Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett urged to delay naming new leader for troubled Health Department

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Common Council President Ashanti Hamilton is urging Mayor Tom Barrett to delay naming a new leader for the troubled Milwaukee Health Department.

Milwaukee Common Council President Ashanti Hamilton is urging Mayor Tom Barrett to temporarily withdraw his nomination for a new health department commissioner.

Hamilton wrote to Barrett last week asking him to "temporarily withdraw" his nomination of Jeanette Kowalik, saying the interim commissioner needs more time to try to fix problems at the beleaguered agency.

But Barrett is pushing back, saying he wants to move forward with the appointment.

"I have no intention of withdrawing the nomination," Barrett told the Journal Sentinel on Wednesday.

The mayor said he hopes they'll "be able to work something out."

Hamilton said his request had nothing to do with Kowalik's credentials or ability to manage the department.

In his July 13 letter, he noted that Interim Commissioner Patricia McManus had recently requested more time to work through problems at the department.

"She is only beginning to take stock of the systemic failures allowed to grow and persist under the previous administration," Hamilton wrote. "She requested more time to accomplish the work the Council asked her to do and, given present circumstance, this seems reasonable."

Former Health Commissioner Bevan Baker left his job in January as news broke that his department failed to provide services to the families of thousands of children who had tested positive for lead.

McManus has been serving as interim health commissioner since February, after the Common Council blocked Barrett's pick and appointed her instead.

During a meeting at City Hall earlier this month, McManus portrayed the lead program as a mess. She also said troubles with Milwaukee's lead programs were just the "canary in the mine" for the entire department.

McManus added that she would like to stay longer than originally planned.

"I want to make sure if I'm replaced prior to this not being finished, I don't want to get blamed for it," McManus told council members. "Because I think that's what's going to happen."

The department has also struggled in recent months with its family planning and breast and cervical cancer screenings.

Hamilton's letter clearly put the blame for the department's troubles on Baker, not McManus.

"As has been widely reported, under the previous commissioner of health, the Milwaukee Health Department slid into a state of disarray," he wrote.

Barrett on July 10 notified aldermen that he was nominating Kowalik, a former Health Department employee who now works for a Washington, D.C.-based public health nonprofit group.

Under state statute, the council has 45 days from the date of the mayor's nomination to vote on his pick.

With the council heading into its August recess, aldermen would need to act during the July 31 council meeting.

Barrett said he remains optimistic.

"We are hopeful for a smooth transition and see no reason to withdraw the nomination of Dr. Jeanette Kowalik," the mayor's office said in a statement. "We're excited about Dr. Kowalik and think she will be very well received by the community. We're optimistic the Common Council members and the community will warmly support her."

Despite turmoil facing the agency, the city did get some good news Wednesday when Gov. Scott Walker announced Milwaukee has been awarded another $4 million to help pay for lead pipe replacement.

The additional money will be used to help homeowners, schools and day care centers replace their old lead service lines.

“We are helping the City of Milwaukee provide clean water to kids and families,” Walker said in a statement. “It is critical that we continue to remove lead pipes throughout our state to ensure our communities are healthy.”

The $4 million for the city follows another $2.6 million awarded last year.

The state estimated the latest award would pay for 500 lead service line replacements in the city.