MAJOR RESERVATIONS w/Street Car Project in Milwaukee

"We are providing our STRONG reservations of another DOWNTOWN/EAST SIDE only use of federal dollars sent to the City of Milwaukee". "I assure you, they are interested in “upward mobility”, raising property values, attracting businesses, attracting customers, being a customer, use of talents, defining our city in tourism and city ambience".
Mary Glass, Chair/CEO, Milwaukee Professionals Association

July 29, 2011

MILWAUKEE, WI


As one of, and the last signer-organization with Sustainable Milwaukee for the Class-Action suit regarding the federal $241 Transportation Millions regarding JOBS (the dwindled federal funding, argued dollars between Mayor Barrett and then County Executive Scott Walker). My exposure to the "claim of jobs and/or dangling job promise" go back some years here in the City of Milwaukee - over many projects.

The BOGUS promise of Jobs
I have seen over-and-over the promise of “JOBS" with no accumulative value for Milwaukeeans, especially African American, other People of Color or those with construction talents, paid union dues, and neighborhood-level business ownership. I have seen elected-appointed-hired-voluteered publicize this as a given; but, in actuality it has been smoke-n-mirrors and bait-and-switch scams.

For all intensive purposes, it is/was as if the taxpayers/true stakeholders did not exist except for perfunctory meetings for documentation of citizenry participation. However, those “invited” to the meeting (Milwaukee taxpayers/stakeholders) were given the scope by the high rollers. The People/Milwaukeeans were “by design” left out of revenue sharing and strategic buy-in of the start-ups. By the time they arrived, deals had been cut that instituted legal greed, cronyism, ME-ME-ME, Caucasian only leadership, planning, governing and employment.

Street Car Website
You need only look at who is making the comments on the website.
You need only look at where the route is.
You need only look at the marketing on the website that exclude rather than “include”.
You need only look at the “consultant-value”/boosting.
You need only look at who is/has been around the table.
The promise of jobs-promise of jobs is not credible.
For the Streetcar Website, go to:
http://www.themilwaukeestreetcar.com/index.php

Discrimination with Arrogance
The Streetcar Project is an excellent example of “Discrimination with Arrogance” that is being called to question with the UW System by Milwaukee Professionals Association.

It is an infrastructural and systemic way of “excluding” People of Color and the Work-Challenged with a bang – with endorsements such as Senator Chris Larson, Senator Lena Taylor, Representative Christine Sinicki and Representative Jon Richards.

Accountabilty
What townhall meetings, face-to-face panels, email outreach, telephone ballots and surveys can the Milwaukee Common Council and other elected officials share that represent the wishes of African American, other People of Color and Work-Challenged that are “trapped” in enduring concentrated poverty in the City of Milwaukee?

I assure you, African American, other People of Color and the Work-Challenged were the major donors of the seed money up-for-grabs.
I assure you, they are interested in “upward mobility”, raising property values, attracting businesses, attracting customers, being a customer, use of talents, defining our city in tourism and city ambience.

They are the hundred-thousand that represent the 2011 Reversal Spatial Mismatch (jobs in the city, business opportunity in the city, with earmarked funding for the city; but, African American, other People of Color and the Work-Challenged are “by design” left out).

The Streetcar Project (rail movement) has had different names. The project seems to always be downtown-east side and exclude the hearts of Milwaukee of Color and needed-development of the City of Milwaukee. What’s that about?

It usually have the backing of philanthropic donors for favors, the real estate barons, high rollers in lobbying, cronyism, take-over of city funding, outsourcing our opportunities for employment through groups like the Milwaukee 7, Milwaukee Metropolitan Association of Commerce and the Greater Milwaukee Committee. Enough already.

We have been there many times. We have the wounds and scars to show – decades of unemployment-quality of life and lack of economic development recovery. Generations “trapped” into less-than behavior and non-productivity for acquiring wealth.

We expect you, Senator Larson (7th District), Senator Lena Taylor (4th District), Representative Christine Sinicki (20th District), and Representative Jon Richards (19th District) to check with the your constituents of Color and Work-Challenged for their take on this for leadership, not abandonment. Additionally, to work on creating “networks”-links to technology, research and education attainment for input that will help show you the huge VOIDS in projects like this.

We must bring ALL to the table when proposing use-of-federal and government funding/resources of the City of Milwaukee. We cannot continue to have strategic planning and governance by Caucasian-only bodies and especially those Caucasians who take their salaries and tax dollars to the suburbs.

Where is the Memorandum of Understanding that speaks to the many/most heads of household with enduring concentrated poverty in the City Milwaukee?

What’s the relevance, impact, critical mass of JOBS we are guaranteed, once the dust settles?

What are the transparency, monitoring, enforcement and accountability best practices that will guarantee the human-civil-legal rights of Milwaukeeans mentioned when the devil gets in the detail through the office of Mayor Tom Barrett, the Departments of City Development, Department of Public Works, Department of Neighborhood Services, Emerging Business, Milwaukee Economic Development Corporation and Community Development Block Grant.


For NOW, we give a Thumb down on this idea - Numbers do not add up for African American, other People of Color and the Work-Challenged - NOT INCLUSIVE and sends the wrong signals.