Priorities

Milwaukee County is rich in positive assets; Ryan Clancy will work hard to ensure that the things that make Milwaukee special and unique are accessible to everyone.

Increased access to public spaces

Milwaukee County has world-class parks, but - too often - they are inaccessible to residents for low-dollar reasons. I'll focus on common-sense approaches so that we can get the most use out of our public spaces by pushing for increased lighting, facilities for youth and bathroom access. Milwaukee's youth also deserve robust, high-quality programming - especially when Milwaukee's schools are not in session -  and connections to organizations doing phenomenal work in the area. 

Expanded bus service

Milwaukee relies on, and benefits from, a robust public transportation system. Closing and limiting bus routes, especially those in underdeveloped areas, has impacted the ability of our residents to attend work and school, and to engage fully in our communities. I will fight to restore and expand bus routes where they are needed the most, while advocating for the most sustainable, efficient upgrades to ensure that they remain cost-effective and viable.

Public / private partnerships

Partnerships with local businesses and organizations have led to infrastructure improvements and - in most cases - more use of Milwaukee County's phenomenal park system. I'll work to ensure that the emphasis on these partnerships prioritizes full access to the public, and allow all residents to fully enjoy them, while ensuring that third parties contribute a fair share of the overhead when they are profiting from public spaces.

Sustainability and the freedom to thrive

Our public spaces, transportation -  and Milwaukee County's dedicated employees - are all assets worth caring for. Sustainability goes far beyond just our physical environment. A sustainable plan for Milwaukee County's future must also prioritize and fund the human needs of employees and residents instead of over-enforcement and criminalization.

The County Board's consideration of Deputy Sheriffs on buses is not acceptable. Aside from the unsustainable costs, relying on Sheriffs with arresting powers will not keep our MCTS operators nor passengers safer, and would only make our public transit part of the prison pipeline.

The onus for bus safety cannot rest with just our dedicated MCTS operators. We need a core group of trained County staff to:

• cultivate relationships with both MCTS operators and passengers,
• use that understanding to anticipate conflicts, and deploy themselves where they're needed the most,
• provide short-term backup and support to operators during active conflicts on buses,
• provide ongoing modeling and supplemental training to bolster operators' existing de-escalation training, and 
• act as a resource for all parties to direct them to existing resources to help prevent and transform conflict in the future.

Rather than funding reactive policies, our limited County resources are better allocated towards funding human needs, especially in innovative City/County partnerships such providing doulas and the City / County Task Force on Climate and Economic Equity. These will have longer lasting, sustainable effects on County residents for generations to come.

About Ryan