\u201cI wish you wouldn\u2019t hold back,\u201d Mike Gousha told former Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist at the end of an hour-long \u201cOn the Issues\u201d conversation at Eckstein Hall on Feb. 5. That got a big laugh from the audience of about 200 because Norquist held back little in giving zinger-filled opinions on a\u00a0range of subjects.<\/p>\n
In nearly four terms as mayor, from 1988 through 2003, Norquist was known for speaking his mind. If anything, he is even more willing to speak out now that he\u2019s a decade removed from that office. A few examples from his session with Gousha, the Law School’s distinguished fellow in law and public policy:<\/p>\n
On Waukesha\u2019s request to get access to Lake Michigan for its water supply: Given the way some Waukesha officials have treated issues of importance to the City of Milwaukee, Norquist said, \u201cIf I were one of the elected officials, I\u2019d be tempted to say, \u2018you want our water, that\u2019s too bad, you can dry up and blow away.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
On the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, which Norquist has long-criticized for encouraging too much freeway construction and urban sprawl: He said he has dealt with regional planning bodies across the United States and SEWRPC \u201cis the worst of any of them in the country. . . . They\u2019ve been awful. I think they\u2019ve done a lot of damage.\u201d Abolishing SEWRPC would help increase regional cooperation, he said.<\/p>\n
On action by Waukesha County officials years ago that blocked a light rail system from being built in Milwaukee: Norquist said the Waukesha County Board voted 16-9 to allow the project to go ahead, \u201cwhich was a courageous vote.\u201d But then-County Executive Dan Finley, \u201cto his eternal discredit,\u201d vetoed the resolution. \u201cThat was awful that he did that,\u201c Norquist said.<\/p>\n
On polarization between the city and the suburbs: \u201cIf you\u2019re the mayor of Milwaukee and the City Council of Milwaukee, you have to defend the interests of the city of Milwaukee. \u201c Norquist said he didn\u2019t think he made the polarization worse and cooperated with some suburbs on specific issues. But, he said, \u201cI think it would be a mistake for the city elected officials to think it\u2019s really, really important to be liked by SEWRPC or someone like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the attitudes of some suburban officials toward Milwaukee: \u201cThis whole Republican suburban political thing, particularly among legislators, is this sort of racially-tinged, anti-Milwaukee attitude which is relieved temporarily when they show up at a school choice press conference.\u201d<\/p>\n
On congestion in urban areas: \u201cCongestion is a little like cholesterol.\u201d He said there is good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. \u201cIf you don\u2019t have any cholesterol, you\u2019re dead.\u201d Congestion in urban areas is sometimes a product of having the kind of mixed-use neighborhoods that are attractive, vibrant places to live and work. One of the things not among the problems of Detroit, he said, is congestion because it built a lot of freeways and people left.<\/p>\n
On tearing down freeways, including the Park East spur that was removed more than a decade ago: If anything, Norquist said, Milwaukee hasn\u2019t torn down enough freeways. The problem with the Park East land, much of which is still vacant, is that Milwaukee County controlled a lot of it and put too many restrictions on potential buyers. Land and buildings near the Park East land have generally done quite well, he said.<\/p>\n
On gentrification: Norquist generally dismissed criticism that \u201cgentrifying\u201d neighborhoods harms low-income and minority residents who lived there before the prices of homes and the cost of living rose. Milwaukee does not have gentrification problems, he said, and only a handful of spots in the country do. \u201cIt\u2019s been one of those issues that in a lot of contexts is phony.\u201d Some of the most fashionable neighborhoods in the country, such as Greenwich Village in New York, are highly congested, he said, because people want to be there.<\/p>\n
On trends that have seen many urban neighborhoods revived in recent years: \u201cIt\u2019s more of a return to the norm\u201d of American living, he said. It was government policies in the post-World War Ii era that led to decline in urban life by promoting freeways, automobiles, and federally subsidized mortgages for homes in suburban areas. He said young people have discovered that \u201cthey really like urban living.\u201d<\/p>\n
Norquist generally spoke positively about how things are going in Milwaukee now and\u00a0the work of Mayor Tom Barrett and the Milwaukee Common Council.<\/p>\n
Since resigning as mayor, Norquist, now 64, has lived in Chicago, where he has been president and CEO of a non-profit organization, the Congress for the New Urbanism. He announced recently that he would retire this summer from that position. He told Gousha he intends to write a book and do some teaching.<\/p>\n