Angel Sanchez Seeks 12th District Aldermanic Seat
By Robert Miranda
This past Sunday evening on his Facebook page, former Alderman Angel Sanchez announced he will be entering the 12th district Alderman race.
Sanchez served as the first elected Hispanic City of Milwaukee Alderman from 2000 to 2004. He takes on the streetcar-supporting incumbent, Jose G. Perez.
Most recently, Perez failed to support a widely-backed community library project that would have honored civil rights activist and labor leader Cesar E. Chavez. Perez has been in office for one term.
This marks the last of the current Milwaukee Alderman entered into the 2016 spring election that remain unchallenged.
Incumbent Alderpersons who have not filed yet include Ashanti Hamilton, Nik Kovac, Milele Coggs, Bob Donovan and Russell Stamper II. Among these Alderpersons, the only incumbent who remains unchallenged is Ashanti Hamilton. Please note that Joe Davis is not seeking re-election for his current aldermanic seat as he pursues his campaign for Mayor. There are currently seven challengers who have filed to run for that district seat.
Interested candidates have until January 5, 2016 to file according to the City of Milwaukee Election Commission.
The only City of Milwaukee elected official who has filed and remained unchallenged is city Comptroller Martin Mason.
This marks an abnormally high number of challengers for a single city-wide election season. With over two months to go until the filing deadline, there might be even more challengers to come forth.
Currently, there are 30 challengers competing against currently seated Alderpersons and six challengers competing for Mayor Barrett’s seat.
This type of unforeseen ballooning of challengers may represent the growing disappointment and distrust for Milwaukee elected officials.
Whether it simply be political hopefuls who sense the vulnerability of these elected officials because of their vote to redirect future taxpayer dollars away from education and crime prevention to finance a three-mile long streetcar, or because this administration and elected officials voted to give tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to finance a sports complex for New York billionaire NBA franchise owners, or because there is a general consensus that current local elected officials are not representing their constituencies and are only concerned with pleasing Mayor Barrett and receiving a paycheck. The general public is giving these elected officials a “thumbs down” as it pertains to their governance of this city.
Regardless, one thing is for certain when you have this many challengers this early: it is going to be one of the most contested election cycles this town has ever seen.
