NEWS
MAKING COUNTY GOVERNMENT
Work Like It Should INTERVIEW WITH COUNTY EXECUTIVE DAVID CROWLEY BY LOUIS FORTIS AND TYLER NELSON
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ast May, David Crowley became Milwaukee County’s first African American County Executive. He took office less than two months after COVID hit Milwaukee and a month before protests over the murder of George Floyd. 2020 was a difficult year, but Crowley brought competence and experience to his new job. As 2021 begins, he looks forward to a new administration in Washington and the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine but is prepared for many challenges in the months ahead. You came into the office during a pandemic, a recession, a serious structural deficit in the budget and an active movement for social and racial justice on the streets. So, how do you like your job? You know, I absolutely love my job. I would say we have been able to do a lot. When you think about this pandemic, when you think about the social unrest— Milwaukee County has to be at its best when everybody feels like we’re in the worst of everything in our lifetime. So, we
have been building relationships along with the County Board, along with business leaders, community leaders, as well as building relationships with other units of government and businesses outside of Milwaukee County, because we know that we have to lean on one another, not only to get through this pandemic, but to build back better once we near the end of this pandemic and start thinking about the economic recovery. So, I feel good about everything. Yes, there are a lot of challenges out there, but I think there is also an equal amount of opportunities that we have to pursue. You are totally a self-made guy, and I have great respect for that. Tell us about your background growing up. Where did you grow up and what was your life like? I was born and raised right here in the City of Milwaukee. Grew up in the 53206 ZIP code. I am the middle child; I have an older brother and a younger brother. Went to public schools my whole life, and we struggled a lot. My
parents struggled with drug addictions, but they also struggled to put food on the table. My mother struggled a lot and got to the point where she needed food stamps. She struggled to the point where we needed a lot of Milwaukee County services because we were evicted at least three times. Honestly, what changed everything for me was when I was about 17 years old and got involved in a youth organization called Urban Underground, and it really taught me how to love. When you grow up on 23rd and Burleigh, 22nd and Brown, you see a lot of different things in your environment. And if it weren’t for Urban Underground intervening, I wouldn't have been introduced to community organizing or wouldn’t have been introduced to actually leaving my own neighborhood. Urban Underground introduced me to other programs such as Public Allies, who helped me understand what it means to give back and be a servant-leader in this community. From Public Allies, I continued to do community organizing throughout the city. Image by Sean Pavone/Getty Images
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