A NEWaukee Endorsement

By: Angela Damiani, CEO & Co-Founder of NEWaukee

Well of all of the endorsements, you would expect the candidate’s wife to be the very first needed to launch a campaign. As James’ wife, I do genuinely believe that he has what it takes to represent our city’s children, to advocate for what parents and families need to be successful and for teachers to be equipped with adequate resources in order to thrive in their classrooms. His background in finance and real estate make him a strong candidate for the fiduciary responsibility laid before him as prospective board member. And his passion for children is unparalleled. He is the primary caregiver of our beautiful son and I know he would exude the same intensity he displays for our child for all of the children in the district.

All that aside - I am endorsing James for a slightly different reason. In my role as the CEO of NEWaukee, I spend every day in business board rooms listening to executives and talent acquisition professionals lament the lack of the “right” talent to fill open jobs. People blame the lack of city leadership or post-industrial identity and often times the weather as the reason we can’t seem to attract folks to our community. All of that is ridiculous, when you consider the abundance of future talent that lays not only untapped, but in some cases intensely divested within the Milwaukee Public School system. It is trite to say the children are our future - but in this case - the answer to our seemingly never ending question is before us. Now is the time to decide as a community - will we continue on the trajectory that threatens the impact of all of Milwaukee’s renaissance by assuming it is someone else’s responsibility to “fix” MPS? Or will we stand together to ensure that every child and family thrives? I don’t know how anyone can consider the former a viable reality.

James as my vote - can we count on yours?