Connelly identifies public safety as his top priority and proposes expanding Milwaukee’s Community Prosecuting Unit. He would like to add an additional prosecutor to deal specifically with the UWM campus and also proposes adding an on-campus police substation.

Leading up to the Feb. 19 primary, the UWM Post has conducted interviews with the 3rd district candidates. Here is a short summary of where the candidates stand on the issues.

Sura Faraj - Faraj is the President of the Riverwest Neighborhood Association and has been active in the community for over 25 years.

Faraj seeks to improve the environmental landscape of the district by improving bike lanes and promoting alternative forms of transit.

She proposes a community relations course at the university to help students better acclimate to the surrounding neighborhood, and supports a more visible police presence.

Sam McGovern-Rowen - McGovern-Rowen has worked as incumbent Ald. Michael D’Amato’s legislative aide for the last three years, something he believes has prepared him for the job.

To improve student/resident relations, McGovern-Rowen proposes holding office hours at the university twice a month to listen to local comments and concerns.

He is supportive of Residential Preferred Parking (RPP) and believes that it is beneficial to residents and many students as well

He is also committed to supporting neighborhood-friendly development that will grow Milwaukee’s “walkable and vibrant” communities.

Matt Nelson - Nelson owns the Brewing Grounds for Change coffeeshop and is co–founder of the Freedom Now! Collaborative.

Nelson believes that repairing the “poor” relationship between the community and law enforcement is essential to improving public safety.

He has been active in preventing bus system cuts and preserving service, believing that effective transportation results in promoting economic development and reduced congestion.

Nelson also supports a city and campus-wide pay wage, something he successfully fought for at the University of Wisconsin.

Nik Kovac - Kovac is a Harvard graduate and a journalist for the Riverwest Currents and Shepherd Express.

He seeks to stop mass towings in the district and believes parking regulations should be for regulating parking, not for generating revenue.

Kovac advocates collaboration between students, community leaders and law enforcement to help make district neighborhoods safer.

He also disagrees with large-scope development projects, citing the Downer Avenue construction, and favors plans that fit into neighborhoods as opposed to towering over them.

Patrick Flaherty - Flaherty is an experienced community organizer with an extensive background of volunteer work.

He hopes to utilize his organizational skills in improving public safety, insisting that the district must do more than just hire additional police officers. He believes youth programs and more communication with district residents will be most effective.

Flaherty has also vowed to veer away from what he calls a “condomania” approach to district development.

Daniel Fouliard - Fouliard is a former design specialist for AT&T.

He favors a student-owned housing program where students collectively purchase their residence and pay mortgages instead of rent. He believes this would establish greater student responsibility and pride in the community.

Fouliard opposes towing as punishment for parking violations and proposes a car-sharing collective where participants would park their cars and get paid by others for use.

He also vows to fix the district’s worst 10-20 potholes.

John Connelly - Connelly identifies public safety as his top priority and proposes expanding Milwaukee’s Community Prosecuting Unit. He would like to add an additional prosecutor to deal specifically with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus and also proposes adding an on-campus police substation.

He believes that the substation will increase collaboration between students, administration, and law enforcement in terms of public safety, and help smooth over the often strained student/resident relationship.

Connelly favors expanding the Flexcar program and supports a commuter rail system, calling Milwaukee’s lack of mass transit options “a sad commentary.”

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