Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson says he sees “a lot of energy and great enthusiasm in the black community” supporting Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign, even though voter turnout in Milwaukee’s majority-black districts has declined in the last two presidential elections.
“I talk to a lot of people in African-American neighborhoods about this – they’re paying attention, they’re seeing what’s going on, and I think they’re really, really excited to have the opportunity … to use their voice, their ballot, to support a black woman as president of the United States,” Johnson said in an interview with WisPolitics ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, are scheduled to hold a rally in Milwaukee on Tuesday.
Harris, as President Joe Biden’s “key partner,” has “a positive story to tell about her record” to black voters in Milwaukee, Johnson said, citing “decades-low” crime rates, the growth of black businesses and more funding for historically black colleges and universities.
“I think they have a really, really positive story to tell. What I’ve learned from talking to people is that they need to keep telling that story,” Johnson said. “They need to keep going out and showing the contrast between what they’ve accomplished and what Donald Trump would do with his Project 2025 to black people, black women, people of color and people of other religious beliefs here in Milwaukee and across the country. They need to keep showing that contrast.”
Johnson, a delegate to the 2024 DNC, said he will face less pressure in Chicago than at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July.
“Of course I can go and fulfill my duties as a delegate, but I’m not in charge,” he said. “So it feels really good to just be able to go and participate in my very first Democratic convention. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Regarding the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Johnson said he believed the city had “presented itself in the right light” during the convention.
“I think we’ve done a really, really good job of enhancing the city, and that was our whole goal in doing this. Because I think by hosting the RNC, we’re able to attract other things that wouldn’t otherwise come to Milwaukee – other major political, business, sports, entertainment, trade shows and the like – that come here, which creates a virtuous cycle of economic activity for the people who live here and the people who work at local businesses in Milwaukee,” he said.
During the RNC, Columbus, Ohio police officers in attendance at the convention shot and killed 43-year-old Samuel Sharpe just blocks from the RNC security perimeter while Sharpe, armed with two knives, was struggling with an unarmed man. Johnson expressed condolences for the incident, but said police acted to protect the unarmed man from Sharpe.
“As far as I know, any officer would have acted the same way the Columbus police officers did to ensure they protected the unarmed person who might have been killed or seriously injured by Mr. Sharpe,” Johnson said.
