Meet the Next City Treasurer

Four candidates are vying to replace longtime city of Milwaukee treasurer Wayne Whittow. The top two vote-getters in the Feb. 21 nonpartisan primary will advance to the April 3 general election.


Tim Carpenter
Carpenter, a state senator, has represented the city's South Side in the state Legislature since 1984 and is a graduate of UW-Milwaukee and UW-Madison's La Follette Institute.

Carpenter's top three issues are eliminating the elected city treasurer position and consolidating those duties within other departments; changing the culture of the office so that's it's more open and responsive to new ideas; and utilizing technology and innovative reforms to improve customer service and convenience.

Those innovations include creating an electronic tax billing option for tax payments and a “Pay at the Bank Program” where Milwaukee taxpayers can go to a neighborhood partner bank to pay their property taxes.

“With my proven legislative record of reform and change, I would like the chance to make a difference with my public service here in Milwaukee city government,” Carpenter said. “I love living in Milwaukee and want an opportunity to give back to our great city by serving our community.”

To learn more about Tim Carpenter, go to www.senatorcarpenter.org.

Spencer Coggs
Coggs is a state senator who has represented the North Side of Milwaukee in the Legislature since 1982. Prior to that, he was a city of Milwaukee health officer.

Coggs' top issues are improving collection rates by using technology and alternative payment sites; reducing the city's foreclosure rate by increasing financial literacy through community workshops; and fully implementing recommendations made by a 2005 task force to increase accuracy within the department.

“I think that we can use technology to help us increase and improve our collections,” Coggs said. “Right now we have a system where on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve you have a number of people who are standing in line in the treasurer's office, waiting to pay their taxes. Through email and using institutions like banks and credit unions we could have areas where people can go to make payments so that they don't clog City Hall or stand outside of the treasurer's office. It's antiquated.”

To learn more about Spencer Coggs, go to www.spencercoggsformilwaukee.com.

Rick Kissell
Kissell is a Spanish interpreter and a past president of the AFL-CIO Translators' and Interpreters' Guild and of the Milwaukee chapter of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement. He served on the board of directors of the Wisconsin Fair Trade Campaign. Kissell is the only candidate in this race who had run against the outgoing treasurer, Wayne Whittow.

Kissell said he is running for city treasurer “because I'm tired of seeing the office mis-used as a rest home for politicians who want to retire at double pay.” He said he believes that an activist city treasurer could help rebuild the Left in Milwaukee by educating citizens on the impact of state and federal policies on the city's fiscal condition.

He said his top issues are the lack of progressive taxation, corporate welfare and the jump in the city's debt. He said he would be outspoken if an issue needs public scrutiny and would like to use new technologies to increase transparency in local government.”

“I want to revive Charlie Whitnall's idea of creating a municipal bank,” Kissell said. “That's a concept that's begun to take root in a number of communities, including San Francisco and Washington state.”

To learn more about Rick Kissell, go to www.electkissell.org.

Dawn Marie Sass
Sass is a former state treasurer who is now working on a master's of business administration from Keiser University. Sass worked for Milwaukee County for more than 33 years; her last position was as a custody placement specialist in the juvenile probation department. Sass also served as treasurer for Wisconsin Electrical Contractors Corporation for 18 years and as treasurer of AFSCME Local 645 for seven years.

Her top issues are to increase the efficiency of the office, to work with delinquent taxpayers to help them pay off their property taxes and to raise the profile of the office so that its value is seen by all taxpayers.

“I would have public meetings to educate the taxpayers about the office,” Sass said. “These meetings would also be for delinquent taxpayers so we can show them that we are their to help them not punish them for being delinquent. The efficiency would be increased by looking at new systems for paying taxes and determining where things could be streamlined.”