By 2050, Latinos/Hispanics will be the majority in the U.S. and we need to put our differences aside to continue to succeed economically and influence political change in our local communities to better our lives by imclusively pushing for equal access to social justice for all and pave a path to success without any barriers for our generations to come, it's our duty and destiny to make the U.S.A. including Wisconsin a better place to live for everyone including people of color.
By H. Nelson Goodson
Hispanic News Network U.S.A.
September 14, 2022
Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Since, the late 1960's to 2022, the status quo or political empowerment in the local, county, state and federal government levels have never given Latinos/Hispanics and people of color anything, we as Latinos/as and people of color have had a history of continued political struggle to fight for our right to get a piece of the dream pie and have successfully strived in accomplishing gradual and radical change to make our lives better and for our children to have a future where we live.
The National Hispanic Heritage Month is a celebration and recognition of our traditions, strives and culture in the U.S. including Wisconsin. In other words, "Aquí estamos y no nos vamos, We are here today and we're not going anywhere", and it should be an awakening for all of us as we join in the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month during the many festivities scheduled for an entire month beginning on September 15 to October 15 in the U.S.
It's an election year, we will definitely see Democrats and Republicans/MAGAs aspiring for political office while others are running for reelection in local, county, state and the federal level. They will come bearing promises to get our vote to elect them into power and as history has shown us, they just fail to live up to their promises, our expectations and in one way or another do nothing to better our communities.
Let's test the political grounds locally in Milwaukee County and City, has anyone noticed that in the City of Milwaukee, a Democrat voting stronghold, we have a Black Mayor who is CavalierJohnson, a former Alderman; Southside Alderman José G. Pérez, the president of the Milwaukee Common Council who is Latino (Boricua); the Milwaukee Police Department Chief of Police Jeffrey B. Norman, who is Black; the outgoing Milwaukee County Sheriff Earnell R. Lucas (retiring) and the incoming Sheriff Denita Ball are both Black; the Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley who is also Black, and the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson who is Black and Latina (Boricua).
These are all local and county political elected officials of color who are Latinos/as and African-Americans in political and law enforcement empowerment in Milwaukee County and City of Milwaukee.
One thing for sure, they have all yet to improve the lives in one way or other of those who have elected them, the voting-age citizen taxpayer.
Let me begin with the Milwaukee Southside, some will definitely dispute what encompasses the Southside, but in Milwaukee, many consider the Menomonie Valley, Third Ward, the Milwaukee Harbor District part of the Southside of Milwaukee where the predominantly Hispanic community resides and for decades have been the largest tax revenue generating areas for the City compared to other aldermanic and business districts, which the Southside alone has more than 8 business districts and not counting other tax revenue sources for the City.
So far, the City of Milwaukee has failed to create a website to publicly post how much of tax revenue is actually generated in each aldermanic district and how much of those tax dollars return to those same districts to ensure economic progress and up keep of City services and funding to local non-profit organizations that strive to improve services to the community at large. The City tax reporting revenue and return is so intricate today, that it's difficult to get the exact amounts of tax dollars being returned to the aldermanic districts.
One would believe, having so many Blacks in political and law enforcement empowerment today, a growth of development would be taking place in the Northside of the City to create jobs and housing to help neutralize the continued homicides and rising crime. I have yet to see any credible economic effort by City officials to improve both the lives of Blacks living in the Northside and Latinos living in the Southside.
One thing I've noticed, that more Whites, Blacks, Latinos and ect. have become homeless due to the current evictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and many of them gather day and night at many corners of our neighborhoods. The proliferation of drug addiction and overdose casualties in our City and County has risen.
Also, a proliferation of trash and public urination has risen in our communities as well. For local police district stations allowing their police officers and supervisors to come out and build partnerships with local organizations and groups to engage in trash clean up only indicates, that City elected officials have become laxed in City services, especially trash clean up from streets and sidewalks and a lack of enforcement for local business owners to wash the urination spots left in front of their businesses.
Now on the County level, Milwaukee County taxpayers contribute nearly $3B in taxes per year, which the State takes for share revenue annually and in return, the State only returns in share revenue to the County an estimated total of $250M to operate, which the County reports a $20M yearly deficit. Not one Milwaukee County supervisor or former supervisor have attempted to file a lawsuit against the Republican controlled legislature in order to get more share revenue to the County. If more share revenue would be returned to Milwaukee County, many issues plaguing the County would be resolved.
Also in the City of Milwaukee concerning share revenue, the City pays its share of combined tax revenue to the State and in return, the State distributes a share revenue to the City to operate, but through the years, the share revenue for the City has declined. In brief, the City pays the State more tax revenue than what the State returns to the City in share revenue.
For example, in 2015, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) reported that the State collected $1,377,329,811 per year in combined taxes from the City of Milwaukee and the State distributed at least $249.90M in share revenue and in 2018, Milwaukee received at least $228.20M in share revenue and in 2019, it received $229.30M in share revenues.
Again, if the State would return more share revenue to the City, many issues plaguing the City could be resolved. Not one alderperson in the Milwaukee Common Council has attempted to file a lawsuit against the Republican controlled legislature to get more share revenue for the City.
Isn't it time for both the County Supervisors and the Milwaukee Common Council to join in an effort to get more of our share revenue returned to our County and City?
Most noticeable today in the Milwaukee Police Department, Latinos/Hispanics are absent from the high rank and file command due to the retirement of many police supervisors, which currently the police department doesn't reflect the Latino community it serves and we should be very concerned and should push for a more representative police force including in police supervisory positions, since Latinos are taxpayers and not excluding the undocumented community that contribute more than $90M in combine taxes annually to the State of Wisconsin.
The same crisis, a lack of Latino high and rank supervisors in the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office is evident.
Time to wake-up amigos/as and to continue pushing for change as a united front.
Is the Republican/MAGA controlled legislature attempting to make the City of Milwaukee and County fail by taking our hard earned taxes annually and returning less of share revenues to our County and City? It certainly seems that they are doing so...
For example, the MAGAs have infiltrated the Milwaukee Police Association, which the City of Milwaukee is a majority Democrat voting stronghold. Also, the Republican National Committee (RNC) opened in 2021 a RNC Hispanic Community Center (Lincoln Village neighborhood) in the predominantly Hispanic community, which has a majority Democrat voting block to recruit Latinos as MAGAs (Make Amerikkka Great Again).
This year, the Republican Party of Wisconsin is holding a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration at the 1500 block of W. Lincoln Ave. in the Southside of Milwaukee, on September 15, 2022 at a parking lot from 5:00 p.m to 7:00 p.m., which is being promoted by Marty Calderon, the local Pastor of God Touch. Calderon has hosted Tim Michels (R), a candidate for Wisconsin Governor at his God Touch building including other Republicans/MAGAs running for public office, but to date, Calderon hasn't hosted a single Democrat running for public office at God Touch. Michels is a known Trump supporter and Calderon has visited Donald Trump (R) when he was the U.S. President at the White House in D.C. before he lost the election in 2020 to Joe Biden (D).
Calderon says, that God Touch is also open to host Democrat candidates as well.
MAGAs are considered a cult and extreme right conservative Republicans that follow both Trump unconditionally and QAnon, a conspiracy theory and political movement.
One thing for sure, the Republican controlled legislature and Michels who is running for Governor in Wisconsin don't actually support for undocumented drivers in the State of Wisconsin to apply for driver's licenses or permits as a road safety measure nor do they support Comprehensive Immigration Reform with a pathway to citizenship for more then 13 million undocumented taxpayers leaving in the U.S. and 70,000 undocumented taxpayers in Wisconsin.
The Latino community in Wisconsin was very instrumental in electing Governor Tony Evers (D) and Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes (D) who is Black in 2020. However, both Governor Evers and Lt. Gov. Barnes betrayed the Latino community by attempting to promote and trying to pass the People's Maps during the redistricting map effort that happens every ten years due to U.S. Census population growth. The People's Maps wanted to create more White Democratic representative State Assembly Districts, which would have made it very difficult to elect Latinos/as who are Democrats in the Southside State Assembly Districts. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this year that the People's Maps were unconstitutional. Barnes, known as the "do nothing candidate" supported Evers in his effort to promote the People's Maps and to date, they haven't apologized to the Latino community for attempting to stab us in the back after we elected them. They sure have no shame as well.
The narrative is, we as Latinos/Hispanics do pocess the ability and voting empowerment to demand and influence political change including accountability in our own communities and state throughout the country. But at times, we only have "dumb or dumber" as candidates to choose and vote for, or as some might say evil or less evil, in any case, it appears that we always get screwed either way. Hopefully, our own candidates of color don't do the same thing and disappoint us.
Vote with your conscience amigos and amigas, but in my case, I will vote and write-in NOTA (None Of The Above) this time around. I used to vote for the less evil, but I will no longer do that.
If a candidate wants my vote, they will have to earn it and be accountable "ha dicho"!
Enjoy Hispanic Heritage Month festivities in the Milwaukee area.
In addition: City of Milwaukee will be celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month at the City Hall Rotunda on Friday, September 16, 2022 at 12:00 p.m., music and food will be provided.
Also, Hispanic Heritage Month will be celebrated at Deer District, FISERV Forum Plaza in downtown Milwaukee from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Friday, September 16, 2022.
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