Angela Walker: Milwaukee All Star

It's nice to see my friend, Angela Walker, get the recognition she so richly deserves:

Earlier this week, OnMilwaukee.com posted an article featuring 13 Milwaukeeans working to improve the city's social and economic inequalities.

Angela Walker, who was born and raised in Milwaukee, was one of the people highlighted in the article, in part, because of her commitment to activism and her work at Wisconsin Jobs Now.

She also served as a bus driver for 14 years and ran for sheriff against David Clarke, receiving an impressive 67,000 votes. Angela is engaged in her community, a huge supporter of libraries and works tirelessly to promote public education, fair law enforcement and more.

"Everyday people who resist injustice where they are and believe in the dignity of all communities are my inspiration," she says.

I'm very proud to call Angela a friend and am honored to have her on our side.

Walker Calls Out Clarke For Being Soft On Gun Laws

From my inbox:

ANGELA WALKER ACCUSES DAVID CLARKE OF MORE “ARROGANT, IRRESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOR”

Independent candidate for Milwaukee County Sheriff Angela Walker, responding to news reports that security staff in the Milwaukee County Courthouse complex are routinely finding people attempting to enter the complex with loaded handguns, said that such persons should be detained by Sheriff’s deputies regardless of whether they hold permits to carry concealed weapons.

“The Courthouse complex entrances are clearly marked with signs warning that only law enforcement may enter while armed,” Walker noted. “If we are finding on a near-daily basis that civilians are entering the Courthouse complex with loaded firearms, that’s a clear danger to the public welfare and an equally clear violation of the law, regardless of whether they have concealed-carry permits. Such persons should be disarmed, detained by Sheriff’s deputies, and immediately referred to the District Attorney for possible prosecution. That’s exactly what the policy will be if I am elected Milwaukee County Sheriff on November 4.”

“Telling concealed-carry permit holders to ‘secure their weapons before returning to the Courthouse’ essentially means telling people to place their loaded weapons in parked cars,” Walker continued. “That hardly seems like a good idea to me.”

“This is yet another example of Sheriff Clarke’s arrogant, irresponsible behavior. Instead of issuing press statements sniping at the County Executive and judges, he should be working to show how Milwaukee County government is working as a team to protect our citizens as they use public buildings. All elected officials –including His Majesty David Clarke-- should remember that this is a republic, not a monarchy, and his badge is not a crown.”

Yet another reason why I will be glad to vote for this Walker on Election Day.

Angela Walker Speaks On The Issues In Milwaukee County

Angela Walker, a socialist candidate running for Milwaukee County Sheriff, speaks out on the issues facing Milwaukee County and of David Clarke's abysmal failure in that position:



I fully support and will be voting for Walker on November 4th.

I Will Vote For Walker In November!

Angela Walker, that is.

And from my email comes this fabulous news:

ANGELA N. WALKER TAKES ON DAVID CLARKE FOR MILWAUKEE COUNTY SHERIFF

“Sheriff Clarke is an overseer for the ‘New Jim Crow.’ We’re tired of plantation politics.”

On November 4th, 2014, Angela Nicole Walker will take on Sheriff David Clarke for the seat of Milwaukee County Sheriff. Angela is running as an independent socialist and advocates addressing the root causes of crime and violence to build a sustainable strategy for keeping all of Milwaukee County’s streets safe.

Born and raised in inner-city Milwaukee, Angela has a background in transit and social justice advocacy. She says that a fresh perspective is what's needed to make our city safe. "We know that mass incarceration is the “New Jim Crow” and Sheriff Clarke’s tactics have cemented Milwaukee’s place in that system. Wisconsin is the worst place in the country to raise a black child and leads the nation in incarcerating brown and black people. I believe that it's time to rethink criminal justice. It's time we look at the impact poverty and harsh punitive measure have on crime rates, and advocate for policy changes that will increase opportunity for everyone in our community."

Angela is running on a platform of economic and social justice, sound policy advocacy, and genuine cooperation within and between the neighborhoods of Milwaukee County. As Sheriff, Angela plans to:

• Advocate for a living wage, work with community partners to strengthen transit and job opportunities, and push for the full funding of public schools.
• Seek to expand alternatives to incarceration, such as treatment alternatives and restorative justice measures.
• Advocate for the legalization and decriminalization of marijuana, for its benefits to our local tax base and for its impact on mass incarceration rates in Wisconsin.
• Invoke the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) Detainer Ordinance passed in 2012 that allows the Sherriff's Office to refrain from ICE sweeps that devastate neighborhoods and separate families.
• Take an active stance against human trafficking in all forms.
• Advocate for the restoration of voting rights for people who have been incarcerated, including those newly released from prison.
• Work to keep people in their homes by limiting manpower to banks for foreclosures.
• Advocate for the public ownership of vacant public buildings and for their repurposing to address the issues of homelessness and poverty in Milwaukee.

Angela Walker will hold a campaign kick-off press conference on Thursday September 18th, 2014 at 3:00 PM at the Wells Street entrance in front of the Milwaukee Court House.

There's A New Sheriff (Candidate) In Town

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that, to the surprise of no one, David Clarke has filed to run for reelection as Milwaukee County Sheriff.  The only people that even thought Clarke would do anything else are the rabid teahadists of the right, the Chicken Littles of the left and the paper who was pushing the story in order to increase their circulation to the dozens.

The rest of us who practice critical thinking knew Clarke wasn't going to go anywhere.  He can't win a race without the conservatives in the suburbs, so he wasn't going to run for the Mayor of Milwaukee.  Besides, all of the idiotic things that Clarke has said and done over the years keeps him from running for a higher position. The only other race he might have had a chance of winning would be county supervisor, but he's not going to challenge fellow nut job Deanna Alexander only to have his pay cut to about one sixth of what it is now.

What I do find hilarious in its hypocrisy are all the Democrats complaining about Clarke running as a Democrat again, pointing out how he speaks at Tea Party rallies and is buddies with the likes of Charlie Sykes.  They complaints might have had some meaning if they weren't also embracing Chris Abele, who supports Teapublican candidates and has spent more than his fair share of time on squawk radio.  Heck, they gave Abele a prominent speaking spot at their Founders Day Dinner, despite him behaving exactly like Clarke, if not even worse.

But the big news isn't about Clarke or the hypocrisy about conservatives running as Democrats.

The big news is that it appears that the election for sheriff doesn't end in August with the primary between Clarke and Chris Moews.

Angela Walker, a political activist, is running as an independent for the sheriff.  While many might dismiss her candidacy offhand, since she is running as an independent, she has a message that the other candidates aren't willing and/or able to send and one that I think will resonate with a lot of people.  From her Facebook page:

I am looking to be on the November ballot against Sheriff Clarke for a few different reasons. I believe that the problems facing the inner city are NOT going to be solved by adding more punitive measures. I don't think that either candidate for the office of Sheriff will address the huge problem of mass incarceration in Wisconsin, much less in Milwaukee. I don't believe the candidates connect the dots between failing schools, deteriorating neighborhoods, a complete lack of living-wage jobs, limited access to healthcare, inadequately funded transit, and mass incarceration to the violence in these communities. I KNOW that neither candidate will acknowledge the fact that these conditions are CREATED and sustained by racism and continuing discrimination. They are by design.

I can speak to those things. Somebody needs to!

Now, I can't say that I expect the local corporate media to give Ms. Walker much more attention between now and Election Day, but I think that Ms. Walker's message is a good one and one that needs to be heard. I'd expect that the gentle reader will hear more about Ms. Walker at this site in the upcoming weeks and months.

Walker might be considered to be a long shot, but given that she was able to organize a signature drive and get the necessary number of signatures in literally just a few days shows that she is a force to be reckoned with.