Bob Donovan offers his neighborhood revitalization plan ahead of Tuesday's Milwaukee mayoral election

Alison Dirr, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

March 31, 2022 at 5:37 PM·2 min read

Bob Donovan speaks during a news conference Thursday about his neighborhood revitalization plan for the city. He spoke in the parking lot of the Midtown Center shopping mall in the aldermanic district represented by his opponent, Cavalier Johnson.

Milwaukee mayoral candidate and former Ald. Bob Donovan on Thursday presented a neighborhood revitalization plan against the backdrop of the Midtown Center mall in his opponent's aldermanic district.

"The weight of rising crime and lawlessness and joblessness and homelessness and hopelessness are impacting our neighborhoods and this entire city," Donovan said at the news conference outside a vacant former Walmart.

He presented his plan just days before Tuesday's election, when he will face off against Acting Mayor Cavalier Johnson.

Midtown Center is in Aldermanic District 2, which Johnson represents even as he is also serving as acting mayor since the departure of former Mayor Tom Barrett in December.

Donovan and Johnson are competing for the remaining two years of the term left open by Barrett's resignation to become U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg. As Common Council president, Johnson automatically became acting mayor when Barrett departed.

More: What to know about Milwaukee mayoral candidate Bob Donovan

More: What to know about Milwaukee mayoral candidate Cavalier Johnson

Midtown, Milwaukee's largest shopping center with 408,500 square feet, is bordered mainly by West Capitol Drive, West Fond du Lac Avenue and North 60th Street.

It has seen losses in recent years as stores closed, including a Starbucks in 2019 and Walmart in 2016.

However, it has also drawn a Children's Hospital of Wisconsin clinic within a former Office Depot and Sellars Absorbent Materials Inc.'s distribution center at a former Lowe's.

Charlette Harris and Brian Basile speak before Bob Donovan, a mayoral candidate, holds a news conference Thursday about his neighborhood revitalization plan, which includes economic development and job opportunities, the housing crisis and increasing homeownership, public safety and additional quality of life initiatives. The news conference was held in the parking lot of Midtown Center mall in Milwaukee.

Donovan for 20 years on the Common Council represented District 8 on the city's south side.

He said if elected he would prioritize public safety as a central part of his neighborhood revitalization plan because businesses and residents do not move into places that are — or are perceived to be — unsafe.

"Without safety, you cannot begin the process of revitalizing a neighborhood," he said.

The plan centers on economic development and job opportunities, increasing homeownership, public safety and other quality of life initiatives.

It calls for steps including:

Using federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to provide seed money for economic development initiatives, fix up city-owned properties to sell to owner-occupants and raze condemned properties that are contributing to neighborhood blight.
Opening at least two shelters for people experiencing homelessness to provide temporary but stable housing.
Working with the state Legislature to push for laws that protect tenants' safety, particularly on the issue of code violations.
Working with community organizations to help recruit police and firefighters who are from Milwaukee.

Johnson has offered what he called an "economic prosperity strategy" that calls for creating economic mobility, investing in public infrastructure to stimulate job creation, and attracting and growing economic investment in the city.

Contact Alison Dirr at 414-224-2383 or adirr@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter @AlisonDirr.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Mayor candidate Bob Donovan offers neighborhood revitalization plan

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