MILWAUKEE, WI – On November 26th, Voces de la Frontera sent a letter to Mayor Tom Barrett demanding that he veto the current district maps passed by the Common Council on November 23. Members of Voces de la Frontera’s Redistricting Commission are concerned that the maps passed by the Common Council, in a rushed process, only include two Latinx “influence districts” that have a one-third Latinx population. Instead, Voces de la Frontera is proposing that the city adopt a new map that includes one Latinx influence district that has 46% Latinx residents. This map would consolidate Milwaukee’s growing Latinx population on the southside of the city, creating a near-majority Latinx district.
Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Executive Director of Voces de la Frontera, said “As populations grow, so should political power and representation. These maps are important because they will impact the political power of Milwaukee’s growing Latinx population to have a fair and equal voice in our city for the next decade. The rushed process of passing a new map, while not intentional, contributed to a lack of meaningful engagement from the community.
Given the trends in both movement and growth of the Latinx population and the decline of the white population within Aldermanic District 13, why would we want two ‘influence districts’ with a smaller, 30% Latinx population when we could have one major ‘influence district’ at 46% that is likely to become a majority Latinx district within the decade? We call on Mayor Barrett to uphold the interests of Milwaukee’s growing Latinx community by vetoing the maps passed by the Common Council and passing a new map that includes one larger Latinx influence district.”
