Debate over COVID-19 response surfaces as early issue in Wisconsin governor’s race

A Democratic state lawmaker from Milwaukee is accusing Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley of abusing his power during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The testimony from state Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez comes just a day after Crowley launched his campaign for governor and about a week after Ortiz-Velez temporarily lost access to the state Capitol over an alleged threat against another Democrat. 

Ortiz-Velez made her remarks during testimony in support of a bill aimed at limiting the length of emergencies declared by local government leaders. Ortiz-Velez is the only Democratic coauthor of the plan, which is otherwise backed by Republicans.

She recounted a 2021 administrative order from Crowley requiring all county employees, including members of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, to provide documentation showing whether they’d gotten a COVID-19 vaccination. At the time, Ortiz-Velez was a member of the county board’s judiciary committee.

“I immediately informed the county executive that I would not comply with this order and that he had no authority to make such a demand of the members of the first branch or the public,” Ortiz-Velez said. “Doing so would, in my opinion, disenfranchise an elected official’s constituents and could be highly unconstitutional.”

She described an internal power struggle within county government about which of the board’s committees had rulemaking authority and alleged multiple administrative orders at the time were unlawful. 

Ortiz-Velez said she started pushing for a change in state law reigning in local executive emergency powers four years ago, “and ironically, just yesterday, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley officially announced that he’s running for governor.”

“Knowing what I know and have experienced during this time period and since, I cannot in good conscience ignore what happened in Milwaukee County, nor ignore what … County Executive David Crowley did,” Ortiz-Velez said. “It is my duty to tell you and the public. We need to pass this bill to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for Crowley said the county’s attorney “is confident that the executive orders issued by the County Executive during the COVID-19 public health emergency were legal and pursuant to his lawful authority.”

“We strongly disagree with the representative’s claims and oppose her legislation on this matter,” the statement says.

This isn’t the first time Ortiz-Velez has been at odds with members of her party. A week before she spoke to the Assembly committee, Ortiz-Velez left the Assembly’s Democratic caucus after she was temporarily blocked from the state Capitol for allegedly making a threat of gun violence toward another Democrat. Ortiz-Velez told reporters that allegation was “laughable,” and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, later said the threat allegations weren’t credible.

Ortiz-Velez previously split with her party in 2021 during a debate over legislative voting maps drawn by Gov. Tony Evers’ People’s Maps Commission, claiming they were part of a “national effort to dilute minority communities to create more Democratic seats.”

This year, Ortiz-Velez claimed she was personally excluded from coauthoring resolutions honoring Hispanic heritage and Hispanic veterans.