active and responsive in the area? It just seems like a Bay View kinda thing to do.

Well, there it is…the Tony Zielinski profile. Since there are only two candidates for the 14th Aldermanic District…it will be Alderman Zielinski vs. Jan Pierce on April 3, 2012.

More than a few months ago I promised profiles on the candidates for the aldermanic seat from the Milwaukee 14th district. Some family issues kept me from the initial timely follow up I proposed and after that there was a fair amount of procrastination on my part. So I owe both Mr. Jan Pierce and Alderman Tony Zielinski an apology for my character failings.

Shortly after he announced his candidacy for Milwaukee alderman in the 14th district, I met with Mr. Jan Pierce and talked about his candidacy and his goals for the district. That event was quite some time ago, so I have had a number of casual conversations with Mr. Pierce and have heard him speak a number of times since then. This blog will be a combination of things I’ve picked up from these various occasions.

Currently a real estate and business attorney with the law firm of Marwicke and Goisman, SC, Mr. Pierce became involved with helping a number of area businesses and non-profit agencies. He started to see ways that he thought an alderman could help Bay View progress. When Alderman Zielinski announced his candidacy for Lt. Governor in 2010, Mr. Pierce first considered running for alderman. But earlier this year he knew his ideas for Bay View were still important and he decided to take on the incumbent directly.

Mr. Pierce stated that he isn’t interested in running an anti- campaign and would rely on projecting the contrast of his vision for Bay View!

His goals include working to build out Bay View as a walkable neighborhood and encourage the continued growth of small and medium businesses in the empty store fronts found throughout the area. He feels that Bay View has developed a vibrant atmosphere and is attractive to entrepreneurial and creative types. Along with the store fronts he would encourage growth in the number of professional services available in the neighborhood as well.

It is important that the alderman provide leadership, to inform and listen to the area residents and act as a liaison with the city government he’s said.

Mr. Pierce promised to run a grass roots campaign. And if you have followed him at all on Facebook, you know he’s done exactly that since he announced the start of his campaign: visiting the neighborhoods, knocking on doors, attending local events and manning information booths He also feels that too often elected officials tend to endorse each other: that’s how the game is played. He wasn’t going to seek such endorsements and prefers to capitalize on the endorsements of his friends and neighbors, the residents and business people of the district. If you visit the endorsement tab on his campaign website, you’ll see that, with just one or two exceptions, he’s kept that promise.

The Jan Pierce for Alderman Campaign leveraged the grass roots connections he’s developed over the past six months and secured the maximum signatures required to appear on the spring ballot in just four days. He was the first candidate in the city to turn in his completed nomination papers, doing so on December 4th.

One of the things he’d like to encourage is organic business growth in Bay View, where the active businesses draw in like minded businesspeople with complimentary businesses. He’d like to see the local business improvement district reach out a bit more and help new businesses get established. This could include mentoring in city red tape and permitting processes, working with landlords via rent structures that support start ups, supporting a ‘business incubator’ culture in the BID and just basically getting new businesses pointed in the right direction. When elected alderman, he would encourage that type of cooperation.

Mr. Pierce recently stated that he would work toward streamlining the city’s permitting processes for new businesses and try to reduce the effort and red tape involved in getting city permissions to get started. He would also like to end ‘aldermanic privilege’, the current practice where common council or city committees defer to the recommendation of the local alderman in matters of permits and licenses. That type of arrangement puts too much authority in the hands of the alderman and can have substantial effects on the residents, the district and the city he feels.

Mr. Pierce has also proposed an architecture committee made up of area residents. Their purpose would be to advise the alderman on new construction or major renovations in Bay View so the neighborhood has input on keeping the look and feel of Bay View while supporting growth and development.

Along with running a very strong grass roots organization, Mr. Pierce has worked hard to build a social media presence. Besides his personal Facebook page, his campaign has maintained a Jan Pierce for Alderman Facebook page and of course the official Jan Pierce for Alderman website. The Facebook pages have been a constant flow of talk about the campaign, anecdotes from the doors, and announcements about events and milestones.

And from his personal page, Mr. Pierce has linked to any number of articles about world events, national issues, economic issues, and personal thoughts and messages.

But what has been surprisingly lacking is commentary on the things that have been going on in the city itself. Unless I have missed it, I haven’t seen discussions on the street car that Mayor Barrett is championing, the effect of the state budget cuts on the cities finances, the Occupy Milwaukee movement and police response to it, or the recently passed city budget and property tax issues. Since these are the very things that he will confront in city hall from day one, I’d expect some commentary on his view of the issues.

And with all of the major issues confronting the City of Milwaukee as a whole and Bay View in particular, I find it rather unusual that one of the three major issues outlined on his website and mail brochure is “Advocating to Improve Neighborhood Schools”. City government really has very little to do with the operation of the Milwaukee Public Schools and an alderman has very little input. The best an alderman can do is act as a liaison between the residents and the local school board director. A fact that Mr. Pierce clearly acknowledge in his comments: “As alderman, I will lend a strong voice of support behind the parents of District 14…”. So why waste one of three issues featured in your literature on an item you have little control over?

By the way, his other two issue points are important to a vital Bay View: “Engaging Residents to Build Stronger, Safer Neighborhoods” and “Supporting Local Entrepreneurs”.

There have been a number of knocks on Mr. Pierce for being elitist (myself included) and acting entitled. And he may have done himself no favors by recently holding a major fundraiser at his law offices (full disclosure, I attended) in the toniest part of the east side. He did use local Bay View sources for his food and beverages which he was proud to acknowledge. But the event was intended to reach out to the members and clients of his law firm, who has encouraged him in his campaign. There were Bay Viewers in attendance and a number of Mr. Pierce’s business clients to show their support and of course a number of his campaign staff and volunteers.

Here is another link to Mr. Pierce’s website. His home page includes a questionaire that you may want to complete if you are a district 14 resident.

Later this week, I will try to get my profile of Alderman Tony Zielinski published here on Blogging Blue.

• Former Milwaukee Public School board member Jennifer Morales has filed to run for 8th District aldermanic seat now held by Bob Donovan. While acknowledging her challenge to an entrenched incumbent like Bob Donovan would make for a tough race, Morales said she offered a new vision, saying, “I want to offer a new style of leadership that’s inclusive and not divisive.” Morales joins a crowded field of challengers to Donovan, with Benjamin Juarez and Chez Ordonez already having announced their intentions to challenge Donovan.

• In other news, Democratic State Sen. Tim Carpenter announced he’ll be a candidate for City of Milwaukee Treasurer. Carpenter will be running to replace Wayne Whittow, who has already announced he won’t seek reelection to his office. As an interesting sidenote, Carpenter will not have to give up his seat in the State Senate unless he’s elected as City Treasurer, thanks to the fact that he’s in the middle of his term as a State Senator.

• And finally…Chris Moews, who unsuccessfully challenged Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke in the Democratic primary for Sheriff in 2010, is laying the groundwork for another run against Clarke. According to an email sent out by Moews to supporters, he’ll be holding a campaign fundraiser at Brocach Irish Pub on October 11 from 5-7 p.m. to begin building his campaign and preparing for his next run against Sheriff Clarke.

Revamp the juvenile justice system? Sure, it could use some serious changes, but Ald. Donovan doesn’t actually propose any changes of his own.

Drastic and far-reaching changes to MPS? Well, my curiousity is piqued, once again Ald. Donovan doesn’t have a plan – just rhetoric.

If Ald. Donovan really thinks he’s the leader Milwaukee has been lacking – which seems to be what he’s implying – then perhaps he should finally grow a pair and run for Mayor, instead of simply taking potshots from the sidelines.

What I’d like to know is when Bob Donovan is going to muster up the courage to stop taking potshots at Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and finally run for the job he really seems to want, which is Mayor of Milwaukee.

Last week I posted a short blog about Bay View attorney Jan Pierce challenging Alderman Tony Zielinski for the seat. Little did I know that this little blog which I expected only a handful of people to care about would garner the most interest and attention of anything I’ve posted. Yes it doesn’t look that impressive on BB, but both campaigns have reached out to me and a number of others have posted on Facebook. So now I have decided to follow up with three related posts. This first one in the series will briefly outline just a few of the issues that I would expect to be discussed during the campaign. I hope to follow with an article about each candidate after I’ve had the opportunity to talk with each of them. The following discussion is not a criticism of any current or future candidate…but just what I think needs to be addressed for the city and district to succeed.

Over the past 5 months a tidal wave of legislation has either been passed in Madison or approved in committee for inclusion in Gov. Walker’s first budget that will have tremendously negative impacts on Milwaukee. The most obvious is the one that has caused the most uproar in the Capitol and that is the nullification of collective bargaining for public employees. And then the cuts to state revenue sharing with the cities, the artificial limits on taxing authorities to levy property taxes to cover the shortfalls, the reassignment of shared funds for local street/road repairs, the abolition of residency requirements for Milwaukee police and fire fighters (there are 122 municipalities in WI with similar laws, why only Milwaukee?). the unfunded mandate of voter ID that will require additional poll workers and the maintenance of poll logs for voters to sign, the $100,000 limit on local governments for local road repair at which point they must bid out the work to private contractors, etc. And although not directly applicable to city government, cuts to MPS which will make it harder to educate our youth and limit our ability to maintain a skilled workforce, cuts to public transportation which will decrease many of our citizens mobility and increase demands for other infrastructure items like roads and parking.

The next alderman needs to be actively concerned about these issues…able to work with citizens to determine immediate needs…able to work with other local officials including county and neighboring municipalities and willing and able to lobby our representatives in Madison to make sure that Wisconsin stops handicapping Milwaukee directly by its actions.

Speaking of infrastructure, the City of Milwaukee has continued effective and efficient city service such as trash/recycling pickup and snow removal. But have you paid any attention to the local streets? Portions of major throughfares including Oklahoma and Kinnickinnic Avenues are pockmarked and deteriorating at incredible rates and the secondary and residential streets are well past their useful life spans. The next alderman will need to address those basic issues.

Development of the district will be critical. The 14th has seen some significant growth over the past 8 to 10 years and we have a great entertainment district now. But we need more businesses that can pay better than waitstaff wages or retail wages. Jobs that provide livable wages and benefits.

Improvements in public transportation are key to the areas growth. The major bus routes running into and through the area have been reduced or eliminated by the last county executive and need to be restored and/or improved. And can we develop a new plan to develop a parking ramp on the city lot on E. Lincoln just east of KK so we can improve parking and traffic flow in the area?

Along with our entertainment district we’ve seen new events and revitalized events throughout the area, including the South Shore Frolics, South Shore Farmers Market, Chill on the Hill, Bay View Gallery Night, Bay View Block Party and more. The alderman needs to be a cheerleader for these events and do what he can to keep them viable. And can we reduce the impact on immediate neighbors without impacting an event…like shuttles for the Frolics or Chill or 4th of July Fireworks along the Bay View lakefront or Humboldt Park.

We have a number of areas that need redevelopment…particularly the industrial area between Bay Street and the Kinnickinnic river…like the junk yard just north of KK and Bay and the old Louis Allis plant. There is also a swath of green space south of Bay Street that might be appropriate for housing that fits with the existing neighborhood (as opposed to the housing proposed several years ago that would have been non-conforming). And care should be taken in the development of new housing, particularly condos or apartments…that they be distinctive without being obtrusive. I’d hate to turn Bay View into the east side or the beer line.

The Sweetwater Organics expansion to the brown field that was the Army Reserve center just north of the Beulah Brinton center must be brought to fruition. Can we finally find someone with the wherewithal to restore the Avalon Theater building. Can we bring more professional offices and services to the area?

And speaking of Sweetwater (and the windmill and community gardens I didn’t speak of) can we continue searching out ‘green’ opportunities for the 14th District. Can we entice one or more of the water initiative companies to locate in the district.

Although Bay View was recently identified as the safest neighborhood in the city, we can’t be complacent. Is the recent reassignment of district stations responsible for covering portions of the district the most effective for the area. (this is an aside…I seldom see MPD in my area unless there is an issue…I see the SFPD far more often since I am about a block north of St Francis and they need to turn around). And with the large number of county parks in the district, can our next alderman work with the Sheriff’s Dept to insure safety for our friends and neighbors in our local parks?

And our alderman needs to be responsive to the constituents and businesses in the neighborhood and be visible in the district.

And although I realize the 14th District is more than Bay View, I see that I am Bay Viewcentric (although I was trying not to be)…so our next alderman has to make sure to represent the entire district.

This has been percolating in my brain since Saturday but I didn’t bother to write down any notes, so I am assuming I have forgotten something I wanted to include. When I recall whatever it is, I’ll add it below with a date stamp so that everyone knows it is new content.

6/9/2011 update: Here are a few other things that I forgot yesterday…development on KK has been the most visible growth in Bay View over the past few years…so now it’s time to fill in other former business streets in the area, Howell comes to mind for instance.

And with the merger of Fritsche Middle School into Bay View HS and the pending migrations of Dover Elementary and Tippecanoe School for the Arts and Humanities into the empty Fritsche building, we have the opportunity to reconfigure these properties.

The company is looking to move in to a facility at the Reed Street yards or the tannery in the Walker’s Point neighborhood.
The California-based company builds equipment that detects impurities and contamination in drinking water and waste water. The president of the company showed WISN 12 News the device that would be made here and how it works.

“Water goes in one side, and water comes out the other. We apply an electrical potential to these two pins. We shine X-rays in this angle and detect X-rays coming out this angle. Very simple and straightforward,” said Bob Keville, President of AMDS.

The company could employ as many as 400 workers if sales increase, and the company hopes to have their facility in Milwaukee up and running by June 2011.

This is certainly great news for the City of Milwaukee, and it’s yet another example of the fact that the City of Milwaukee is a good place to do business, contrary to what so many conservatives would have us believe.

Trek Bicycle Corp. didn’t just give Ray Petro a little boost to ensure he would be able to open a Ray’s Indoor MTB Park for riders in Milwaukee. The Waterloo-based company bought Ray’s business.

That was the news in a release sent out promoting the expected opening of a Ray’s in a shuttered Menard’s store at 8365 N. 76th St. in November.

With a background in construction, Petro opened what is described as the world’s only indoor mountain bike park in Cleveland in 2004. He ran into a problem with financing for the new location in Milwaukee – after announcing the plans in March – and Trek recently stepped in to ensure the project would flourish.

Here’s some video of the Ray’s MTB Indoor Park in Cleveland, Ohio: