Milwaukee mayoral candidate Marina Dimitrijevic says she wants to invest in violence prevention, create a universal free driver’s education course and use federal COVID-19 relief dollars to address problems in Milwaukee.
The 40-year-old south side alderwoman in a WisPolitics.com interview said she would continue to fund the city’s Office of Violence Prevention to help stop issues before police have to respond after the city experienced a record number of homicides in 2021.
Milwaukee is on the heels of two record-breaking years for homicides, with 190 in 2020 and 197 last year. Dimitrijevic said one of her priorities would be to address the root causes of the uptick in violent crime by continuing to fund violent prevention efforts.
“I think that when we invest in violence prevention, it can save lives, save distress, and pain and hurt, and it also saves resources,” she said. “Police come onto the scene often when something’s already happened, unfortunately.”
Some of the former Milwaukee County supervisor’s other priorities include working to decrease car thefts and reduce reckless driving.
“I think, you know, for a child to get into a car that’s stolen and just drive off and be full of hopelessness is a really sad state of affairs for our city,” she said.
But she doesn’t entirely blame kids, adding there are issues with Hyundais and Kias making targets out of those cars.
She said she also wants the city to give free driver’s ed classes to reduce reckless driving.
Dimitrijevic also said she wants to use federal infrastructure and American Rescue Plan Act funds to address housing issues in an effort to fix long-term segregation issues.
“When you talk about segregation, we need economic mobility,” she said. “We want a city that I said our slogan is: We are one, where everyone can move around and afford to live in safe, clean housing that’s lead free and affordable.”
Listen to the interview here.
See more on the Milwaukee mayoral race at the Milwaukee Mayoral Race page.
