Ald. Michael D'Amato is near the end of his third term representing Milwaukee's Third District on the Common Council. It appears he will face challenges from Sura Faraj and Nik Kovac in the April election.

Prior to taking office in 1996, D'Amato served as the executive director of the East Side Housing Action Committee. The ESHAC is a neighborhood organization that worked to improve economic development and housing conditions on Milwaukee's northeast side.

Ald. D'Amato and his wife, Becky, have three children — Nicolas, Lily and Jack -– who attend Milwaukee Public Schools.

The Third District includes part of the Riverwest area, Lake Drive, East North Avenue, Oakland Avenue, Brady Street and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The district's population is extremely diverse; featuring students, artists, skilled factory workers, professionals from all fields, professors, families, older citizens and business owners. Socioeconomic conditions range greatly, but according to D'Amato, the people in his district have the same concerns.

In the latest installment of Milwaukee Talks, OnMilwaukee.com sat down with D'Amato and discussed a wide range of topics including the upcoming election, crime, the possibility of two-way traffic on Farwell Avenue, Alterra Coffee coming to Riverwest, the smoking ban and more.

OnMilwaukee.com: What does an alderman do? Is it a full-time job?

Ald. Michael D'Amato: It is absolutely a full-time job. We are like the mayor of our little district -- all the things that affect you every day: police service, fire service, garbage service, street repairs, etc. In addition, we do planning -- that's very important for the neighborhood. We do zoning, so we are involved in a lot of new developments and building inspections.

In this district, certainly, it is a full-time job. I probably work about 60 hours a week, and in addition to that, do three night meetings a week, either with the Riverwest Neighborhood Association, Water Tower Landmark Trust or the Downer Avenue Merchants' Association. We go to all of the association meetings. There are about 30 of them in Riverwest. It's a lifestyle as well as a job.

OMC: If you had a "magic Milwaukee wand" and could grant three wishes for the city, what would they be?

MD: I have always said that there are three things that create a stable city, and these would be my wishes: Everybody who wants to own a home can own a home, everyone who wants a family-supporting job that pays a good wage and health benefits could have it, and that every child got a quality education all the way through high school and college.

To me, home ownership, job creation of good-paying jobs and education stabilize the city and make it great. That's the foundation that everything else is built upon.

OMC: Do you think Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) is capable of providing a good education?

MD: It always disturbs me when people lay the blame on MPS or lay the job of fixing societal problems on MPS. MPS teaches students that come to them with all types of baggage. Where you see schools with parents who care, you see good schools with good students, but where you have less than that -- students who don't have clean sheets to sleep on or students who don't know where their next meal is coming from -- that's where the problems are. And MPS absorbs those problems. It's gotta be a holistic approach to solve these problems, and until we do that, MPS will continue to have problems.

OMC: The Third District is very diverse, with 40,000 people from many different walks of life. How do you find the middle ground that will appease people living on Holton Street and those living on Lake Drive?