Meet Dennis McBride, Candidate For Wauwatosa Mayor

WAUWATOSA, WI — Wisconsin's spring 2020 primary will be held Tuesday, Feb. 18, and Dennis McBride, a 66-year-old Wauwatosa resident and longtime attorney, will be on your ballot as one of three candidates for Wauwatosa mayor.

McBride served a decade on the Wauwatosa Common Council, and was the Council President from 2012 through 2016.

"My professional and civic background is as a negotiator; I know how to bring people together for positive results," McBride told Patch.

McBride says the main challenges facing Wauwatosa are preserving neighborhoods and parks, maintaining the city’s financial strength while also continuing to invest in roads, sewers, and other infrastructure, and returning local control to Wisconsin’s cities and towns.

In Milwaukee County, voters will see a number of statewide, county and local races on the ballot, though the highest-profile race on the ballot will be both the Republican and Democratic primary elections for U.S. President.

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Election 2020: Who's On My Ballot In Wauwatosa

Name: Dennis McBride

Age: 66

Hometown: Wauwatosa

Occupation: Attorney (retired)

Political experience:

• Alderman, 4th District, City of Wauwatosa, 2008-2018 (elected to 4-year terms in 2008, 2012, 2016).
• President of Common Council, 2012-2016 (elected by colleagues to 2-year terms in 2012 and 2014).
• Chair, Financial Affairs Committee, 2016-2018.
• Chair, Traffic & Safety Committee, 2010-2012.
• Common Council liaison to Wauwatosa Historic Preservation Commission (2008-2018).
• Candidate for Wisconsin Assembly, District 13, in 2018.

Top 1 or 2 leading issues in Wauwatosa and how I would plan to approach them if elected:

Our challenges are preserving our neighborhoods and parks, maintaining the City’s financial strength while continuing to invest in the City’s roads, sewers, and other infrastructure, and returning local control to Wisconsin’s cities and towns. In addition, I want to ensure that Wauwatosa welcomes all people to live and work in, and enjoy, our community.

Wauwatosa means a lot to me. In many ways the community nurtured me, and nothing was more important in my upbringing than our beautiful parks, in which I spent many hours. My professional and civic background is as a negotiator; I know how to bring people together for positive results. I co-founded a neighborhood group, Support Our Schools (SOS) Wauwatosa, and Friends of Hoyt Park & Pool, Inc. For FOHPP, which built and operates the pool and beer garden at Hoyt Park, I negotiated a 55-year lease with Milwaukee County.

As Common Council president, I mediated problems between the City and the developer of the Mayfair Collection, which allowed that project to move forward.

On my own time, I also mediated a department head's departure from City employment in a manner that was mutually beneficial to the employee and to the City. I also have helped to improve relations between racial and ethnic groups.

In 2002, I participated in creating the Parental Guidance policy at Mayfair Mall, which helped to reduce tensions there, and in 2019, I wrote an application to have the Wauwatosa Historic Preservation Commission (WHPC) and the Common Council designate the 113th Street home of Zeddie Hyler as a Wauwatosa landmark. Joining me as co-applicant was Gerald Williamson, Mr. Hyler’s nephew, who now owns and resides in the home. In 1955, Mr. Hyler was the first African-American to build a home in Wauwatosa, despite efforts by some community members to keep him out. Recently, the Wauwatosa Common Council approved our application, and Mr. Hyler's home is now a Wauwatosa landmark. In such ways, and as a member of Tosa Together, I can help the City welcome its growing racially and culturally diverse population, promote understanding between different groups, and identify potential problem areas that need to be addressed as the City grows and changes.

An interesting fact about me:

I won the Milwaukee Mayfair Marathon, the predecessor to the current Lakefront Marathon, twice. I'm a member of the UWM and Tosa East sports halls of fame.