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Milwaukee elects first Black mayor, Cavalier Johnson

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Angela Peterson/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via AP

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Cavalier Johnson was elected as the first African American mayor of Milwaukee by voters on April 5. The Democrat currently serves as the city’s first millennial mayor.

“This city, for the first time in our 176-year history, has elected its first Black mayor. We did it,” Johnson, 35, said in his victory speech.

The acting mayor defeated Bob Donovan, a former Milwaukee Alderman, in the special election for a shortened term of two years. Johnson had also served due to Tom Barrett signing in December to become U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg.

Barrett served as the Milwaukee mayor since 2004.

Reportedly, both 2016 mayor candidates Donovan and Johnson were the top two finishers of the February election.

Johnson gained recognition through his election campaign of prioritizing public safety and reducing violence in the city which he claims “is at a critical junction.”

Allegedly, Milwaukee recorded more homicides in 2021 than any other recorded year.

Although the race was nonpartisan, the state Democratic Party gave a $100,000 contribution to Johnson’s campaign last month.

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