Mayor Tom Barrett on Tuesday appointed Ann Wilson, manager of the Housing Authority's Hillside Family Resource Center, to a vacant position on the Fire and Police Commission.
Barrett said Wilson, who also serves on the board of directors of the Milwaukee Area Technical College, had asked to serve on the politically charged commission. He called Wilson a "really good choice" for the position, adding that he had known her for decades.
Wilson's appointment is subject to a hearing before the Common Council's Public Safety Committee as well as approval by the full 15-member council. Her selection came the same day as a consortium of community groups sent a letter to Common Council President Willie Hines and Ald. Terry Witkowski, chairman of the Public Safety Committee. In that letter, the groups said they wanted Hines and Witkowski to hold at least two public hearings in which public testimony would be taken on Fire and Police Commission appointees.
Chris Ahmuty, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the groups that signed the letter, said that "this is not the time for the council to rubber-stamp any Fire and Police appointments. Council members before voting must listen to the people. We demand they take public testimony about residents' expectations."