U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was in Milwaukee over the weekend to listen, he says, to what the community believes are important issues. Those who attended the forum say they hope the high-profile Democrat will be able to put their ideas into action.
Jeffries, who represents New York’s 8th District, chose Milwaukee to start a series of listening sessions around the U.S., as Democrats try to counter GOP control of Congress and the White House, and sharpen their message ahead of next year’s midterm elections. Jeffries says Milwaukee and the traditional battleground state of Wisconsin are still incredibly important.
“We chose this location because we wanted to begin this journey in middle America. To make it clear to middle America that we are here for you, that we understand the challenges you are confronting,” Jeffries says.
Jeffries says he heard from many of the nearly 200 people who attended the invitation-only event Saturday at the Harley-Davidson Museum. He says one of the key messages he’ll take back to Washington is that too many individuals and families are struggling financially.
“We need to do better as a country, to ensure that everyone can afford to live a comfortable life, after working hard and playing by the rules,” Jeffries says.
U.S. Rep. Steve Horsford, D-Nev., joined Jeffries in Milwaukee. He says he also heard the audience emphasize a lack of access to affordable housing.
“I heard a lot of them talk about corporate speculators buying up properties and pushing out residents,” Horsford tells WUWM.
Audience member Stanthia Grier is a local advocate for housing, education and personal wealth creation. She says Washington needs to focus on all three of those topics, instead of former President Donald Trump’s domestic policy package that zeroes in on extending tax cuts and, say critics, could reduce spending on Medicare and Medicaid.
“We don’t need a big bill, a big beautiful bill. We need some big beautiful changes,” Grier says.
Another audience member, Quinton Cotton, is a gerontologist and co-founder of the Milwaukee Black Grass Roots Network for Health Equity. Cotton says he hopes the visiting members of Congress will also fight for reducing disparities in such things as sexually transmitted infections.
“In Milwaukee, in particular, we struggle with STI rates, we struggle with cancer rates, we struggle with cardiovascular disease. So we need to create policies so everyone has access to affordable, quality care,” Cotton says.
Cotton says he understands that Republicans currently control Congress and the White House. But he says the Democratic Party can help send resources to grassroots organizations and build strategy.
If successful, Rep. Jeffries says one of the first payoffs could be during special elections this year, and regularly scheduled ones next year. He says look at the Wisconsin Supreme Court contest Susan Crawford won a few months ago, after getting a lot of help from the Democratic Party.
“That is going to have to repeat itself all over the country this year, and certainly next year, in connection with the midterm elections,” Jeffries says.
Jeffries’ effort comes as Republicans are trying to paint the Democrats as too liberal, citing last week’s win by Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary. Jeffries says he’s in the process of setting up a meeting with Mamdani.
WUWM reached out to spokespeople for the Republican National Committee and the Wisconsin GOP, but did not hear back.
