Area leaders unite to form Regional Transit Leadership Council

By Press Release Submitted to OnMilwaukee.com Published Nov 03, 2016 at 12:36 PM

Southeast Wisconsin leaders officially announced the formation of the Regional Transit Leadership Council ("Leadership Council"), an unprecedented public-private platform for collaboration across jurisdictions and sectors. The inclusive group from the metro region, representing diverse political and industry backgrounds, is committed to working together to advance connectivity across the region through innovative, efficient solutions, an essential and urgent key to increasing quality of life and economic competitiveness. Please see member roster below.

If we are going to compete nationally and globally, we have to act regionally. Our region is at a critical tipping point where our economic health and well-being is directly tied to our level of connectivity. The Leadership Council unites our region under this shared fate.

"The bedrock of the Leadership Council is the commitment from this diverse set of leaders to build a shared vision and collaborate to execute practical solutions. To do this today and beyond, we must have absolutely frank conversations while respecting the sensitivities that come with this topic," said Tracy Johnson, President and CEO of the Commercial Association of REALTORS Wisconsin.

The Leadership Council finds and champions inventive solutions that align with a vastly changing economic landscape to help solve our biggest problems and to leverage our assets to spur new development and investment, creating jobs and building wealth in communities.

"We are fortunate to live in a vibrant region with many job opportunities and must partner to connect people to those jobs because it will enhance the livability and global competitiveness of our area," said Paul Decker, chairman, Waukesha County Board.

The council recently identified the biggest problems that transit could positively impact, including:

An intense labor competition that impacts the entire economy. Public services we all rely on. depend on tax revenue from employment growth. If we don’t have workers, we won’t have job growth. Companies that want to expand will expand elsewhere.
Jobs disconnect: The region’s available jobs seekers can’t get to many of the jobs.
Absence of modern, efficient transportation options limits the region’s economic growth.
Traffic on local streets and the cost of providing parking are undermining economic growth and neighborhoods.

"An effective transit system is an economic development tool that will help our region remain competitive, however transit development by its nature is slow and take multiple decades. Quick wins are important to maintaining commitment from both private and public sector leaders," said John Kissinger, President and CEO of GRAEF.

A set of quick accomplishments going forward is underway. In the coming months, the Leadership Council will continue to advance:

Solutions to connect workers with targeted growing and isolated job hubs
Commission Public Policy Forum research and development of pilots to bridge the "Last Mile" employment barrier. The Last Mile is the distance from the bus stop to a job location or home, which was identified by the Public Policy Forum as a top employment barrier in Metro Milwaukee.
Ongoing East/West BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) decision-making process to ensure economic and workforce outcomes.
Development of a collaborative Strategic Action Agenda with VISION 2050 as a framework, and release of a problem and opportunities impact synopsis of issues that regional connectivity can address.

MetroGO! staffs the independent Leadership Council. MetroGO! is a 501c3 organization founded in 2014, with roots going back to 1992. MetroGO! is leading and engaging people in creating and advancing a collaborative, innovative, transformational regional transit network that fuels the economy and workforce growth, and builds vibrant, well-connected communities in six-county Metro Milwaukee.

For information on the Regional Transit Leadership Council or membership, please contact Kerry Thomas, Executive Director, MetroGO! at kthomas@metrogo.org.

Regional Transit Leadership Council executive committee

Chair: Paul Decker, Board Chair, Waukesha County
Vice Chair: John Kissinger, President and CEO, GRAEF
Tom Barrett, Mayor & Jeff Polenske, City Engineer, City of Milwaukee
Kathy Ehley, Mayor, City of Wauwatosa
Mike Fabishak, CEO, Associated General Contactors- Greater Milwaukee
Eve Hall, President and CEO, African American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin
Tracy Johnson, CEO, Commercial Association of REALTORS Wisconsin
Pat O'Brien, executive director, Milwaukee 7
Steve Ponto, Mayor, City of Brookfield
Steve Scaffidi, Mayor, City of Oak Creek
Beth Weirick, CEO, Milwaukee Downtown BID 21
Ken Yunker, executive director, Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission

Founding members

Rana Altenburg, V.P., Office of Public Affairs, Marquette University
Dave Blank, CEO, Real Racine
Erik Brooks, Mayor, City of South Milwaukee
John Dickert, Mayor, City of Racine
Jorge Franco, President and CEO, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Wisconsin
David Gilbert, President, UWM Foundation
Michael Hostad, executive director, Innovation in Milwaukee (MiKE) of the Greater Milwaukee Committee
Trevor Kubatzke, V.P., Student Services, Milwaukee Area Technical College
Barry Mandel, President, Mandel Group
Kevin Muhs, principal transportation planner, Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission
Mike Ruzicka, President, Greater Milwaukee Association of REALTORS
Kathleen Cady Schilling, executive director, Ozaukee Economic Development
Chris Socha, project architect, The Kabula Washatko Architects – Urban Labs
Keith Stanley, executive director, Near West Side Partners, Avenues West Association
Lee Swindall, V.P., Business & Industry Development, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation
Paul Upchurch, President and CEO, VISIT Milwaukee
Willie Wade, V.P., Community Relations, Employ Milwaukee
Wyman Winston, executive director, Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority
Barbara Wesener, executive director, South Suburban Chamber of Commerce
Corey Zetts, executive director, Menomonee Valley Partners
Suzanne Zwaska, V.P., Government Relations & Community Development, US Bank