milwaukee county politics

[Milwaukee City]

When it comes to Milwaukee County politics lets just say the inmates are running the asylum, it's a banana republic.

[mizzou65201]

I think it's somewhat dangerous to paint the Milwaukee County suburbs with such a wide brush. Below are the vote percentages in the 2008 election. I will do the Walker-Barrett 2010 election next--I bet those numbers will be much closer and less Democratic-leaning.

Just looking at the numbers, Shorewood is no surprise as the most Democratic voting area. West Milwaukee perhaps is more of a surprise, but what's important is how different Shorewood and West Milwaukee are demographically. Shorewood is upper-middle class, white collar professional, college educated. West Milwaukee is lower-middle class, blue collar workers, I would bet a relatively high percentage of Union members. Very different constituencies for who tends to vote Democratic between the North Shore suburbs and the rest of the county.

Same is true on the other side of the spectrum. Republican voters in places like River Hills are very wealthy families living in 500k+ homes. Republican voters in, say, Hales Corners or Greendale are more middle-of-the-road demographically.

Shorewood 72-25 Obama
West Milwaukee 64-34 Obama
Glendale 63-36 Obama
Brown Deer 61-37 Obama
Bayside 60-38 Obama
St. Francis 56-41 Obama
Cudahy 56-41 Obama
Fox Point 56-42 Obama
Whitefish Bay 56-43 Obama
So Milwaukee 54-44 Obama
Wauwatosa 52-46 Obama
West Allis 52-45 Obama
Greenfield 50-48 Obama
Oak Creek 50-48 McCain
River Hills 53-46 McCain
Greendale 53-45 McCain
Franklin 55-43 McCain
Hales Corners 57-41 McCain

[Milwaukee City]

How many times do I have to tell people that when determining whether a city is pro-republican or pro-democrat you cannot just look at presidential elections nor can you just look at ONE! presidential election. It's a such a small sample that it doesn't warrant accurate results. To receive a more accurate selection you have to look at registered voters, see how many people in say Mequon are registered republican/democrat/independent/green/other, then take a historical look at presidential elections, then historical mayor, historical alderman, historical school board, historical referendums, historical votes on tax increases or votes down on tax increases. Then find information on political donations of city leaders this will tell you who donated money to who and who got elected. You can also search donations by companies in your city or county or township. I thought this was obvious that a 9th grader could figure out but apparently not. Hasn't anyone ever heard of "election landslides" or "party landslides" this is where the public is so determined and fed up with current leadership that they the voters are willing to throw out anyone even affiliated with that party even if it's the party they normally vote with. There are also numerous other factors that decided or dictate a political landslide in a community. There are outliers in numbers that's why we have means or medians the same goes for politics.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

When it comes to Milwaukee County politics lets just say the inmates are running the asylum, it's a banana republic.

Who are referring to as inmates?

[just1paul]

Originally Posted by green_mariner

Who are referring to as inmates?

'Inmates running the asylum basically means that whoever is in charge is making crazy decisions. It has nothing to do with prison inmates.

[mizzou65201]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

How many times do I have to tell people that when determining whether a city is pro-republican or pro-democrat you cannot just look at presidential elections nor can you just look at ONE! presidential election. It's a such a small sample that it doesn't warrant accurate results. To receive a more accurate selection you have to look at registered voters, see how many people in say Mequon are registered republican/democrat/independent/green/other, then take a historical look at presidential elections, then historical mayor, historical alderman, historical school board, historical referendums, historical votes on tax increases or votes down on tax increases. Then find information on political donations of city leaders this will tell you who donated money to who and who got elected. You can also search donations by companies in your city or county or township. I thought this was obvious that a 9th grader could figure out but apparently not. Hasn't anyone ever heard of "election landslides" or "party landslides" this is where the public is so determined and fed up with current leadership that they the voters are willing to throw out anyone even affiliated with that party even if it's the party they normally vote with. There are also numerous other factors that decided or dictate a political landslide in a community. There are outliers in numbers that's why we have means or medians the same goes for politics.

The biggest problem with your suggestion is in understanding the nuts and bolts of Wisconsin elections and electoral politics. Wisconsin does not register voters by political party. It is impossible to see how many "registered" voters there are in any particular area.

Second, mayor, alderman, school board, etc. are not partisan positions in Wisconsin. (Even if they were, voters are more likely to break from party identification in such local races.)

I agree that one presidential election is only so instructive. The 2008 presidential election is helpful for a couple of different reasons:

1. Turnout was exceptionally high; and
2. Obama won thanks to strong support from independent/moderate voters; in other words, one could assume that the "average" political lean of these areas is slightly more to the center than the 2008 numbers would suggest (see, e.g., the 2010 midterm election, or perhaps even tomorrow's recall vote.)

[northbound74]

Milwaukee's situation isn't at all unique.
Most cities I'm familiar with are like this: inner cities and affluent midtown areas are liberal.
Inner-ring suburbs lean left, but a little more moderate usually.
Outer-ring suburbs moderate to conservative, if not staunchly conservative.

There are some variations, and I'm sure people can come up with some cities to dispute this, but it's a pattern I've noticed in a lot of places.

[ultravioletfly]

Originally Posted by northbound74

Milwaukee's situation isn't at all unique.
Most cities I'm familiar with are like this: inner cities and affluent midtown areas are liberal.
Inner-ring suburbs lean left, but a little more moderate usually.
Outer-ring suburbs moderate to conservative, if not staunchly conservative.

There are some variations, and I'm sure people can come up with some cities to dispute this, but it's a pattern I've noticed in a lot of places.

This is true, but it's much more dramatic in Milwaukee. Waukesha County single-handedly counters Dane County's votes in nearly every election, and Ozaukee and Washington are right up there too. Other cities in the region like the Twin Cities, Chicago, and Detroit still have a significant number of left-leaning suburbs; Milwaukee has very few.