The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has published a very nice profile of Milwaukee Board Chairwoman Marina Dimitrijevic.
To Marina Dimitrijevic, the South Shore Park Pavilion is a symbol of what is right about Milwaukee County.
And it is here where Dimitrijevic, the chairwoman of the Milwaukee County Board, chooses to meet with a reporter, to talk about her life, the county and the political fight of her career.
“It’s not like I’m fighting for myself,” she says. “I feel like I’m fighting for the people I represent.”
She is 31, a politician on the rise. But she leads a County Board that appears on the verge of having its wings clipped by the Legislature.
Reform is on the agenda at the Capitol, with pending legislation that would turn the 18 supervisors into part-timers with limited oversight powers. If the bill passes the Legislature and gains Gov. Scott Walker’s signature, county voters would get the chance to slash supervisor pay in a referendum next year.
Dimitrijevic is in a multifront battle. She talks with legislators to try to stop the bill pushed by Rep. Joe Sanfelippo (R-West Allis), a former County Board member. She deals with Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele, who backs the legislation, as well as the Greater Milwaukee Committee, the business group that spearheads the reform effort.
And she pitches the idea that reform should come from within the county.
“What’s on the table is board size, board pay, funding for parks, transit and mental health,” she says, ticking off a list of ideas that have come up during neighborhood forums she has held around the county.
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