Alderman Cavalier Johnson still does not get it.

UPFRONT W/ALDERMAN CAVALIER JOHNSON - CHANNEL 12

ADRIENNE: DOES MILWAUKEE HAVE A BRAIN DRAIN GOING ON? 

STATISTICS SHOW THE NUMBERS OF EDUCATED YOUNG PEOPLE LEAVING BOTH THE CITY AND THE STATE ARE HIGHER THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE. A MILWAUKEE ALDERMAN HOPES TO REVERSE THIS TREND. 

CAVALIER JOHNSON WANTS TO FORM A MILLENNIAL TASK FORCE TO STUDY HOW TO ATTRACT AND KEEP YOUNGER PEOPLE. THE COMMON COUNCIL WILL VOTE O THIS IDEA TUESDAY, AND ALDERMAN JOHNSON JOHNS NOW ON "UPFRONT." THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

 >> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. 

ADRIENNE: WHY DO YOU THINK THIS TASK FORCE IS NECESSARY? >>

FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS. WE SEE A PROBLEM IN MILWAUKEE AND ACROSS THE STATE IN THE LOSS OF YOUNG PEOPLE, AND YOUNG PEOPLE BRING ENERGY AND DYNAMISM TO COMMUNITIES, AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE ARE WORKING TO KEEP THOSE YOUNGER PEOPLE HERE AND ATTRACT OTHER YOUNG PEOPLE FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO COME HERE BECAUSE THEY ADD TO COMMUNITIES. 

ADRIENNE: FOR CLARIFICATION AND FOR OUR PURPOSES TALKING ABOUT MILLENNIALS, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE AGES 25 TO 34. 

HOW WOULD YOU FIND THE MEMBERS OF THIS TASK FORCE? 

ALDERMAN: WE DID A LOT OF LEGWORK BEFORE INTRODUCING THIS LEGISLATION, SO WE WORKED WITH A NUMBER OF YOUTH SERVING ORGANIZATIONS AND PLACES THAT TEND TO HIGHER LINEAL’S INTO THEIR WORKFORCE. 

EVERYBODY FROM NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL TO MILWAUKEE HAS SHOWN TREMENDOUS INTEREST IN THIS, SO IT WAS EASY PICKENS TO LOOK AT THE GROUPS SERVING YOUNG PEOPLE AND MILLENNIALS IN PARTICULAR TO GET THEM TO SIGN UP ON THIS.  IT IS SOMETHING THEY ARE ALL INTERESTED IN AS WELL.

ADRIENNE: WHY SHOULD PEOPLE CARE ABOUT KEEPING MILLENNIALS IN THE CITY AND STATE? 

MR. JOHNSON: AS I SAID EARLIER, THE MILLENNIALS AND YOUNGER PEOPLE ADD ENERGY, ADD DYNAMISM, THEY ARE ENTREPRENEURIAL. THEY ARE MORE CONSCIOUS -- CONSCIOUS ABOUT SOCIAL ISSUES, ABOUT ECONOMIC ISSUES AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES. AS WE LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING MILWAUKEE TO THE MIDPOINT OF THE 21ST CENTURY, IT’S IMPORTANT TO HAVE VOICES OF MILLENNIALS AT THE TABLE. 

AS THE RESIDENT MILLENNIAL ON THE CITY COUNCIL, I THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE I USE MY POSITION TO STEP UP AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO TO ADDRESS THESE THINGS AND KEEP MILLENNIALS IN MILWAUKEE. 

ADRIENNE: IN YOUR RESEARCH SO FAR, WHAT ARE YOU HEARING ABOUT WHY THEY ARE LEAVING? I KNOW THAT’S PART OF WHAT THE TASK FORCE WILL DO BUT WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR IDEAS? 

MR. JOHNSON: SOME OF THE REASONS ARE WEATHER RELATED, WHICH WE CAN’T CONTROL THAT. [LAUGHTER] 

ADRIENNE: NO. 

MR. JOHNSON: IF THEY WERE TO VISIT AND HAVE AN IMPRESSION OF US IN THE SUMMERTIME WHEN THE FESTIVALS WERE GOING ON, THEY WOULD BE LIKELY TO STAY, BUT THEN WE HAVE SIX MONTHS OF WINTER, SO IT BECOMES DIFFICULT. I WAS TALKING TO MY SISTER RECENTLY WHO MOVED TO DALLAS TWO YEARS AGO, AND SHE TALKS ABOUT THE PERCEPTION OF VIOLENCE HERE VERSUS THE PERCEPTION OF VIOLENCE IN OTHER PLACES, INCLUDING THE PLACE WHERE SHE LIVES NOW. THE WAY IT IS PORTRAYED VIA SOCIAL MEDIA OR NEWS MEDIA OVERALL, HAS AN EFFECT ON THE WAY PEOPLE PERCEIVE A COMMUNITY. SOME OF THOSE THINGS ARE THINGS THAT AFFECT THE REASONS WHY PEOPLE DECIDE TO COME OR LEAVE. THERE ARE NUMBER OF ISSUES AS WELL, AMENITIES LIKE PARKS, TRAILS, ACCESS TO WATER, DYNAMIC DOWNTOWN AREA, NEIGHBORHOODS, TOO. THOSE ARE THINGS WE ARE LOOKING TO LOOK AT IN THIS TASK FORCE. 

ADRIENNE: SO YOU DON’T THINK IT’S NECESSARY THE CRIME IT IS THE PERCEPTION OF THE CRIME? 

MR. JOHNSON: IT IS THE PERCEPTION OF THE CRIME. PLACES ACROSS THE COUNTRY HAVE ISSUES AND MILWAUKEE IS NO DIFFERENT. BUT THE WAY SOME THINGS ARE COVERED HERE VERSUS HOW THEY ARE COVERED IN OTHER PLACES, I THINK THAT HAS A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON PEOPLE’S FEELINGS ABOUT WHERE THEY LIVE. THAT IS NOT TO SAY THEY ARE NOT ISSUES, THEY CERTAINLY ARE, AND WE ARE ACTIVELY WORKING TO PURSUE THOSE ISSUES TO MAKE OUR CITY A SAFER CITY, BUT THERE ARE SO MANY POSITIVE STORIES THAT HAPPEN IN MILWAUKEE EVERY DAY THAN THE ONES PEOPLE HEAR ABOUT, NECESSARILY, EVERY NIGHT. 

ADRIENNE: IT HAS CHANGED A LOT IN THE LAST FEW YEARS. LOOKING AT FISERV FORUM, THE DOWNTOWN AREA, ADDING THE STREETCAR, THERE ARE CHANGES PEOPLE WOULD THINK WOULD BE GOOD FOR MILLENNIALS. 

MR. JOHNSON: I THINK YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. MILWAUKEE HAS HAD A TREMENDOUS RENAISSANCE IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA. WE ARE ACTIVELY WORKING TO MAKE SURE THAT EXPANDS INTO THE NEIGHBORHOODS AS WELL, BECAUSE THE CITY IS MORE THAN DOWNTOWN. THE VAST MAJORITY OF PEOPLE, INCLUDING MILLENNIALS, I THINK LIVE IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS. WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THE NEIGHBORHOODS ARE ATTRACTIVE FOR PEOPLE TO LIVE, AND HAVE SOME SORT OF CIVIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DESTINATIONS AS WELL. WE ARE ACTIVELY WORKING TO DO THAT. IT’S NOT JUST DOWNTOWN. IT HAS TO BE OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS, TOO. ONE OF THE THINGS -- THAT’S ONE OF THE THINGS THE TASK FORCE WILL LOOK OUT. 

ADRIENNE: YOU THINK THE COMMON COUNCIL WILL SIGN OFF? 

MR. JOHNSON: I’M AS CONFIDENT AS I COULD BE WITHOUT HAVING A CRYSTAL BALL AND KNOWING FOR SURE IT WILL HAPPEN, BUT I’M PRETTY SURE THEY WILL SIGN OFF. 

ADRIENNE: ALDERMAN JOHNSON, THANK YOU.

MR. JOHNSON: THANK YOU. 

Why I say Alderman Cavalier Johnson still does not get it.

If you notice, in the interview, he did not start off in the right neighborhoods/area of Milwaukee with the right narrative.  He didn't choose his District  2 and Midtown as the place of start and to Welcome 25-34-year-olds to grow a Smart City with a digital mojo for African Americans and other People of Color already in Milwaukee.

He started off with "creaming the crop" by using Caucasians only like Northwestern Mutual and Newaukee.  These folks are not interested in Equity or Inclusiveness.  Where is his leadership and experience with his 40,000 constituents?  This is/was the time to show and tell.  To show why he should be re-elected.

Those of you who jumped in the discussion on Facebook are the ones who should be speaking up daily to ensure that YOU are not left out - that is if you wish to make the task force what it should be in Milwaukee.  Northwestern Mutual has programs already where they are "Caucasian-based" - advertisement, digital center and the supposedly Renaissance Plan Downtown for Caucasians and big business, one of Tom Barrett's replacement of African American majority program.  

Cavalier Johnson, Alderman/District 2 is one of Barretts's favorite water-carriers.  Here he is speaking about Northwestern and Newaukee rather than one of the young African American Millennial groups and many businesses that can benefit from this initiative in his district at Midtown (creating a NEW BIRTH of businesses and entrepreneurs) - a narrative with young African American fulfilling quality of life and economic development dreams.

A strategic plan to blend talent, opportunity, financial resources for RENOVATING Midtown.  African Americans are builders, designers, deep thinkers, dreamers of innovation and a desire to see Milwaukee support African American family engagers for sustainability.


Start at home Alderman Cavalier Johnson.

Come on Mr. Johnson.

Come on Common Council.