Businesses' complaints over pressure for donations prompted ouster of Ald. Tony Zielinski as Licenses Committee head

Mary Spicuzza , Daniel Bice | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A Milwaukee alderman was ousted from his spot as leader of the city's powerful Licenses Committee amid concerns that he pressured business owners for campaign contributions, sources told the Journal Sentinel.

Ald. Tony Zielinski was removed as chairman of the Licenses Committee Thursday by Common Council President Ashanti Hamilton. Zielinski, who has announced he will challenge Mayor Tom Barrett in 2020, said his removal was politically motivated.

Nearly a dozen sources, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue, said that multiple Milwaukee business owners have raised concerns about Zielinski and his aggressive fundraising tactics.

Zielinski reportedly carries a "Square" type device that attaches to a cellphone and allows him to swipe credit cards for campaign contributions, the sources said.

Some reported feeling pressured to contribute money to his mayoral campaign, and expressed concern their licenses or project approvals would be at risk if they didn't contribute to the Bay View alderman.

Two sources said federal authorities have contacted City Hall officials about Zielinski in the past month. It is not clear whether an investigation is underway or federal officials were following up on a complaint.

Such allegations have in the past led to criminal investigations, and even convictions, at Milwaukee City Hall.

Leonard Peace, a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, declined to comment when asked about Zielinski.

"The FBI does not confirm or deny investigations," Peace said.

U.S. Attorney Matthew Krueger also declined to comment.

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Zielinski, who led the committee for six years, said he had done nothing wrong. He suggested Friday that Barrett and Hamilton were working together to undermine his mayoral bid.

"I cannot prove they are conspiring against me, but everyone in political circles knows it is in their self-interest to conspire against me," Zielinski said.

Jodie Tabak, a Barrett spokeswoman, declined to comment, saying, "This is a Common Council matter."

First elected to the Milwaukee County Board in 1988, Zielinski has been on the Common Council since 2004. He launched his mayoral run in November.

Over the years, he has developed a reputation for raising money aggressively, including from those who appear before the Licenses Committee.

Milwaukee Magazine reported earlier this year that 34 of the 154 people who donated to his campaign fund last year did so either before or after they sought approval from his committee in the previous two years.

Zielinski did not deny to the magazine that he approaches business owners after they had appeared before his panel. But the veteran alderman said the donations have no connection to what he or his committee did.

Last year, Zielinski raised more than $200,000 for his mayoral bid — including a $100,000 loan from himself — and was sitting on $223,000 on Dec. 31, 2017. He has been telling allies that he could double that figure in the fundraising period that ends on June 30.

Hamilton said he made the decision to bounce Zielinski based on what is best for the city.

"My response is simply that I know Alderman Zielinski is disappointed with this decision but he has only himself to blame," Hamilton said.

Zielinski insisted the move was political, pointing to Hamilton's decision to oust Ald. Michael Murphy from his spot as chairman of the Judiciary and Legislation Committee.

Murphy, who was removed from his leadership post shortly after he repeatedly questioned how the city was spending federal grant money, said at the time that his removal was politically motivated.

"I am running for mayor and continue to raise questions about the city's response to the lead crisis, and I am removed from my chairmanship," Zielinski said. "What is confusing about that? These other accusations are politically motivated."

The Licenses Committee reviews license and permit applications, including those for alcohol beverage-related businesses, home improvement companies and rooming houses.

The committee will now be led by Ald. Nik Kovac.

Federal authorities last showed a great interest in the Common Council a little more than 10 years ago, when they charged five aldermen with wrongdoing.

In 2008, former Ald. Michael McGee Jr. was was sentenced to 6 ½ years in prison after he was convicted of using his power over liquor licenses in Milwaukee to shake down business owners for cash, food and cellphones.

Earlier, ex-Ald. Rosa Cameron spent eight months behind bars for misusing federal funds, and former Ald. Jeff Pawlinski received a similar sentence for using campaign money for personal expenses.

Former Ald. Paul Henningsen was acquitted on an extortion charge but convicted of misuse of campaign funds and sentenced to 33 months in prison.

In 2005, Ald. Bob Donovan was charged with a misdemeanor count of fraud in connection with federal funds that went to a group he founded, but the charge was later dismissed in a plea deal. Donovan agreed to pay a $2,500 fine and to avoid any involvement with nonprofits for two years in the deal.