As state Sen. Lena Taylor announced Tuesday she will challenge Mayor Tom Barrett in 2020, she recounted growing up in a Milwaukee she said was different from today's city.

"I am the Milwaukee that I know," Taylor, a fourth-term Democratic senator, said at a news conference outside her Capitol Drive home. "I'm not Barrett's Milwaukee. I am the Milwaukee that allowed me to grow up and have access to opportunity, and I think every child should be able to have opportunity."

Today, the city is at a crossroads, she said.

Taylor cited what she sees as a lack of action on the part of Barrett’s administration to address issues in the city, which she said, in turn, denies equal access and opportunity. She pointed to the city's continued racial segregation and a drop in homeownership among black residents.

"We need leadership in an office that is not corrupt because when you blatantly know you are the worst and you specifically do not address it at a pace that suggests urgency, I call that a cancer that needs to be eradicated," she said.

Taylor said her vision is to bring health and wealth to the city, address trauma, collaborate and hold the city and non-profits accountable.

Barrett said in a statement that he fights for every corner of the city and that Milwaukee had overcome 10 years of economic hardship in the country and "caustic attacks" from politicians in Madison.

"We’ve sparked a renewal in Milwaukee that is reinvigorating our city center and our communities as well, investing hundreds of millions of dollars directly into our neighborhoods," he said. "Homicides and nonfatal shootings are down two years in a row. And we can’t stop now making this city a place that works for you, your family, your neighbors, and your hopes for the future."

Taylor's announcement follows years of speculation that she might be interested in the position.

Taylor, 53, has criticized Barrett on a variety of fronts, previously telling the Journal Sentinel he is "disconnected" from voters on issues of race, job creation, concerns over police, income inequality and issues at the city's health department.

On Tuesday, she questioned whether members of the Fire and Police Commission represent the people or Barrett. The mayor appoints commissioners subject to Common Council approval.

Taylor also said that under her leadership Milwaukee police would practice de-escalation techniques and take a different approach to mental health issues.

Taylor was first elected to the state Assembly in a special election in April 2003 and was elected to the state Senate the next year.

She ran against Scott Walker in 2008 when he was Milwaukee County executive, and although she lost the race, she carried the city by 5,000 votes.

When Walker became governor, she was one of the Democratic state senators who fled the state in an effort to block a vote on Act 10, Walker's legislation that limited the power of public employee unions.

Taylor has also had a series of controversies over her tenure.

In 2018, she received a disorderly conduct municipal citation for berating a bank teller. The teller and four witnesses told Milwaukee police Taylor called the teller a "house (N-word)" after a dispute over depositing an $825 check, according to police reports. She pleaded no contest and paid a fine, according to city records.

In the weeks that followed, a Senate human resources investigation found she bullied her staff and retaliated against an employee for using family and medical leave. She was subsequently removed from the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee, which at the time she called a "political lynching."

She said Tuesday she felt she should not have been taken off of the finance committee. Regarding the disorderly conduct ticket, she said there are two sides to any story.

Taylor said those incidents are in the past and she was looking forward.

"We are not going to sit on the sidelines and expect and accept the standard of disparity for people of color, black and brown people ... to continue to happen,” she said. “And I am not giving anyone a pass.”

RELATED:PolitiFact Wisconsin rounds up Lena Taylor fact checks since 2011

Potentially crowded field

Taylor will join a number of other candidates.

Ald. Tony Zielinski announced his run for the position in late 2017.

Late last year, Common Council President Ashanti Hamilton filed papers to run for the seat, but he hasn't made a formal announcement. It's unclear if he actually will run.

Barrett has yet to formally announce a re-election effort, but his campaign was sitting on $811,000, according to reports filed in July. His campaign aide Patrick Guarasci said Tuesday he fully expects Barrett to run for re-election.

Regarding Barrett's money, Taylor said that her constituents know her and people have seen what she has done over the years.

"In the end, I know money is real, don't get me wrong ... but then there's people and God," she said.

Taylor had about $2,200 cash on hand, according to her July campaign finance report. That includes an outstanding balance of about $35,500 she's loaned to her campaign.

Zielinski had more than $574,000, most of which came from his own pocket.

In a statement, Zielinski said more people will probably run "because we have a mayor that has misplaced priorities that has resulted in our unsafe streets and one of the highest poverty rates in the country."

Zielinski challenged all of the candidates to a debate in September.

It was unclear whether Taylor is abandoning plans to seek re-election to the Senate in the fall of 2020. She said Tuesday she'd be focusing on the mayoral campaign but didn't rule out staying in the Senate race.

"When that moment comes and those nomination papers are due, I promise to bring you an answer to that," she said. "But right now my priority is to win the primary and win the general and change Milwaukee."

The primary for the spring election is Feb. 18 and the spring election is April 7.

Journal Sentinel reporter Mary Spicuzza contributed to this report.

This story will be updated.

Contact Alison Dirr at 414-224-2383 or adirr@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter @AlisonDirr.