Wauwatosa Mayoral Race Set: It's McBride And Welch

WAUWATOSA, WI — On April 7, voters in Wauwatosa will choose between Dennis McBride and Nancy Welch for Mayor.

Dennis McBride is a longtime attorney who served a decade on the Wauwatosa Common Council, and was the Council President from 2012 through 2016. He garnered 47 percent of the vote and was the top vote-getter during Tuesday's primary.

Nancy Welch, a retired city planner, served as an Alderperson in Wauwatosa's 3rd district for four years and also served on several committees, including Financial Affairs, Transportation Affairs and the Budget Committee came in second with 35 percent of the vote.

After two terms as Mayor of Wauwatosa, Kathleen Ehley said she would not seek a third term in 2020. She sent a letter to city staff and the council, saying she would not run for mayor again. "I am proud and honored to have served as Wauwatosa Mayor since 2012 — one of our greatest periods of growth and community improvements," she wrote in the letter.

Here's how each candidate addresses this leading issue:

Welch

Over the past eight years, the City's debt has risen 500 percent due to a number of factors including TIF abuse, mismanaged projects, and misplaced priorities. Each year over 10 percent of the City's annual budget is spent on debt service, not services to residents. The excuse has been that we need to chase new development in order to increase our tax base, but the reality is that we are a land-locked community that cannot continue to rely on new development. Most of the new development has occurred either in TID's (Tax Increment Districts) or is tax exempt, so city residents have seen little actual tax relief. Many commercial properties continue to challenge their assessments, which also reduces their contribution to the tax base.

My second issue is preserving and protecting our neighborhoods and open spaces. I am very proud to be part of the County Grounds Coalition and the newly formed Friends of County Grounds Park. For over twenty years, I have worked to protect the County Grounds and promote responsible development that minimizes impacts on either environmental areas or neighborhoods. This includes finding ways to support our neighborhood schools. While supervising the creation of the City's Comprehensive Plan, I worked with consultants and residents to ensure that the Plan promotes a balance of development and neighborhoods. Residential property has provided approximately 70 percent of our tax base for over 125 years.

Allowing new development to adversely impact property values is not a smart way to build tax base. If we are going to preserve our tax base, we need to protect the things that make this a desirable community.

McBride

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.