By Robert Miranda

Editor’s Commentary

As Mayor Barrett propaganda machine continues its campaign to draw attention away from lead in water to lead paint chips and lead dust being the problem, let me say that in MKE the mayor cannot conclusively say that paint chips and window sills are the problem because as he admitted, water in homes with elevated blood lead levels were not tested for lead in water.

Also, lead particles coming from water have been proven to have higher lead concentration than lead in paint chips or dust. Finally, I don’t believe that infants under 8 months old with elevated blood lead levels levitate to windows sills to feast on paint chips and snort lead dust.

With the appointment of Dr. Patricia McManus as the interim Commissioner of the Milwaukee Health Department, an appointment Mayor Barrett does not agree with hence why Barrett did not sign the Common Council resolution appointing Dr. McManus, the chaos and mismanagement of the health department is finally going to be dealt with and fixed in these next few months.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee is realizing the level of calamity lead poisoning has done to our families. It is becoming increasingly clear week after week that lead poisoning of residents in Milwaukee has been out of control for the past few years.

Milwaukee’s 12th Aldermanic District is one of the tragic stories coming out of this lead chaos in our city’s neighborhoods.

Recent revelation from the Milwaukee Health Department shows that the 12th Aldermanic District has the highest concentration of elevated lead blood levels cases on the Southside of Milwaukee. The district with the highest concentration of Latino children has the highest number of children with elevated lead in their blood on the Southside since 2014.

When asked about this by me Perez was not having it. He refused to answer my questions on how he was going to address this and he refuses to respond to my email questions.

He did say however he was going to meet with the new interim health commissioner to discuss the toxic lead situation in his district.

Known for Decades

Lead in water poisoning in our community has been dealt with in a standoffish way for decades. Alderman Bob Bauman declared in a Steering & Rules committee meeting in January 2016 that city leaders and health officials have known for decades the hazard lead pipes present to the health of our community, yet our city elected leaders did nothing until Freshwater For Life a Action Coalition and other groups in the city began organizing and forcing these bureaucrats and elected leaders to act.

Young children are particularly vulnerable to the toxic effects of lead and can suffer profound and permanent adverse health effects, particularly affecting the development of the brain and nervous system. Lead also causes long-term harm in adults, including increased risk of high blood pressure and kidney damage.

But Alderman Jose Perez wasn’t focused on lead in our community these past few years, Perez had money on his mind and there was money to be made.

In fact, Perez has made so much money that in 2016 the Milwaukee Urban Journal was surprised to learn that Perez was the fourth leading fundraiser on the Common Council with a whooper of a cash amount totaling $95,292.

Good for Perez.

Now that he’s made his money maybe Perez can take some of his cash making energy and refocus his energy on getting the Milwaukee health department to work with him on developing a plan that will reduce the lead in the blood of families in the 12th district. Such plan his greatly needed because unlike Perez, many families in his Latino district don’t have the kind of money he has to provide medical care for their children.