Contact: Sam Singleton-Freeman, 414-469-9206, [email protected]
MILWAUKEE, WI — At a press conference on the day before Election Day, US Congresswoman Gwen Moore weighed in on contentious Milwaukee County Board races and urged voters to support Peggy West and Steven Shea for Milwaukee County Supervisor. Congresswoman Moore’s endorsement comes after reports revealed that billionaire Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele has spent nearly $500,000 to support West’s and Shea’s opponents, as well as three other County Board candidates, as part of an effort to remove his opposition from local government.
Congresswoman Moore was joined by State Representative Jocasta Zamarripa of Milwaukee and representatives from Voces de la Frontera Action, the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association (MTEA) and American Federation of Teachers Local 212 (AFT 212), which represents MATC staff. The coalition also declared support for Judge Rebecca Dallet for Wisconsin Supreme Court, and urged voters to vote No on the constitutional referendum to eliminate the State Treasurer’s office.
“County Supervisor Peggy West is so special because her leadership stye is very hands-on,” said US Congresswoman Gwen Moore of Milwaukee. “She has been very active in the fight for immigrant rights, she has been at the forefront of the fight to keep Social Security access here on the South Side of Milwaukee. She has been very very active on anti-violence initiatives. Reelect Peggy West, and reject this outside spending, because Peggy West is not a puppet. I also encourage you to elect Steve Shea for the same reason. And I hope that you will all get out and vote for Judge Rebecca Dallet tomorrow. We need judges who are fair. Like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, we need to march on those ballot boxes, so we can bring men and women who will speak justice and show mercy into our various offices. Let’s head out and vote for Peggy West, Steve Shea, and Rebecca Dallet.”
“Voces de la Frontera Action is endorsing County Supervisor Peggy West, who has an impeccable record on both civil rights and worker rights issues,” said Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Executive Director of Voces de la Frontera Action. “County Executive Abele is attacking Peggy West precisely because she has challenged his agenda of privatization and attacks on unions and a living wage. Immigrants and Latinx people are disproportionately part of the working poor, and while Abele has been supportive on civil rights issues, you cannot be pro-immigrant and pro-Latinx and not be pro-worker. In addition, we encourage everyone to support Steve Shea for County Supervisor. Steve is a teacher, and he will be a voice for working families in Milwaukee County. We also support Rebecca Dallet for State Supreme Court. Lastly, we urge a no vote on the constitutional referendum. The State Treasurer’s office is a safeguard against abuse of power. If that office is eliminated, Scott Walker could have unchecked control of the critical resources we need for our schools, roads, and environment. We would see whole new levels of corruption.”
“Supervisor Peggy West grew up in the near south side community that she now represents on the county board,” said State Representative Jocasta Zamarripa of Milwaukee. “She has long advocated for the south side of Milwaukee and its fast growing Latino and immigrant constituency. The only progressive running in this race, she is the leader that will fight to hold our county government accountable.”
“The Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association is proud to stand with Voces de la Frontera Action in our support for Peggy West and Rebecca Dallet,” said Kim Shroeder, President of the MTEA. “The members of the MTEA remain committed to standing against the Treasure Ballot initiative that would remove the Office of State Treasurer from our State Constitution. This harmful consolidation of power would eliminate oversight of taxpayer dollars and be another blow to our public schools, libraries, UW System, public lands, and local parks.”
“Peggy West has fought for the same kind of values that AFT 212 stands for against privatization and for immigrant rights, which affect many of our students at MATC,” said Dave Weingrod of AFT 212. “Steve Shea is a part-time faculty instructor at MATC and has stood up for many things for his students, and we are happy that he is in this race. What we’re not so happy about is the amount of money that the County Executive, with whom we’ve had many disagreements, has poured into these elections. In Steve Shea’s race alone we’re talking about $150,000, that’s unheard of in local elections. We fear that this is going to set new norms, and average people without a lot of money like Steve Shea will not be able to run for office.”
Voces de la Frontera Action (501c4) is the advocacy arm of Voces de la Frontera, with the same mission to fight for the rights of workers, students, and low wage immigrant workers, and is not affiliated with any political party or candidate.
