Four candidates for Milwaukee county executive debate ahead of spring primary

MILWAUKEE COUNTY -- Candidates for Milwaukee county executive took part in a debate on Thursday, February 4th ahead of the spring primary election.

Incumbent Chris Abele, Senator Chris Larson, Steve Hogan and Joe Klein participated in the debate, held at the Washington Park Senior Center.

One of the major topics discussed was the power held by the county executive, including changes made in the most recent budget.

A controversial change was the county executive's ability to sell public land that wasn't zoned as "park land."

"I'll restore American-style checks and balances so our heritage, our legacy cannot be sold off by one county executive," Larson said.

"I won't sell the airport. I won't sell the museum. I won't sell parks. I'm proud of the fact that in the last five years we've gained 150 acres of park land. I hope that's a start, not an end," Abele said.