It’s crunch time. This election is predicted to be very close, and we need your help to push us over the top. If you’ve thought about volunteering and haven’t gotten around to it yet – now’s your chance! If you’ve already volunteered, you’ve seen first-hand the excitement in this campaign, so come on back for another shift!

Click here to sign up to help us on Get Out the Vote (GOTV) weekend. Please sign up for as many shifts as you can!

No experience is necessary. We’ll give you some simple instructions, and answer any questions you might have. This is a fun, easy way for you to help ensure a win on April 3^rd!

Every hour you give to the campaign will yield more votes, so stop in at Pierce HQ, 432 E. Smith Street, or click here to sign up now.

Thanks very much for your support!

Thank you, and best wishes as we move forward together.

The Bay View Compass, with the League of Women Voters, is presenting another Candidate Forum that will feature Aldermanic District 14 candidates Tony Zielinski and Jan Pierce, and Milwaukee County Board Supervisors Marina Dimitrijevic (District 4) and Jason Haas (District 14).

Because Bill Buresh, who is running for the Milwaukee County Board District 4 seat, has elected not to participate and because there is no challenger for Milwaukee County Board District 14 seat, the incumbents will share the stage during the portion of the forum featuring the local county board races.

Note: There were a number of requests for this event to be staged in a venue in the western portion of these districts. Regrettably, we were not able to find a location that was available, affordable, and/or accessible.

Bay View Compass and League of Women Voters Candidate Forum

Wednesday, March 28 Bay View United Methodist Church

2772 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. (in the sanctuary/first floor)

*7-9pm*

The building is wheelchair accessible

7-8pm–Incumbent Tony Zielinski and Challenger Jan Pierce, 14th Aldermanic District

8-9pm–Incumbents Marina Dimitrijevic (County Board District 4) and Jason Haas (County Board District 14)

Format: Questions posed to the candidates will be drawn from the audience members and presented to the candidates by moderator LuAnn Bird, who is representing the League Of Women Voters.

For more information contact Katherine Keller: editor@bayviewcompass.com or 414.489.0880

Is your schedule busy or unpredictable? Just want to make sure you don’t miss out on casting your vote for Jan Pierce to become our next alderman?

Early voting (also known as “in-person absentee”) has begun for City of Milwaukee residents! Stop in at the Municipal Building (directly east of City Hall, enter at the SW corner of Kilbourn & Broadway) between now and March 30th and you won’t have to worry about fitting it in on April 3! You can be in and out in 5 minutes over your lunch break or while passing through downtown.

Mondays through Fridays, March 19th – March 30th, 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Saturday, March 24th, 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM

You can also register to vote or change your registration if you’ve moved and vote at the same time. (Be sure to bring proof of your current residency. More info here on what to bring: http://city.milwaukee.gov/vote)

More election information: http://city.milwaukee.gov/election

Enter your address here to view a sample ballot that shows what you will be voting on and your candidate choices for all races in advance: https://vpa.wi.gov/AddressSearchScreen.aspx

Spread the word, invite your friends! Let’s get those votes in the bag for Jan!

Press Release
March 2, 2012

(MILWAUKEE) – Today, Jan Pierce, candidate for Milwaukee Alderman in District 14, evaluated current District 14 Alderman Tony Zielinski’s level of professionalism on the Common Council. Citing just one example, Pierce commented on a proposal from Alderman Zielinski that would have infringed on citizens’ rights, and his angry outburst when challenged on it.

“During a Zoning Code Technical meeting in 2009, Alderman Zielinski presented his proposal to regulate all mural work done in Milwaukee,” Pierce explains. “Artists were on hand from all over the city to protest his need to monitor their work and subject them to unnecessary fees and regulations.”

“His proposal met with disapproval by Council members because it infringed on First Amendment rights. When he heard this, Zielinski slammed his briefcase in disgust and abruptly left the meeting, shouting at Common Council members and artists alike, and storming out of the council room. The alderman’s outburst was the subject of that night’s evening news. It was shocking to see our alderman’s behavior.”

read more

Press Release
February 24, 2012

(MILWAUKEE) – Today, Jan Pierce, candidate for Milwaukee Alderman in District 14, spoke out on current District 14 Alderman Tony Zielinski’s relationship with Piggly Wiggly Midwest chairman, president, and CEO Paul Butera. Butera is owner of the new Piggly Wiggly store on Chase and Oklahoma Avenues.

“This week, union-buster Paul Butera was in federal court for a second time for his anti-worker practices,” said Pierce. “He’s described as one of the worst violators of federal labor law, but Alderman Zielinski has proudly made his relationship with Butera the centerpiece of his re-election campaign.”

“While he claims his relationship with Butera ‘helps businesses,’ Alderman Zielinski has ignored the needs of local small businesses while fast-tracking Butera’s liquor license and pulling out all the stops to help Butera get what he wanted in our district.”

read more

Press Release
February 17, 2012

(MILWAUKEE) – Today, Jan Pierce, candidate for Milwaukee Alderman in District 14, evaluated current District 14 Alderman Tony Zielinski’s campaign finance records.

“Alderman Zielinski’s January 2012 Continuing Campaign Finance Report revealed an unusually large amount of donations from businesses outside the district, but more importantly, contained 28 reimbursements made to donors who over-contributed,” Pierce said. “Worse yet, the reimbursements were made for contributions dating back to 2008. For three years, Alderman Zielinski sat on this money, negligent of contribution limits and campaign finance laws, until our campaign brought them to light.”

read more

I’d like to thank those that stopped by the candidate forum this week. It was great to see citizens of District 14 actively engaged in local government and voicing the type of change they would like to see in our district.

There are three things that I took away from the forum, and I’d like to share them with you.

1. Transparency is vital to our success. As alderman, I pledge to have an open and visible administration. That means daily updates on developments and issues in District 14. I plan to provide as much information to constituents as possible, allowing them to actively and effectively engage with their local government. I’ll also advocate for legislation that would require City candidates to file their campaign finance reports online, for more transparency and accessibility to the public.
2. Steps need to be taken to facilitate small business growth in District 14. Fully 85% of businesses in Milwaukee have less than 25 employees, and there are far too many ordinances and hoops to jump through that stymie small business creation in our city.
3. Most importantly, aldermanic privilege needs to be reined in. The success of District 14 should not depend on the decisions of one person. There are so many gifted and talented people in our neighborhoods, and the alderman’s responsibility should be to utilize the strengths of our community’s citizens to make District 14 a better place to live.

I’m proud of the momentum we’ve built and the discussion we’ve started about raising the bar for what we expect from our public officials.  I look forward to better engaging our community and determining the directions we want to take our neighborhoods together.