If Alders and members of the public could please take their seats, we will begin momentarily.

If Alders and members of the public could please take their seats, we will begin momentarily.

Well, good evening, everyone.

The hour of six o'clock having arrived at the City of Racine Common Council.

It is now my honor to call to order our meeting on this 21st day of April.

The first order of business is the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.

If you could please rise as you are able and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

We've been told over and over that there's a structural deficit that needs to be dealt with this year.

But we also have some exciting projects in the works.

The playground at Lakeview Park, the community center, the King Center there, Lincoln King Center, which uh is exciting, and I'm getting speed humps on Michigan Boulevard, which is something that's been long coming.

I'm grateful for the support of my wife.

Uh, without her, um, I could not do this.

At times she tends to jump in and uh um, and I always get an earful if she doesn't agree with uh what I did or um actions taken at times.

Um it was very important for me to have my grandchildren here.

My children grew up here in City Hall.

I think uh my son was six years old when I was first elected, and uh my grandson Tanner just turned seven on Sunday, and I mentioned that I was gonna bring that up probably for the third time here.

Uh it was kind of interesting because he was six, seven this year.

Uh quite a milestone uh for the little guy, and then my oldest uh Kai, who went with me uh for preliminary meetings on the Lakeview playground and jumped right in and gave his opinion and uh his advice to our new park director when we looked over the plans for that.

Uh I'm proud to have my dad here.

Uh I wish my mom could be here, but unfortunately she passed away several years ago, and my brother's here too, and so it's good to be surrounded by family at times like this, and then I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge my son-in-law Keandre, who drove the boys down from Sheboygan today to be here.

And uh Keandre's uncle is uh one of our faithful city employees, Mr.

McDonald, who works for the bus company.

I hope I didn't jinx you, sir.

And uh and then the um unfortunately, my daughter had to work tonight, and my son is at practice, he is going to be in the Sixth Street Theaters.

Um and a rama, so we're excited to see that.

Umgratulations to my fellow aldermen.

Uh, it will be an exciting time for you.

It will be hard work.

Um, no matter how many people voted for you after today, you're gonna have to uh convince them that you're worthy to stay in these seats.

I was told uh you know, the minute you're elected, your support drops uh immediately.

So I don't know if that's necessarily true, but good advice to keep your constituents and keep the public at the forefront of everything that you do.

Thank you.

From the sixth, Alder Weiner.

Thank you.

I'm a little out of character, but tonight I actually have a speech prepared, and then I want to share a little story.

But before I do anything, I want to recognize that my youngest son, Mike, is here with his wife and my two grandchildren, Liam and Ella.

Mike was six years old when I first was elected to City Council, and now my grandson is almost six years old.

He's five.

Um so it's been a long time that that uh I've been serving in this capacity.

So tonight marks my 12th swearing-in ceremony here in these chambers.

Twelve times I have stood before this body, raised my right hand, swore an oath to the constitution, and made a promise to the people that I serve.

The people that I lovingly call my peeps, regardless of their party or who they voted for.

And I want you to know this never gets old.

Not once, not ever, not even close.

There is something about this moment, the weight of it that reminds me exactly why I do this work.

Democracy is not abstract, it isn't a textbook, some compare it to making sausage.

Not pretty, nor should it be.

That oath is a promise to put this community before politics, to put residents before special interest, and to make decisions based on what I believe is right, not what it what is easy.

I do this because, with all its warts and flaws, I have loved this city for 74 years.

And there were moments in this race when the outcome was anything but certain.

I want to thank the other guy, Nate Ortiz.

If not for him, I would not have been reminded how much I love doing the doors, talking one-on-one with people who may or may not choose me to be their voice on city matter matters, their representative.

Even with those that I may disagree, we have far more in common than not.

16 votes, which tells us all every vote matters.

My friends, my family, my neighbors who knocked doors in the cold, who made phone calls, who showed up when it mattered, who believe that district six deserve to have a voice that cannot be bought or directed by anyone.

You carried me across the finish line, and the seat belongs to you as it does to me, as much as it does to me.

So tonight I took the oath of office for the twelfth time, and I carry with me the same conviction that I had the first time to be a strong independent voice for everyone in the 6th district.

And I carry one more thing, and that is a deep and humble, humbling gratitude.

Thank you.

Thank you to each of you that continue to show up to be the wind in my sails.

The little story that I want to share is the first time that I stepped into the council chambers.

It was in the winter of 2000.

At that time, the council was deliberating on renaming Douglas Park Community Center to the Cesar Chavez Center.

The 10th District Alderman at that time was uh John Layman, who became our state representative and later state senator.

I remember him standing up at that time when the alderman spoke.

They didn't have these little microphones.

They stood up to speak when they addressed each other and whoever was present.

And John Lehman stood up and he said, I personally I support changing the name from Douglas Park to the Cesar Chavez Center.

I support that personally 100%.

But he said, every one of my constituents that contacted me was opposed to it, therefore I must vote no.

And I sat out there way in the back row and thought to myself, that is the kind of alderman that I want to be.

I can only say that in these 12 times that I was sworn in, I hope that I've lived up to that.

And again, I want to thank my family for being here, my friends for being here, and the support that I have received in this last election.

It means more than I can possibly tell you.

Thank you.

Okay.

Good evening, everyone.

I just like to take a moment to thank my family and friends for coming to share this moment with me.

Um, it is an honor to have been trusted by the 8th district with this role.

After being away from my hometown for 11 years, I knew that I wanted to give back to my hometown in some way.

I didn't know what it would look like upon my return, but here I am.

During my run for office, I was very intentional about setting my foundation, and that began with community.

Connecting with some of the elders that came before me has really set the tone for my run for office.

As I believe you have to understand where we've been to understand or to have an idea of where we need to go.

Thank you for your support and guidance, Malik Frazier, George Nix, Maria Morales, Mr.

Fair, Mr.

Shields, the Racine Democratic Party and its volunteers, mom, dad, um, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews, and my siblings.

I love you all very much.

And most importantly, District 8.

I am honored to take this seat in support of you all.

Um, thank you for voting for me, and those who you who may have not voted for me, um, I'm here to support you as well.

Thank you.

Alder Pete.

Uh thank you.

Uh, first of all, I'd like to thank all the new Alderman for standing up to serve.

And secondly, I'm very humbled to be here.

This is my fourth time of being sworn in, and I have to thank my constituents.

And is that with the long conversations that we had?

Uh some of you were holding the doors open when it was called it was cold outside, but I made a promise that I would live up to your expectations, and that's what I intend to do.

And uh as I as we said in conversation, I'll have your back.

And you told me you had mine, so you can count on me serving your interest and your your concerns, as well as the city's concerns in general, but District 10.

I promise I will not let you down.

I want to thank everyone that supported and helped me.

I'm very humble for the results.

Thank you.

And from the 12th Aldermanic District, uh, Alder DeMarc.

Um I just want to thank um my friends, my family who supported me through this whole entire venture.

Um I want to thank the uh voters who put you know their trust into me and those thousands of steps.

I I've walked uh with my friends and trying to understand everyone um everyone's concerns in the city.

I hope that I can live up to those expectations from the voters, and I'm excited to move forward.

And from the 14th, Alder Harmon has arrived late.

Um, before she speaks, we need to swear you in.

Please raise your right hand and repeat after me.

I state your name.

I'm solemnly swearing that I support the constitution of the United States, that I will support and the state of Wisconsin.

And that I will faithfully, and then I will be and partially and perform the duties of Alder of the 14th district.

Alder Harman, would you like to say a few words?

First, I want to apologize for being late, but I kindly wanted to assist an officer who was doing his duties as I was getting here a little faster than normal.

So anyways, I want to thank all of the voters, my family, friends, and constituents.

I want to thank all of the aldermen that I serve with, because I know that this job isn't easy.

I know that getting votes isn't easy, but um doing what is right to your heart should not be hard.

Sorry for um being out of breath, but I look forward to this um term.

Thank you, everyone, and congratulations to those who won.

And um I uh I'm really grateful for the ones that I worked with, even though last night I wasn't able to say that in person.

Thank you.

We now move on to the election of council president and vice president at this time.

I will take nominations from the floor for the office of council president.

Would someone like to make a nomination?

Are there any nominations for council president?

Oh, I'm I'm sorry.

Alder Pete have you pressed your button.

I would like to nominate Alder Jorgens.

Okay, and other nominations.

It appears that there's one from the floor, Alder Frazier.

Would you like to make a nomination?

I like to nominate Alder Pabone.

All right.

Are there any other nominations for council president?

Are there any other nominations for council president?

Are there any other nominations for council president?

See none, I will declare the nominations for council president closed.

And at this time, uh both candidates can give a speech up to five minutes.

Thank you so much.

And I want to thank uh Alder Pete uh for nominating me.

It's a great honor to even be uh nominated and put up for this.

Uh looking at the next year ahead, uh, as Alder Mack had said, there's gonna be some challenges that we really have to address.

Uh and and they're pretty numerous.

I mean, they range from uh the the budget that we're going to have to figure out to equity issues of how do we make sure that every single person in the city of Racine is represented uh fairly, and all of that boils down to uh how is everybody uh in this room going to be make sure made sure that they're included in the process.

Because if you look at how all of us got here, we were elected to be here.

Uh, and so it's our duty to make sure that every single voice in this room is put in a place where they're able to uh share their districts uh concerns and ideas, uh, and also make sure that the entire city is uh is taken care of, and that includes everybody uh from all walks of life.

And so I've thought long and hard about how I would convey how I would want to do this, but my idea really is um to work with everybody.

I don't have all the answers, and I don't think a council president really should go into this thinking that they'll have all the answers, because if you do, I I think you know everybody has a plan until you get uh punched in the face.

And I feel like that that's a quote that uh even though it's for boxing, it applies here of the only real thing you can count on is that everybody in this room wants what's best for Racine.

And so we have to make sure that everybody is put in a place to succeed, that their voices are heard, and the way to do that in my mind, is to look at how we can change things, how we can get some fresh ideas going.

And that goes from committee appointments.

I've talked with many of you on what you want to do in the the and what you want to do in the city, what ideas you have, um, and really making sure that um you know we're not doing things because that's the way we have always done it, uh, but focus on uh, you know, when we sat down together, if you were really talking about you know, stop signs and um snow plowing.

I mean, I'm sure as a lot of you are at the doors that came up over and over and over again.

So if those are things that you heard from your district that you want to accomplish, I think it's important that the president make sure that you're in a spot where you can do just that, uh, that you can be the most successful for what you want to do.

And so um, you know, I've talked with many of many of you on that, uh, as well as really coming together and looking at how we do committee of the whole.

I think it's really important um that we focus on doing committee of the wholes in a meaningful way.

Um, you know, I I I get it, everyone has tough schedules, but if we can space them out further um from uh when we're actually going to be going into sessions, so if that means two weeks earlier, so that we have time to do that.

I know that that was important, actually came up a few times in my conversations.

I feel like it's really important to bring um those committee of the whole to a place where we come in with an intention on what we're going to talk about, uh, and so that we can hear all the viewpoints and make sure that we get all of the questions answered before we get to the floor and ask uh all 15 of us to make decisions that are going to impact every single person living in the city.

Uh my commitment would be that nobody here should ever be asked to make a decision that they don't feel like they have all of the information they need to make that decision correctly.

Uh and if that ever were to happen, I would want to make sure that we slow things down to get all of those questions answered.

Because like I'd said, and what I'll close with here, we're all here for a reason.

Uh, and so let's make sure that we're all able to be successful together to really create the the most success we can for the city of Racine.

Thank you.

Alder Pabone.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Thank you for the nomination, uh, Alderman Fraser.

It's an honor to be here with everyone today.

Um, one year ago, I was in the this.

That's okay.

Technical difficulty roll with it.

Not a big deal.

So Racine has been my home for 13 years.

Um, and it's you know, where my family is, we built our lives here.

I'm a proud alumni of Horlick, um and Gateway Technical College, and this community has shaped me in a really meaningful way, which is what prompted me to want to serve it in this capacity.

My wife and I were married here, we bought our home here, and today we're the guardians of my two nieces, Katana and Sylvia.

Um and we choose Racine because it feels like home, whether that's the coming Lincoln King Center or the libraries, Hausage Kitchen, Fourth Fest, Kringles, or all the places and traditions that make the city special, um, obviously are mooted in here.

But as we look ahead the next year, it's crucial for our council.

We face a budget that was gonna require intense thought um and disciplined planning and steady leadership.

We also have several local.

So these challenges are significant, obviously, but there are also opportunities for us to lead with clarity, unity, and purpose.

And we each come to the council, as we've seen, with different backgrounds, races from different races, creeds, and life experiences.

But that diversity is not something only to acknowledge.

I think it's something to celebrate because it paints the full picture of who we are as a city, which is reflected on our council from our constituents.

And it should be and it should be something that guides our work in the coming year and beyond.

We're more than just our districts or the titles we have in front of us, the little placards, those are fun and all.

Um, but we're citizens of the city who have been um called, you know, to to this serving.

And we are elected to be in the room when important decisions and conversations are taking place to study facts, to listen to our constituents, and to make thoughtful decisions about where we go next.

And the council plays the vital role as a legislative body, and the responsibility we share is significant, but my vision is my vision as council president um is rooted in collaboration, and I believe we can tackle the challenges before us through open dialogue and thorough construct uh discussion and thoughtful decision making, all while respecting our rules and processes in place and sharing uh and realizing and coming together around our shared mission.

And if those things require overview or or review, that is something that we can address as a body because we should be united in the common cause of serving our constituents and ensuring that our city government works for them.

Uh Racine has always felt like home to me, it always will.

This particular instance is not about power, it's about a vision for a more united council and one that is capable of ushering our city into the the next era that's coming up here.

Um with the my work over the past year with all my colleagues um here and the colleagues that I'm looking forward to working with uh in the coming year and all the work we've done with the department heads and getting to know each other and just really trying to figure out how the city runs.

Um I just think with my deep roots and my lived experience and my commitment to the community, um, I think that's values that we all share, and I think we can do just that.

So I would be honored to have your support for council president.

Thank you.

At this time, the clerk's office will distribute ballots.

Right.

Um we're in the middle of the vote.

Um in a similar manner that it was last year, they'll be voting remotely, communicating with the clerk's office.

When you finish your ballot, if you want to raise your hand, the clerk will come around and collect your ballot.

Is that correct?

So we're just gonna start the city clerk can read the results.

Alder Lynn for Alder Jorgensen.

Alder Frazier for Alder Jorgensen.

Alder DeMark for Alder Jens.

Jorgensen, excuse me.

Alder Allen for Alder Jorgensen.

Alder Weiss for Alder Jorgensen.

Alder Davis for Alder Jorgensen.

Alder Mack for Alder Pavone.

Alder Jorgensen for Alder Jorgensen.

Alder Weidner for Alder Pavone.

Alder Horton for Alder Jorgensen.

Alder Hodges for Alder Pavone.

Alder Kelly for Alder Pavone.

Alder Pavone for Alder Pavone.

Alder Pete for Alder Jorgensen.

Alder Harmon Estein.

That's nine votes for Alder Jorgensen, five votes for Alder Pavone, one abstain.

The next order of business before us is the appointment.

Oh no, it's not.

The next order of business before before us is the selection of the vice president of the council.

At this time, I would entertain uminations from the floor for vice president of the council.

Alder Mack, would you like to make a nomination?

I'd like to nominate Alderman Davis.

Are there other nominations from the floor?

Alder Horton.

I would like to nominate uh Alder Allen.

Are there other nominations from the floor?

Are there other nominations from the floor?

Alder DeMark.

I'd like to nominate uh Nate Alder Pavone.

Yes.

Alder Pavone, would you check the nomination?

Are there other nominations from the floor?

Are there other nominations from the floor?

Seeing no further nominations, I'll declare the nominations from the floor closed.

And at this time, each of the candidates uh has the opportunity to give up to um three minutes.

The first candidate is Alder Davis.

I'm sorry, five minutes.

I misspoke there.

Alder Davis, you have five minutes.

Thank you.

Let me start here.

This was not a fly-by-night decision.

My interest in serving as counsel vice president is grounded in experience and service and in a clear understanding of what this moment demands of leadership.

So I asked what kind of leadership does this council and this city truly need right now.

We need leadership that is open-minded, independent, free of bias, and hidden agendas.

Leadership that listens deeply, that challenges respectfully, and that stands for firm and integrity, even when it gets uncomfortable.

Because let's be honest, the council does not need disingenuous individuals.

Covert and overt racism still exists.

Sometimes it's loud, sometimes it's subtle.

And systems and assumptions, and who gets heard, and who gets overlooked.

As council VP, I will not ignore that.

And I will not allow it to go unaddressed.

Equity must be more than a talking point.

It must be a practice.

And when I make decisions, I am guided on what I call the last survivor, survivor theory.

Before any vote, I ask.

How does this impact the person with the least access, the least power, and the least voice?

Because if our decisions serve them, they serve everyone.

I know I am the right fit for this position.

Not because I say it lightly, but because I've done the work, I have listened, I have led, and I'm ready to serve with focus on fairness and courage.

Thank you for your time.

The next candidate for vice president of the council is Alder Allen.

Thank you so much.

Being a nominated is an honor within itself.

Being one of the few that has been given the privilege to sit in one of these 15 seats is also an honor.

I am so fortunate to have been embraced and trusted by my district.

Since I have been in Racine, I've been also very intentional about getting to know Racine.

And I've been just overwhelmed with the love and support that I've received.

Schools that I serve on the school board.

And being able to have what I call a circle conversation that would uplift everyone in that, not just that district, but in our city by understanding some of the decisions that are made at this desk and in this chamber that would also affect the families that I serve for the Racing Unified School District.

The decisions that we make are important.

And going into any leadership role, I was I didn't just do that haphazardly.

Like when it comes to the taxes that we are asking our residents to pay and making sure that they are getting the services that those taxes should afford them.

By understanding that we are faced with challenges just as women coming into the space to have voices, whether it comes to voting or how we are supporting our families.

Understanding the legislature that is coming down from our nationals are coming into our state and affecting us every day.

For instance, our Medicare and our Medicaid and our age community that is going to rely on that and what we are going to have to make as far as decisions for our council, how we are going to both serve and not underserve anyone and be very careful with all the decisions, and some of them are going to not be the easy ones where we have to say we might have to trim this off, or we might have to walk away from this for the time being.

As I do, and as my district knows, I meet with my district the second Saturday of every month, just so they know where to find me whenever they need me, and I'm always available.

Those kinds of moments are important to me, and um will continue to be important to me when or off the seats in or out of this chamber.

And I thank you for the time.

And Alder Pavone, you have five minutes.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

So same night, two different nominations.

But just thank you to Alder Demark for now, his nomination, and a lot of what I said as it pertains to president of the council also pertains to vice president of the council, and seeing in any which way I can work with my colleagues and President Jorgensen to figure out how we can move forward and what that looks like.

So thank you.

This time the clerk's office will distribute ballots.

So there's a third person.

If it would be five, five five, then I think again on my side is just the two with the most getting those two.

Alder Weiss for Alder Allen.

Alder Davis for Alder Davis.

Alder Kelly for Alder Davis.

Alder Harmon for Alder Pavone.

Alder Pavone for Alder Pavone.

Alder Demark for Alder Pavone.

Alder Pete for Alder Allen.

That's four for Alder Davis, seven for Alder Allen, four for Alder Pabone.

So because the second place finishers were tied, uh the option laid out before us under section two-sixty one of the organizational meeting is that you shall vote again.

Um so the clerk will distribute the ballots.

Please be prepared to vote again.

Just to clarify, we will continue voting until one of the candidates reads a majority of votes of the council, which is eight scenario.

Are there any other Alders who need to submit their ballot?

If the clerk can please read the results.

Alder Land for Alder Allen.

Alder Frazier for Alder Allen.

Alder Weidner for Alder Davis.

Alder Kelly for Alder Davis.

Alder Harman for Alder Pabone.

Alder Pabone for Alder Pabone.

Alder Jorgensen for Alder Allen.

Alder Horton for Alder Allen.

Alder Hodges for Alder Allen.

Alder Weiss for Alder Allen.

Alder Davis for Alder Davis.

Alder Mack for Alder Davis.

Alder DeMark for Alder Allen.

Alder Pete for Alder Allen.

Alder Allen for Alder Allen.

That is four for Alder Davis, nine for Alder Allen, two for Alder Pabone.

Alder Allen has received a majority of votes, and now is the vice president of the council.

The next order of business is for the newly elected council president to make the standing committee appointments.

Would you like to announce your appointments?

I would, thank you.

So for public safety licensing, I would uh recommend uh Alder Pete, uh Alder Frazier, um, Alder Davis, uh, Alder Weiss, uh, and Alder Um Kelly.

For finance and personnel, uh, I would recommend uh Alder Mack, uh, Alder Land, Alder Horton, uh, myself, and Alder Hodges.

Uh, and for public works, I would recommend Alder Pabone, uh, Alder um DeMarc, Alder Harman, uh, Alder Allen, uh, and uh Alder Weitner.

Those appointments will be read into the agenda and will be the appointments moving forward.

The final item is uh standing committee communications sponsored by myself.

Those will be happening at a subsequent meeting.

Uh, there's a number of committee appointments that cascade off of the appointments that were made here tonight by the council president.

Uh, and so uh look for those appointments to come at our meeting on the fifth.

That does conclude our agenda, and we are adjourned.