Norquist set the stage for city's success

There are a lot of good things happening in Milwaukee these days. Mayor Tom Barrett likes to say that Milwaukee's on a roll.

Milwaukee Magazine editor Bruce Murphy acknowledged in a recent online column that a good share of the credit for the city's downtown resurgence rightfully belongs to former Mayor John Norquist:

The real story is that Norquist's vision for Downtown is coming to fruition. For that matter, consider the development occurring in the Menomonee Valley. When Norquist talked about a clean green redevelopment of this area 15 years ago, nearly everyone (including me) thought he was crazy. Anything but, it turns out.

What the former mayor understood is that any development won't do; it has to maximize the advantages of the city. "Density matters,"the Brookings study concluded. "Producing low-density suburban models squanders the market advantages of centrally located real estate that many Downtown dwellers value."

Norquist was, and is, passionate about cities and making them livable. He wasn't always able to articulate it clearly. Sometimes it sounded a little goofy, and sometimes his personality got in the way. But he understands cities, what makes them work, and what makes them attractive places to live.

If you ever saw his slide show, you understand what he was talking about. He was at his best in that presentation, which he showed to anyone who would watch, from Rotary clubs to Vice-President Al Gore in his DC office. The slide show and his commentary brought together his love and knowledge of cities' history, architecture, planning, transportation, zoning, design, and more.
It's unfortunate that he isn't in Milwaukee to see the results of the groundwork he laid during nearly 16 years as mayor. He knew the city like few others did; he could tell you the history of practically any neighborhood or intersection you happened to pass. He cared about detail, to the point of driving the city with his public works commissioner to look for ways to squeeze in more parking spaces in crowded areas.

People are flocking now to live downtown, in condo and loft developments. The Third Ward's resurgence has now spilled over to the south into the Fifth Ward, and Kinnickinnic, Bay View's Main Street -- a street he loved and featured in his slide show -- is booming. the Milwaukee Public Market, which he had the vision to support, is open and drawing throngs of shoppers. Park East development isn't coming as quickly as many would like, but it is coming, and his vision of taking down the freeway spur will benefit Milwaukee for decades to come.

He got little credit for anything positive while he was mayor. People were impatient and blamed him for the inability of the Grand Avenue mall to attract major retail outlets. But he understood that downtown retail demands people who live downtown, not just work there 9 to 5. Now that's happening, too.

History may eventually give him his due. Right now, two years after leaving office under a cloud, he gets little or no credit. But if Milwaukee is on a roll -- and it truly is -- John Norquist is the one who started it rolling.

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Disclosure: I managed Norquist's first campaign for mayor in 1988 and was the chief strategist for his three re-election campaigns, in addition to serving from 1996-98 as his chief of staff.