Alderman Joe Davis accused Mayor Tom Barrett of playing "Trump politics" against him, shortly after tossing his support to challenger Ald. Bob Donovan in the mayor's race during a press conference held early Wednesday evening. Davis also said that a last-minute story tying him to violent gang members was "Willie Horton" politics designed to stoke fear in people.

"He’s a South Sider; I’m a North Sider," Davis said of Donovan a few minutes after the two stood together before a bank of TV cameras at the corner of Capitol Drive and Hopkins Street. "If you put things together, we cover over half of the city of Milwaukee, and I think that’s a good template. I’m going to learn from him, and he’s certainly going to learn from me."

Barrett did not return a call to his press secretary seeking comment on Wednesday after the news conference.

"Joe and I are working together to get the message to people that we can do better than we are doing now," Donovan said, adding that he and Davis were, "joining in a crusade for a better Milwaukee."

When asked by a television reporter about how he would earn votes from Davis supporters concerned about issues like mass incarceration, the normally outspoken pro-police Donovan said he was "willing to sit down with people on both sides of the issue." He said, "Some people were sent to prison who shouldn’t have been, no doubt. If that’s occurring, we need to address it."

Davis added, "Milwaukee needs a new mayor; we need a new philosophy."

Davis contended he and Donovan wanted to form a unique coalition to "create a leadership change in the mayor’s office." He pledged to try to urge his voters to support Donovan, saying they are "some very loyal voters this time around." Davis also noted he was endorsed by the firefighters union.

Asked whether his pro-police and anti-crime stances would play well with Davis-leaning voters, Donovan told the clustered TV cameras, "I’m pro order. I’m pro safety ... Everyone wants to feel safe." He said he wanted more police beat patrols and to see police officers as connected to neighborhoods as a "church pastor or corner grocer."

The Davis endorsement potentially matters because, although Barrett won the primary Tuesday, he ended up with 46 percent of the vote. Donovan, with 33 percent, also advanced to the April general election, leaving both jockeying for the 19 percent of voters third-place finisher Davis claimed Tuesday.  

Of course, the general election brings with it other wildcards. For one, turnout will be higher because of the presidential primary, which could favor the incumbent Barrett. Barrett is also sitting on a much larger campaign war chest than Donovan.

Still, Barrett’s performance – below 50 percent – gave Donovan at least a stronger opening than some observers saw before. In contrast, in the 2012 primary, Barrett earned 80 percent of the vote. Granted, he also had a weaker slate of opponents. However, in 2004, Barrett came in second to Marvin Pratt in the primary, in a field of 10 candidates that included Sheriff David Clarke and Tom Nardelli, and still went on to win.

Asked why he believed Barrett polled under 50 percent, Davis cited high homicide numbers, "failed policies in the educational system" and the mayor's alleged lack of leadership on the Lincoln Hills abuse allegations involving Milwaukee youth.

"He hasn’t said a word about it," Davis alleged.

In a post-press conference interview, Davis expounded on his criticism of Barrett, accusing him of not being honest about lead paint problems affecting children.

Davis also said a column posted right before the primary by Journal Sentinel columnist Dan Bice, which highlighted a Davis Facebook post with gang members he was trying to deter from lives of crime, was "a Willie Horton at the last minute to pull that out." He said he believed the piece "probably played a role" in his third-place primary finish.

Asked if he thought Barrett or his campaign had anything to do with that and if it played any role in the Donovan endorsement, Davis said he didn’t know for sure how Bice got the story, but added, "I know they (Barrett's team) made a very derogatory comment, and sometimes when people choose to pounce on these kinds of things, they usually show their hand and show some culpability."

In the column, Barrett campaign adviser Patrick Guarasci was quoted as saying, "It's frankly unbelievable and completely irresponsible. One of the main tools this gang uses to recruit new members is social media. He might as well appear in a commercial for them."  

Davis said he thought the story was "one of those things to drive fear. For the mayor to say he’s a Democrat and for all the people, sounds like he was just a Republican. It’s Trump politics."

Concerning Barrett, Davis added that, "In his opening speech, he’s getting ready to pick a fight again with the State of Wisconsin. Well, leave the state alone. Take care of your business at home, leave the folks alone. Go up there and try to collaborate with them instead of trying to fight with them all the time, and focus on fixing Milwaukee because there’s kids dying on the streets here."