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Mayor breaks 6–6 tie to pick council representative for Milwaukee Metro Fire Rescue Board
Summary
After repeated tie votes, the council re-ran its selection for the Milwaukee Metro Fire Rescue Board and the presiding officer cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of Alder First, citing the importance of gender diversity on the board.
A repeated split among council members left the city’s representative slot on the Milwaukee Metro Fire Rescue Board unresolved after several tie votes in committee and at council. The presiding officer said the city attorney advised re-voting at the council level, where state statute allows the mayor to vote and break ties in a city of the second class.
The mayor presided over a secret-ballot re-vote that resulted in a 6–6 tie. The mayor then exercised the tie-breaking authority and announced his vote for Alder First, saying he wanted to increase diversity on the Fire Rescue Board. The mayor said both candidates, Alder First and Alder Foley, were “equally qualified” but chose Alder First to add female representation to the body.
Under state law for cities of the second class, the mayor is part of the common council and may vote to break ties. The presiding officer acknowledged the difficulty of choosing between two long-serving alderpersons and noted that the tie votes reflected support for both candidates.
The council proceeded with the rest of its agenda after the mayor’s decision. The council did not publish a roll-call list of individual votes on the re-run ballot in the transcript; the initial re-vote was recorded as a 6–6 tie before the mayor cast the deciding vote.
