About this episode

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson discusses his reelection and the importance of progress in public service.

Milwaukee, WI Mayor Cavalier Johnson won reelection in 2024 with 80 percent of the vote. "Those are Vladimir Putin levels," joked Citizen Co-Founder Larry Platt. "The difference is, Putin's still looking for the other 20 percent!" said host and former Philly Mayor Michael Nutter. Asked why he decided to devote his life to public service, Johnson said, "I fell in love with helping people in my community. I mean, the key word in 'progressive' is progress. And mayors get stuff done. It's truly where the rubber meets the road in cities." From youth workforce development programs ("Ten-year-olds were being recruited to steal cars, here") to rejecting partisanship for the good of the city ("Bringing the RNC to Milwaukee in 2024 was a purely business decision") to his efforts to grow the population of Milwaukee to a million people, Johnson is out earning that 80 percent each day. "We have an awful lot of people who listen to this podcast that we hope will one day run for office," said host and former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. "Right, I think it's important for the people to see their reflection in this office," said Johnson. "It's a powerful thing. It's all about service." Remember to…

People in this episode

Hosts: Michael Nutter, Kasim Reed

Guest: Cavalier Johnson

Topics covered

• public service
• progressive politics
• local government
• community development
• elections

Keywords

• Cavalier Johnson
• Milwaukee
• public service
• progressive
• elections
• community development
• RNC

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Milwaukee, RNC, Accelerator for America, The Philadelphia Citizen

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