Dear neighbors,
My name is Alex Brower, and I’m running to represent District 3 on the Milwaukee Common Council. The election is tomorrow, April 1, and I want to let you know about some of the experience and representation I will bring to this seat.
In my life, I have worked on a salmon fishing boat, as a delivery van driver, in a distribution center, at a credit union, as a union organizer, as a substitute teacher, as a union president, and as Executive Director of the Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans (WIARA). I have been in the roles of worker, advocate and organizer for workers, and as a leader and founder of groups that represent workers.
All my life, I have stood with, fought for, and won for working people. That’s why working people are joining my campaign to win this election.
Almost 150 different people have volunteered with us over the course of these past four months. Together we have knocked on thousands of doors in the district and had countless conversations with District 3 residents. Those residents have shared what they feel are the most important issues facing their district and city, and many are fully supporting our campaign and passionately speaking about why.
To date, our campaign has had over 650 unique donors. Our donors are regular, working class people like teachers, electricians, handymen, and union organizers – people you’d meet in your neighborhood. Our median donation is only $20, meaning many people are donating what little they can to help us make a difference.
According to publicly available campaign finance reports, our opponent is receiving large donations from fewer people. Only about 160 people have donated to his campaign, with a median donation of $100. Some of the most common occupations listed in his reports are real estate developers, asset managers, CEOs, and presidents. Among them is Martin Katz (seen on page 5 of the Spring Pre-Election finance report), real estate investor and brother of Katz Properties owner Dan Katz, a notoriously bad landlord.
The difference is clear. Our campaign is of, by, and for the working class. Our opponent’s campaign is backed by the 1% of this city and its suburbs.
I’ve lived in Milwaukee since November of 2011, spending well over a decade working with and talking to the people of this community. My time doing so has clearly shown me the struggles that the people of Milwaukee are facing, and it is those struggles that have shaped my platform.
From rent and mortgages, to our utility bills, to the food we all need to survive, our cost of living is far too high. That’s why I’m running to build affordable, safe, and dignified public housing, to stand up to corporate landlords, and to fight for tenants. And it’s also why I’m running to replace We Energies with a publicly-owned utility.
Despite Milwaukee having the highest utility bills in the country and a looming worldwide climate crisis, We Energies continues to raise energy rates and fight the transition to carbon-free energy, all while building a new fossil fuel power plant. That’s why the campaign I’ve worked on for years to replace them has gathered over 10,000 signatures on our petition for a publicly-owned utility.
The people of Milwaukee are fed up with high prices for a poor service that pollutes our planet, and they know a democratically owned and operated utility is the best way to change that. Yet, in a recent Journal Sentinel article by Vanessa Swales, our opponent has said he “would not make it a priority.” Our city needs elected officials that WILL make it a priority. Residents can’t afford to keep waiting.
Whether it’s political policy, work experience, the volunteers our campaign has activated, or the donations our campaign has received, I’m here for working people and working people here for our campaign.
So please: join our movement and help us win change in the interests of all, not just the few.
Come out to volunteer, donate to the campaign, and most importantly, vote TOMORROW, April 1, for Alex Brower.
In solidarity,
Alex Brower
