The Badger Herald interviewed Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley on his campaign for Wisconsin governor. See the transcript below.

Why did you decide to put your name into the race for Wisconsin governor?

It’s important to recognize Gov. Evers has been a steady construct that we’ve needed — representing the state of Wisconsin for the past couple of years, getting us through the pandemic and really protecting working families from more harm.

I truly believe that we need strong executive leadership moving forward to make sure we are keeping working families at the helm of all decisions we’re going to be making.

I spent seven years in the State Capitol, so I know exactly how Madison works, and I’ve also gotten things done within our state legislature.

For the past five years, I’ve been leading the largest county in the state of Wisconsin, representing 19 different municipalities, villages and cities of all different sizes, representing a million people, which is close to a sixth of our state’s population.

When I think about the work we have done in Milwaukee County — tackling affordable housing, making government more accessible through our No Wrong Door model and tackling the opioid epidemic, while also delivering the largest property tax cut in our [Milwaukee] county’s history — it’s about how we’re going to deliver for individuals moving forward.

My resume shows that I’m not only the only candidate that’s served in the legislature, but I’m the only candidate who actually has experience running the government, and so I’m getting into this race, because I know that I’ll be ready on day one, not only to tackle the issues head on, but also making sure that we can bring more people to the table and actually fight for working families all across the state.

How could students at the University of Wisconsin and other higher education institutions across the state benefit if you are elected governor?

When it comes down to our young people, I want them to know that I don’t look at them as our future. I think that’s B.S., because they are our now.

I think about the fact that youth development, when I was 17 years old, saved my life and introduced me to public service and community organizing. I think it’s critical that we find ways to incorporate youth voices into, not only my campaign, but into the Democratic Party.

We’ve lost a lot of our young people. We’ve lost a lot of independents. We’ve lost a lot of voices, and the youth voice is one that we’re going to make sure has a seat at the table when it comes down to this campaign. They can not only talk about the issues that they’re facing, but they can lean toward the solutions.

There isn’t a cookie cutter solution to the issues that are faced in every community and every demographic, and it’s important that we wide-size all of our solutions to make sure that we’re making the biggest impact.

I can guarantee that our young people, especially if they’re attending our UW systems — and as a recent UW-Milwaukee alumnus — I want them to know we want to figure out ways to make schooling more affordable for them.

Making sure that [affordable education is] not just for our current students — but as a person who was a returning student who wanted to figure out ways to increase my own education and give the possibility of having my girls understand how important a college diploma.

But also helping the community understand how this can actually increase our earning power. We need to make sure that we’re not only investing in our K-12 system, but we have to make sure that our young people are prepared for the jobs that are there today, and that we’re making it much cheaper so they can actually go through the system, get to classes and everything without putting a burden on their finances. 

Final Remarks

I want folks to know that I’m going to be the governor for all of us.

There’s a lot of frustrations in the Republican Party — who is currently occupying the White House. There’s also a lot of frustrations with the Democratic Party not being able to come up with a cohesive message that’s really going to galvanize and energize the face.

I want folks to know that this campaign is not about me. This is about our neighborhoods, our community, our future, our Wisconsin and I can only do that by having folks at the table. This campaign is going to be a movement in making sure that we directly fit within the state’s model — and that’s forward, moving all of our communities forward.

To learn more about Crowley’s campaign, visit his website.

The election for Wisconsin governor is scheduled to take place Nov. 3, 2026.

Editor’s note: This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and style.