Pastor David D. King

by Thomas E. Mitchell, Jr.
Sixth District Aldermanic Candidate, Pastor David D. King, said he got into the race to replace incumbent Alderman Michael McGee, Jr. to address issues he feels are being ignored by city hall.

"I jumped in for the people," said King, who is the head of Win/A/Soul Ministries International. "I've watched the recall and heard everybody (involved in the recall effort) and I've found that no one is addressing the needs of the people."

Though he has helped people for most of his adult life, King feels he can reach even more individuals and have a greater impact on the problems facing the community-homicides, unemployment and slum housing-in city hall.

"I want to be the voice of the people in the sixth district," King said. "I want to make sure they get the type of representation they need.

King wants to take his experience setting up and running neighborhood programs that helped create jobs, helping the elderly, economic development, working with prison inmates, recovering drug addicts, single mothers and the homeless and apply it to meeting similar needs that impact an entire aldermanic district.

"Being a member of the clergy, I think I can bring people together, get churches involved and do things to, for instance, reduce crime."

As an example, King pointed to a program he founded called "SWEEP." In the first year of operation, SWEEP placed over two hundred people in jobs and secured housing for over a hundred individuals.

The program earned him an acknowledgement from Cardinal Stritch University, which called King a "sign of hope for the city of Milwaukee."

Though he has been campaigning to win an election, King still manages to carry out his original mission of helping people in the district.

He is currently in the process of setting-up another program called "Next Kingdom Generation," which will help encourage teens to practice abstinence, learn about and understand credit, how to own an home and seek out jobs that lead to business ownership.

King said he would also work to make sure that community block grant dollars go to organizations that are helping people and hold them accountable when they don't.

"We need to put the money into programs that will produce success stories," King said. "Now we're wasting money. We're not getting anything for the money we spent. There are not success stories."

We need to shift the dollars to people who will give us results.
King would also pursue the development of a training center and program that would have a guaranteed job waiting for the person who completes the training.

With a guaranteed job waiting, King feels a person in the program will put forth more effort into successfully completing the program.

"That (kind of program) will make a brother come off the corner, King claimed.

King believes his being a minister will force the council to be more conscious of its actions, adding would be "exciting to hold each other accountable" to the people they serve.

"When I go to bed at night, I'll know that I served the people and served them well."