Your Neighborhood Candidate

 

Hi. I'm Matt Elder, a resident of Cooper Park, local government affairs analyst, veteran of various campaigns, father, concerned citizen and your neighbor.

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I was born and raised in Aurora, Colorado. I met my wife, who is originally from Wisconsin, when she was attending graduate school in Denver for school psychology. After graduation, she had a job opportunity back in Milwaukee and I jumped at the chance to move. I had visited Milwaukee many times before and loved the vibe of the city.

 

This will be my 6th year in Milwaukee. We started out on the East Side and bought our home in Cooper Park 4 years ago. This is where we have put down our roots and are raising our two daughters. It’s a great place to raise a family with the park nearby and plenty of space to go on a walk or run.

 

Why I’m Running

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To me, local government is the last bastion of civility in government. Too often the statisticians, the pollsters, the politicians and the media slice and dice us into categories such as blue or red, pro- this issue or anti- that issue and it has created an environment where we feel that that we can’t work out our differing ideas or reach across party lines. Local government is different. My neighbor across the alley may have voted for the other candidate, but at the end of the day, we still want the same things: good schools, a safe neighborhood, and a sense of pride in our community. There is no blue or red, only our neighborhood and how we can accomplish a common goal.

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All of these things have to be accomplished together, because if we don’t rise together to fix an issue head on, nothing will get accomplished. We see the results of that, not on the local 6 o’clock news or in the newspaper, but in our own backyard. We have to work together and more often than not, we choose to work together.

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This is why I am called to public service: I want to work with my neighbor. I choose to work with my neighbor. And now, I am choosing to serve my neighbor. This is why I am answering the call to represent our District.

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As Alderman, I will work on the following to move District 5 forward:  

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• Bring in small businesses to strengthen and revitalize our neighborhoods

• Add additional stop signs to crucial neighborhood intersections

• Fix crumbling roads

• Investigate revenue streams

• Work with Milwaukee Police Department to strengthen Neighborhood Watch Programs to deter and prevent neighborhood crime

• Strengthen relationship with Milwaukee Department of Public Works

 

My Background 

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I have a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from the Metropolitan State University of Denver and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Colorado. 

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I bring forth varied experiences from both the public and private sectors. I have worked as a Legislative Aide for State Representative Rosemary Marshall, a Denver Representative, where I helped with constituent issues, legislation and regulatory research and collaborated with various interest groups. I got my start in the policy world when I worked as a Field Coordinator for the Every Child Matters campaign during the 2008 election season. In this position, I tirelessly advocated for early child hood policies and initiatives at the local, state and federal level. For the past 8 years, I have worked in the field of healthcare, specifically in government affairs where I have advocated for under-served populations receiving government health benefits such as Medicaid. In one position at the Colorado Health Care Association, I was Director of Governmental Affairs and lobbied to protect funding for senior citizens in nursing homes. I am currently a Government Programs Analyst for Dohmen Life Science Services in the Third Ward. A lifelong learner and lover of the outdoors, I am  also an Eagle Scout. You can often find me and my wife, Lauren, who is a school psychologist, outside with our daughters, Aubrey (3 years old) and Eleanor (1 year old). Education is very important to Lauren and I , having both been raised by public school teachers; Aubrey will be attending K3 at MacDowell Montessori in the fall.