Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson

Turning now to our program, please welcome Jordan Primaquo, Director, Governmental Relations, City of Milwaukee, who will introduce today's speaker.

Good afternoon, fellow Rotarians.

I'm honored to speak here today to introduce someone that I've had the pleasure of working with from his first day in office as the mayor of the city of Milwaukee, Mayor Cavalier Johnson.

It's been a real privilege of my life to be able to work for a politician like Mayor Johnson.

What many of us don't see behind the scenes is the thankless work, the time that he puts in and the commitment that he has to each and every one of his city's residents, his business leaders, to make Milwaukee a better place to live and work and play.

Mayor Johnson was born and raised in the city of Milwaukee into a large family.

As a child, he found himself frequently moving, leading him to attend six different elementary schools.

His childhood provided him with a depth of understanding of our challenges our community faces, from violence and evictions to food insecurity.

Yet his story also tells the potential and opportunity we have here in Milwaukee.

As a teen, he was selected to participate in a YMCA pre-college program, sponsor a scholar, which instilled in him a passion for public service and to make Milwaukee better for future generations.

A graduate of Bayview High School and the University of Wisconsin, Mayor Johnson returned to Milwaukee to work at the Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board, now known as EmployMilwaukee.

He began his elected career when he was elected as the second district alderman in 2016 and subsequently became the Common Council president as elected by his peers on the Common Council in 2020.

Upon former Mayor Barrett's departure to serve as an ambassador, Mayor Johnson assumed office in 2021, subsequently winning an election in 2022 and re-election for a full four-year term in 2024.

Since assuming office, Mayor Johnson has attacked the city's challenges head-on, including stabilization of the city pension through the passage of Act 12 in the state capitol, increasing public safety coming out of the COVID crisis, prioritizing complete streets and lowering reckless driving, and creating innovative programs such as Camp Rise to provide workforce development for our vulnerable youth.

He now lives on the city's west side with his wife, Dominique, son, and twin daughters, all three MPS students.

And I've had the pleasure of working alongside and traveling with the mayor to do work in Madison, Washington, D.C., and around the country.

And now I have the distinct pleasure of introducing him to my peers in the Rotary Club.

Please help me in welcoming Mayor Cavalier Johnson.