Milwaukee has a long history with socialist policies. The socialists were credited with revolutionizing politics in the city and creating many of the institutions we’ve come to rely on.
But Milwaukee’s socialist foundation was very much a thing of the past, until politician Ryan Clancy was elected to the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors in 2020. He became the first socialist politician to be elected to the board since 1956.
Now, Clancy is a member of the Wisconsin Assembly, where he’s joined by three other members of the small but growing Socialist Caucus. Rep. Clancy was featured in an article in this month’s Milwaukee Magazine, and he joins Lake Efect's Joy Powers to talk about socialist priorities and the pushback he’s faced during his time in politics.
Clancy proudly identifies as a democratic socialist, and he begins by explaining what the term means to him.
"It’s making sure that everybody has enough and that nobody has a massive excess," he says. "Democratic socialism looks like everybody having housing, everybody having food and — you know — maybe nobody having an 18th yacht or vacation home."
Although he says the word is often used as a "catch-all slur," Clancy hopes to bring people toward socialism by focusing on policy priorities — including the right to counsel, paid parental leave and taxing the rich.
"I think I tend to draw people into socialism by talking about what it actually looks like, not theoretically," he says. "And I have very little interest in socialist theory, but in practice."
As a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Clancy uses the Democratic ballot line and caucuses with Democrats to pursue socialist principles. Although the Socialist Caucus is aligned with Democrats on many issues, he has faced criticism from others within the party.
"There's a lot that we're aligned on," he says. "Sometimes there's some tension there, and I think it's generally helpful and healthy."
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