I was raised in one of Wauwatosa’s oldest homes, built in 1870, and now live in a home built in 1916. I cherish our city’s beautiful neighborhoods.
When a proposal for an office and residential tower on the corner of Mayfair and Blue Mound Roads came before the Plan Commission in November 2020, I voted against it. (See https://wauwatosacitywi.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileView.aspx?Type=15&ID=2803.) The proposed building was too big for the neighborhood and would have negatively affected the residents nearby. That building is not going forward.
As aldermanic liaison to the Wauwatosa Historic Preservation Commission, I worked with my colleagues to create the Wauwatosa Avenue and Rockway/Brookside Places Historic Districts and to designate such additional landmarks as the First Congregational Church, the Muellner Building, and the Wauwatosa Cemetery Chapel to preserve what is special about Wauwatosa’s neighborhoods. Just before joining the Common Council, I served on a Wauwatosa Historical Society committee that worked with the City to preserve the Little Red Store in Wauwatosa’s Village.
From 2003 to 2005, I co-chaired a project which raised the funds to restore the historic lobby and New Deal-era murals at Wauwatosa East High School and to create a museum there.
Along with my passion for Wauwatosa’s neighborhoods, I have a passion for Wauwatosa’s green spaces. I spent countless hours in our parks as a boy and have continued to enjoy and advocate for our parks as an adult. No one loves them more than I do. In addition to being a long-time member of the Sierra Club, when I applied to Princeton University for my master’s degree in public administration, my essay was about Milwaukee County’s parks and the environmental and economic benefits they provide. I have always supported preserving the green space at the County Grounds, and am proud that the City worked together with Milwaukee County to create County Grounds Park.
I am a founding board member of the Friends of Hoyt Park & Pool, Inc., which raised $8 million to create and operate a new community pool and beer garden at Hoyt Park. One of my contributions was to use my skills as a lawyer to negotiate a 55-year lease with Milwaukee County to allow FOHPP to operate the complex. I’m still a member of the FOHPP board today.
When ATC announced that it would erect high-voltage power lines through neighborhoods and along Underwood Parkway, I took the lead on the Common Council in trying to minimize the impact of those lines, working with neighborhood groups, WE Energies, and ATC.
On the Common Council, I supported the City’s initiatives at Hartung Park and was a leading advocate for allocating City funds to improve Hart Park. I also was a member of the Village Streetscaping Committee, which rebuilt the parks and infrastructure in Wauwatosa’s Village.
During my tenure as an alderman, we also created an “open spaces” plan in collaboration with the Wauwatosa School District in which we made a joint inventory of parks and playgrounds under each entity’s control so we could work together to provide the recreational space that our residents want.
