Abele, Stone Turn Their Eyes to Southern Milwaukee County

Issues facing the Milwaukee County's South Shore were front and center at a forum Wednesday night in South Milwaukee.

The event included Milwaukee County executive candidates Jeff Stone and Chris Abele, who gave their takes on topics including the future of the Hoan Bridge, the airport, a possible extension of the Lake Parkway, mass transit and the parks system.

The mayors of St. Francis, Cudahy and South Milwaukee, as well as county supervisors Pat Jursik and Marina Dimitrijevic, also participated.

The event at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center drew well over 100 people. 

Here is what the candidates said on some of the southern Milwaukee County issues (answers are condensed):

Hoan Bridge/Lake Parkway extension

Abele: Everything that connects people to jobs is important in creating jobs. It's hard to argue against highly prioritizing roadways as crucial as the Hoan Bridge. A "rocky ride" is absolutely what it is these days.

Stone: When you're talking about the Hoan Bridge, you're getting into the heart of what drives economic development in the South Shore. Living in the Greenfield/Greendale area, I seldom had a reason to use the Hoan Bridge until Lake Parkway was extended. It really changed the way I live my life on a day-today basis - there are many times I need to go downtown that I now approach it from Layton Avenue and come up Interstate 794. It truly made the southern part of the county an engrained part of how I work day to day. 

Airport

Abele: The airport is one of the things we do a very good job at. It's incredibly convenient and effective, and the easiest way to see that is to spend some time at O'Hare. When things are going well and so many businesses and people who live in the community depend on a high-functioning airport, we need to be careful about contemplating any significant changes to something working well. The airport is something we could all be proud of. We should be proactive in marketing the airport, as well as everything else we do right.

Stone: I've been concerned that we need to get the most value out of the airport as possible. It's one of the resources that will help our economy grow and be a key part of our transportation system. There is a great potential for creating economic development in that area. I can't think of something that's more key to our future than the airport.

Parks system

Abele: Everyone agrees the park system is one of the extraordinary treasurers we have. It is absolutely economic development. It not only enhances quality of life, but homes that are approximate to a well-maintained park have higher property value.

Stone: One of the great things about this community is the park system. We need to protect that, and that's going to be a challenge. I don't blame county supervisors for the fact we have financial pressure on parks - it's our system that creates more pressure on local government. We must work to make sure we maintain parks and it's not going to be easy. 

A Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee (KRM) rail line

Abele: Everyone would support being able to do it in a sustainable way. But leadership is about being realistic about the conditions you're living in. In the short term we have such a huge list of pressing problems that can be summed up as taxes, jobs and services. That's what we have to focus on. For the time being it's hard to see, realistically, how something like that gets funded. 

Stone: Through my work with the Southeast Wisconsin Regional Transit Authority, I realized there is no way we could ever get the KRM with a failing bus system in Milwaukee. We need to solve that before we move forward. I don't believe we have the political will at the Capitol to vote on this issue. For the foreseeable future, I will concentrate on maintaining the transit system we have.