About the Author

Milwaukee Public Schools have seen a drop in test scores, lower parent involvement, broadened achievement gaps and a lack in leadership in recent years. State Legislature is being pushed for a complete change with a mayoral takeover of MPS, but some still find the current system only needing tweaks. With MPS losing millions of dollars each year, and options being exhausted, is mayoral control the only option for success?

Now that Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has announced his candidacy for governor, political observers are preparing for what could be an all-Milwaukee gubernatorial race between Barrett and County Executive Scott Walker.

Following months of Favre-like indecision, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett announced Sunday his intention to run for governor of Wisconsin.

City Budget
City and county legislators voted on the proposed budgets of Mayor Tom Barrett and Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker.  The city vote was Friday, and county supervisors voted last night.
Milwaukee’s Common Council approved Mayor Tom Barrett’s budget Friday, by a vote of 13-2. The budget had been mired in controversy over proposed furloughs for [...]

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, donning a gold Marquette basketball shirt for the occasion, outlined details of his gubernatorial platform at an event sponsored by Marquette College Republicans Sunday night in the Alumni Memorial Union.
He focused on making Wisconsin conducive for creating and retaining jobs by fostering a healthy business environment. He said [...]

Landlords, watchdog group oppose ordinance
The Milwaukee Common Council is considering a proposed city ordinance that would require Department of Neighborhood Services inspections of apartment buildings in two neighborhoods. The council voted to hold the ordinance on Tuesday by a 9-5 vote.
The ordinance would mandate each rental unit have a residential renter certificate issued by DNS [...]

The 2010 election may be a full year away, but it’s not too soon to look ahead to the gubernatorial race in Wisconsin.
After eight years in office, Gov. Jim Doyle has decided not to run for another term in 2010. This leaves the race wide open for candidates from both parties.
With the Democratic incumbent out [...]

Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen discussed his interpretation of Wisconsin’s gun control regulations during a Tuesday lecture at Sensenbrenner Hall.

A bill banning text messaging while driving took its first step toward becoming a law last week by passing through the Wisconsin state Senate.
A 27-5 Senate majority approved the bill last week. When the bill was still in committee, members drafted one version that would have made texting illegal only for drivers under the age [...]

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee may have a new archbishop as soon as Tuesday, said William Thorn, associate professor in the College of Communication and an expert on religious communication who has been a consultant to the Vatican. Recent appointments in Cheyenne, Wyo., Pueblo, Colo., and Providence, R.I., have raised the speculation that an appointment [...]