MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee Alderman Terry Witkowski stirred up controversy in his quarterly letter to residents in Milwaukee Aldermanic District 13 by saying the Milwaukee Common Council votes more based on race vs. issue.
On Tuesday, May 7, Witkowski tried to clarify what he meant.
"Will I come off as a bigot? You know, 'If these people don't vote the way I do, that's a problem?' That's not my intent. If it comes over that way, that's not where I was going. I look at it from 5,000 feet and I say, 'This is how the council votes,'" said Witkowski.
"Just because someone happens to be black, happens to be Hispanic, or they happen to be white, to oversimplify why they made a decision and attribute it simply to race, one is an oversimplification and it's belittling to the folks who have to make those decisions," said Milwaukee Common Council President Ashanti Hamilton.
Witkowski said he hadn't talked to other council members about the newsletter he published.