'We were able to elevate Milwaukee': Q&A with Mayor Cavalier Johnson following the RNC

On the morning after the Republican National Convention concluded, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson wore jeans to City Hall.

"It's kind of like you know when you host a big party and you're just ready for everyone to go so you can get back to order and clean things up and all that," he said Friday morning at his office as the barriers around downtown were being dismantled. "I feel kind of like that. I feel good though."

The four-day convention had been years in the making and culminated in an intense four days that drew tens of thousands of people and countless media organizations to the Wisconsin's largest city.

The Democratic mayor and vocal supporter of President Joe Biden had courted the convention at which former President Donald Trump on Thursday night formally accepted the Republican Party's nomination to run for a second term in the White House.

From local businesses to policing, here is how Milwaukee's mayor was thinking about the events that took place in the city over the last four days.

This interview has been edited for length.

How are you reflecting on this week?

Johnson: I know there were some hiccups, but overall, I think that we were able to elevate Milwaukee, which is what my primary goal was, to showcase the city to the country and the world.

As I said, over this week, we had images of Milwaukee being beamed into living rooms and c-suites across the globe and the thousands of individuals who were here, everyone that I encountered ... with the exception of (U.S. Rep.) Derrick Van Orden, had a good time.

This was their first interaction with the state of Wisconsin, and Milwaukee left a great impression. So, I feel good in that when people think about Wisconsin, the first thing they're going to think about is Milwaukee.

There were so many elements to this week. There was the business element, there was the politics element. There was just kind of the odd things you see during a convention. There's obviously the police shooting. How would you characterize this week?

Johnson: Unprecedented.

We had never hosted something so large here before. This was a massive, massive event that, as you're indicating, just spanned the gamut. It was part hospitality, part politics, a big part law enforcement. There are so many things in the mix but in all those spaces, in all those spaces overall, I think that everybody delivered. It was a herculean effort to get this done.

So many people that I spoke to said the same thing ... They'd say that Milwaukee in all those spaces shined. The city just shined.

What do you make of the business angle? There were businesses that really felt like they didn't have people show up, businesses in Bronzeville, the Third Ward. How do you think about that?

Johnson: I think a couple things.

There were local businesses that were patronized, that did well, that were part of Convention Fest, let's say, or had some other partnership with the Host Committee and did well.

In terms of the other businesses, I think there's an opportunity for us — and not just us but I think other cities that host these conventions — to do a deep dive and see how we can better direct media or delegates or other visitors to businesses. I think there's an opportunity for us to learn from this, so I'm looking forward to having those conversations and learning.

The Coalition to March on the RNC 2024 protest seemed to be fine Monday. Obviously, there was whole lawsuit before that, there was so much attention and then they did the protest but there weren't big issues.

Johnson: You're right.

We had laid out an opportunity (to demonstrate at locations within the security "footprint") because we thought it was important, and it was part of the (RNC) framework agreement.

I think it's important for folks to exercise their First Amendment rights and display their displeasure with the Republican Party, especially their platform or indeed the candidate. I mean, I disagree with those things, too. So, there's alignment there.

Although they did not march in the parade route that we had established, there was communication with them and police, and it went off pretty well. So, I do want to give the Coalition some credit there.

What have been the major challenges of pulling off a convention like this? It's a been a year and a half in the making.

Johnson: I think that obviously security is a big challenge. I mean, that was a lot of work, a lot of coordination between the Milwaukee Police Department, the Secret Service, the local law enforcement agencies from across the country coming in.

And Chief (Jeffrey) Norman did a really great job with recruiting those agencies to come in and be assistive here.

The fire support that we got as well, there's just the whole security apparatus.

I described it as like taking the security apparatus around some institutions in Washington D.C. and picking that up and dropping it in Milwaukee. So, that's a huge undertaking.

Jeff Fleming, mayor's spokesperson: There was so much that was unseen as well. The National Guard was here. Nobody saw them but they were ready to go if they were needed.

While we're talking about the security zone, what do you think about Pere Marquette Park? It seemed pretty empty after that monthslong back-and-forth.

Johnson: Nobody wanted it. Nobody wanted the demonstrations there.

The businesses didn't want it there. The RNC itself didn't want it there, and importantly the same group (Coalition to March on the RNC), they didn't want it there either.

Alison Dirr can be reached at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Q&A with Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson following the RNC