Alderman Willie Wade announces resignation from Milwaukee Common Council

"Effective at 12:00 a.m. on February 2, 2016, I will be resigning my position as 7^th District Alderman on the Milwaukee Common Council. I had previously announced that I would not be seeking re-election. Following my resignation this week, I will be accepting the position of vice president of the Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board.

I am grateful to my family and friends for their unwavering support throughout my tenure on the Common Council. I couldn’t have done this job without them, and I look forward to being able to spend more time with my wife, my son and my daughter.

I would also like to thank my friends and colleagues on the council, whose professionalism and warmth have reinforced my belief in the power of rational, civil debate in our political system. There will always be disagreements in politics, but my council colleagues regularly demonstrate that it doesn’t have to turn ugly or personal.

My professional, talented legislative assistant Deborah Moore has been an asset from Day One, and I’m thankful for her dedicated service to the constituents of the 7^th Aldermanic District. Thanks are also due to the professional and hardworking staff members of every department in city government, especially those in the Common Council-City Clerk’s Office, for enabling me to do my job to its fullest.

Finally, and most importantly, thank you to my incredible constituents for your support over the years, and for truly helping make the 7^th District magnificent.

I’m proud of the work my colleagues and I have done throughout the 13 years that I have served on the Milwaukee Common Council. Together, and as a city, we have weathered the financial crises of the Great Recession. Against the odds, we’ve promoted development and put cranes in the air, and we’ve protected our neighborhoods and expanded our tax base. We’ve maintained steady growth and improvement, and I feel like Milwaukee’s future is very solid and very bright.

The biggest crisis that this city still faces is unemployment, and I look forward to renewing my focus and my energy toward creating jobs and improving that facet of our local economy."