As a lifelong Milwaukee resident, County Executive David Crowley knows as well as anyone that Milwaukee County is truly a tale of two counties. He has lived the pain and struggle that many in our communities face every day, and he knows the joy of bringing people together to conquer those struggles. The fundamental tenet of Executive Crowley’s administration is to build bridges to bring people together, not walls that keep them apart. As a child, David’s family moved around frequently, often as a result of evictions. He lived in a home with multiple family members who suffered from mental illness and drug addiction, and saw first-hand the impact that these issues have on our community. This is personal to David. David credits the Milwaukee youth organization Urban Underground for saving his life. He found a support network and a community of people that cared about him, and helped guide him to public service. While still in high school, David served as a community justice coordinator with Urban Underground, giving him his start in community organizing. He joined AmeriCorps when he turned 18, and worked with several other community organizations including Project Return, Safe & Sound Inc., and COA Youth and Family Centers. David also worked as a legislative aide for the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors and the Wisconsin State Senate. David was motivated by the public servants around him to forge his own path in elected service, and was chosen by the 60,000 citizens of the 17th Assembly District to represent them in the Wisconsin State Legislature in Madison. In two terms in the Assembly, David sat on the Energy and Utilities, State Affairs, Workforce Development and Transportation committees and was the ranking member on the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. He served as the chair of the Milwaukee Delegation, the chair of the Black Caucus, and the co-chair of the Black and Latino Caucus. He also served on the Boards of Directors of both the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) and the Outreach Community Health Centers (OCHC). David is a member of numerous community organizations including the ACLU, Milwaukee Urban League Young Professionals and the Milwaukee NAACP. He attended Bay View High School, UW-Milwaukee and currently lives in Milwaukee with his wife, Ericka, and his three young daughters. He was elected to serve as Milwaukee County Executive on April 7, 2020 and was sworn on May 4, 2020.
