MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – Affordability is top of mind for David Crowley, a Democratic candidate in the race for Wisconsin’s next governor.
The Milwaukee County Executive previously served in the state Assembly. If elected, he would be the state’s first Black governor.
The following is an edited transcript of the conversation between Crowley and Wisconsin State Capitol Bureau Chief Vanessa Kjeldsen. It has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
Vanessa Kjeldsen: Why do you want to be governor?
David Crowley: Well, I wanna be governor because I think that there’s a lot of things for us to do across this entire state, and I think that we need some strong executive leadership. I spent a lot of time in the State Capitol, so I know how Madison works, and for the past five years, I’ve been leading the largest county in the State of Wisconsin.
VK: What is your top priority as governor?
DC: We really need to tackle this affordability crisis… Things like bringing more affordable and attainable housing to every corner of our state, being able to make healthcare affordable as well as accessible, making sure that people don’t have to go into debt in order to pay for childcare, fully funding our public school systems.
VK: You mentioned a lot of different points for tackling affordability. Can you talk about specifically what are some policies?
DC: There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution to the issues… When it comes down to housing, whether we’re looking into how many of our bureaucrats are stopping the level of housing that we need. Or when it comes down to our local units of government, seeing how the state of Wisconsin really broke its promise on giving local municipalities the ability to invest in what matters most to them, being able to invest in fire, police, housing, transportation.
VK: As governor, would you want to create rules that would require more dense housing? What would this look like?
DC: Well, it would look like partnership… We can’t assume what works in Milwaukee is going to work in Madison, or going to work in Minocqua, or going to work in Bayside.
VK: You also made historic property tax cuts in Milwaukee. Talk a little bit more about that.
DC: We’re one of the highest property tax burden states in the entire country. And so I do believe that we have to figure out how to diversify the way we pay for the things that matter most.
VK: You grew up in the 53206 zip code. What was that like?
DC: You know, I had great loving parents, I had great neighbors, but my parents also had their own challenges with both mental health and addiction… 53206 is really known for all the things that it lacks… I can imagine somebody who lives in communities, in northern communities across the state, may not believe that they have anything in common with that zip code, but they do.
VK: How would you work with the Trump administration as a governor?
DC: Well, I don’t think that, you know, just because I have a different letter behind my name, that you can’t be able to work with anyone. When you walk into a restaurant, you’re asking for your food. You’re not having a conversation with the cashier about their relationship with the cook in order for you to get your food. That’s a process problem. You don’t care about the process. You want to see that food come out hot and make sure it’s good for your belly.
VK: How do you feel about U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany entering the race for governor?
DC: Well, I’m afraid of any Republican winning this race.
VK: Is there anything from the Evers administration that you would want to change?
DC: You know, I don’t know if there’s something I would change, but there’s definitely some things that I would build upon that Governor Evers has done.
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