Downtown Milwaukee council race pits longtime alderman against artist and entrepreneur

Tuesday's election for the Milwaukee Common Council district that encompasses much of downtown and the near west side has pitted a two-decade incumbent against a challenger who argues the resources concentrated in downtown could be redistributed to help the city as a whole.

In the race are Ald. Robert Bauman and artist and entrepreneur Rayhainio "Ray Nitti" Boynes.

Bauman said he was running for another term to continue work on issues like housing and transit, in addition to ensuring implementation of the city's downtown comprehensive plan. He slammed Boynes for a civil case brought against him by the Wisconsin Ethics Commission over campaign finance paperwork that was not filed and his ties to a housing development where residents were evacuated a year ago due to high levels of a cancer-causing chemical.

Boynes downplayed the court case that he said was an oversight. Boynes said he was not a developer for Community Within The Corridor, 3100 W. Center St., but rather the creative liaison.

Boynes argued the district needs "new energy, new ideas, new leadership" and said he would want to work with organizations and corporations in the district to reallocate resources across the city. Boynes also criticized Bauman over his approach to abandoned homes.

Campaign finance judgment issued against Milwaukee District 4 candidate

Court records show the Wisconsin Ethics Commission filed the case in July, naming as defendants Boynes and The Creative PAC, of which he was treasurer.

Boynes registered the political action committee in October 2019 but then did not file the necessary campaign finance reports in July 2020, January and July 2021, and January 2022, according to the complaint. Those reports were ultimately filed in March 2022.

A motion for default judgment was granted in favor of the Ethics Commission after Boynes did not file an answer to the complaint, and a $3,438.95 judgment was issued, court records show.

Statements denoting no fundraising or spending activity are now filed with the state.

Bauman called Boynes "an individual who is not willing to do the paperwork, the homework, the work to be an elected official and represent 39,000 people in a district that is very complex and has an awful lot of moving parts."

Boynes said he did nothing with the PAC and didn't see emails about the filing deadlines.

"I just hope people would understand that it wasn’t because of a misuse of any funds or anything like that," he said. "It was just simply, 'He missed an email, and he forgot to file.'"

As of early Friday morning, the city Election Commission's website did not show that the commission had received Boynes' campaign finance report for the April 2 aldermanic race, which must have been postmarked by Monday to be considered on time. Asked about the status of the report Thursday morning, Boynes said he would check with his treasurer.

The Election Commission received the report Friday via email, and it has been filed as late, according to the commission's executive director.

Boynes distances himself from Community Within The Corridor development decisions

Of the Community Within The Corridor project, Boynes said he was the creative liaison, a role in which his duties included bringing in a dance studio operator and setting up podcast rooms but also letting community members know about the development. He said he was "extremely proud" of the development.

Asked whether the developers did everything right in the lead-up to the evacuation of residents, he said he is not a developer and wasn't part of email messages in which the Department of Natural Resources "strongly" recommended that the building not be occupied until developers could confirm the vapor mitigation system was operating correctly.

Last year, some of the residents displaced from Community Within The Corridor reached a settlement agreement with the developers that would provide the represented residents $25,000 per unit and allow them to retain the ability to later sue over death, injury or economic damages from a death or injury related to the carcinogen.

Scott Crawford Inc., the development firm of the project's lead developer Que El-Amin, worked with local investors Mikal Wesley, president of Urbane Communities LLC, and Boynes, who operates The Creative Corridor Inc. The local developers in 2017 also partnered with Minneapolis-based apartment development firm Roers Co.

District 4 candidates diverge on resource use, demolition of abandoned homes

Boynes said he decided to run for the seat representing District 4 because he and his wife used to live in the district before moving closer to his mother-in-law. They now live in District 9 on the city's far northwest side.

Candidates must move into the district they are elected to represent before they can assume the duties of the office.

He also said the district contains the infrastructure and resources needed to grow Milwaukee as a whole. Council members, he said, should want to foster conversations between institutions, including corporations, about how to better the city, create jobs and allow people to further their education.

Asked for specific resources he would want to reallocate, Boynes said that would need to be a "collective conversation" that includes ways to generate new revenue. He defined "resources" broadly to include finances but also access to education and certificate programs.

"I do believe that a thriving downtown is a thriving Milwaukee, but I just think as an elected official we need to make sure that the rest of Milwaukee is thriving as well," he said. "And if you don't have somebody in leadership that will put a focus on that, then this is where we'll see 19 years of neglect on the near west side and the north side of Milwaukee as well."

Bauman contended that he was elected to secure resources for the Fourth District, and said that if Boynes wants to alter the strategic direction of the city he should run for mayor.

"They elected me to represent them and to promote their best interests, not to diminish their interest," Bauman said.

He also noted the profits from successful downtown tax incremental financing districts that have been used for underperforming districts, like at the Century City Business Park on the city's north side.

The candidates also diverged on their approach to abandoned and foreclosed homes.

Boynes said the boarded-up homes across the city draw violence, prostitution, drug use, and other social ills. And he criticized Bauman, who chairs the Joint Committee on the Redevelopment of Abandoned and Foreclosed Homes, for pushing to retain homes where the structure is still intact.

"Some homes need to remain up, the ones that we can salvage, but the ones that are harboring activities and creating this negative environment for the people of Milwaukee ... that's not fair for the young people of Milwaukee," Boynes said.

Those lots could instead be used as green spaces and for urban agriculture to help address food deserts, he said.

Bauman contended that while the city had not moved as quickly as he would like, the solution to affordable housing was not "wholesale demolition" because of the high cost to build something new.

As for the issue of crime at abandoned properties, Bauman said there were "very few" of these homes left in the district and that council members who represent areas where this is a significant issue may need to push harder for police and other city agencies to respond.

Alison Dirr can be reached at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Downtown Milwaukee council race pits alderman against entrepreneur