Government and Politics
Milwaukee has a mayor-council form of government. With the election of Mayor Jon O. Norquist in 1988, the city adopted a cabinet form of government with the mayor appointing those department heads not otherwise elected or appointed -- notably the Fire and Police Chiefs. While this gave the mayor greater control of the day-to-day operations of the city, the Common Council retains almost complete control over the city's finances and the mayor, with the exception of his proposed annual budget, cannot directly introduce legislation. The Common Council consists of elected members, each representing one of 15 districts in the city. Milwaukee has a history of giving long tenures to its mayors; from Frank Zeidler to Tom Barrett, the city has had only four mayors in the last 60 years. When 28-year incumbent Henry Maier retired in 1988, he held the record for longest term of service for a city of Milwaukee's size.
Milwaukee has been a Democratic stronghold for more than a century, with Democrats dominating every level of government, except for its Socialist mayors and (for briefer periods) other city and county offices. The city is split among three state Senate districts, each of which is composed of three Assembly districts. All 12 of the officials representing the city in the State Legislature are Democrats. In 2008, Barack Obama won Milwaukee with 77% of the vote.
Milwaukee makes up the overwhelming majority of Wisconsin's 4th congressional district. The district is heavily Democratic. The Democratic primary for the seat is considered more important than the general election. The district is currently represented by Democrat Gwen Moore.
Milwaukee residents elect representatives to the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors. The current County executive is Chris Abele.
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Famous quotes containing the words government and/or politics:
“A government deriving its energy from the will of the society, and operating, by the reason of its measures, on the understanding and interest of the society ... is the government for which philosophy has been searching and humanity been fighting from the most remote ages ... which it is the glory of America to have invented, and her unrivalled happiness to possess.”
—James Madison (1751–1836)
“I played by the rules of politics as I found them.”
—Richard M. Nixon (1913–1995)