Michael Imanu McGee Jr. (born Michael Imanu Jackson; October 7, 1969),Name Change, jsonline.com; accessed December 2, 2016.State criminal complaint, jsonline.com, June 2007; accessed November 6, 2014. is an American politician who served as alderman of Milwaukee's Sixth District.Alderman McGee's biography , city.milwaukee.gov; accessed December 2, 2016. He was elected in April 2004 to become along with his father, former alderman Michael McGee Sr., the first father and son in the history of Milwaukee to serve on the Common Council. His controversial tenure on the Milwaukee Common Council culminated in his arrest on Memorial Day weekend, 2007. He subsequently won the primary election from jail and lost the general election for re-election.
Early life McGee is the eldest of nine children of former Milwaukee alderman and community activist Michael Imanu McGee Sr.Kurt Chandler, "The Prodigal Son", Milwaukee Magazine, October 2007, pp. 75-78, 86-91 McGee attended West Division High School but transferred to Bay View High School when West Division became the Milwaukee High School of the Arts and dropped its sports programs. At Bay View, McGee was a standout wrestler, taking third in the state in the 126-pound weight class in his senior year. McGee was popular and well-liked at Bay View, where he was elected Prom King.
Upon graduating from Bay View, McGee attended the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse where he joined the Army and served in the National Guard. In mid-1991, McGee left UW–La Crosse and moved back to Milwaukee. On December 31, 1991, at barely 22 years old, McGee declared his candidacy for mayor of Milwaukee, challenging incumbent mayor John Norquist in the 1992 mayoral election. McGee finished a distant third in a primary field of six candidates.
In September 1992, McGee enrolled at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee ("UWM"). He graduated from UWM in August 1999 at the age of 29 with a degree in political science and began working as an academic advisor for UWM in a program assisting middle school students.
Early run-ins with the law Before being elected to office, McGee had numerous run-ins with the law. In 1992, McGee was ticketed for disorderly conduct. In 1993, McGee was convicted of providing false information to a law enforcement officer. McGee left the scene of a property damage accident, traveling at high speed even after officers began to pursue him. Once stopped, he provided a false date of birth and possessed an identification card with the false birth date. Court records said that he was driving with a suspended license. In 1995, McGee was convicted of misdemeanor criminal damage to property for breaking a man's car windshield with a baseball bat.Borowski, Greg J. and Jessica McBride. "Aldermanic candidates dogged by trouble with the law, records show; Cases include drugs, drunken driving, damage to property, police obstruction", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 28, 2000, pp. 1-B He was sentenced to four months in the House of Correction and 18 months of probation and ordered to perform community service and undergo an alcohol and drug assessment. His probation was later extended because he failed to make enough payments on restitution.
Aldermanic elections McGee's earliest aldermanic elections efforts were met with controversy. Following McGee's unsuccessful bid for mayor, in McGee's next electoral effort in 2000, Alderman Don Richards challenged the signatures on McGee's first election petition in 2000. Alderman Richards alleged that numerous of McGee's signatures were forged, used nonexistent addresses, or obtained by McGee when he did not live in the district.Borowski, Greg J. "Richards' bid to keep opponent off ballot rejected; McGee collected enough valid signatures to run for alderman, commission rules," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, January 13, 2000, pg. 3B The election commission eventually determined that he had collected two more than the minimum number of signatures. Alderman Don Richards eventually easily defeated McGee to retain his seat as the Ninth District's alderman.Election Results, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 5, 2000, pg. 12-B
In a more hotly contested race in April 2003, McGee lost to Willie Wade for the Tenth District aldermanic seat vacated by Rosa Cameron following her conviction on federal charges of misappropriating federal funds.Pabst, Georgia. "Wade defeats McGee in race to replace Cameron", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 2, 2003, p. 9-B On primary election day, February 18, McGee ran into problems when the principal of North Division High School complained to UWM officials that McGee tried to get students at the school where he worked to help him campaign instead of attending school. UWM officials said McGee has admitted to using "poor judgment" in getting students involved in "inappropriate" campaign activity.
In 2004, McGee defeated Alderman Marlene Johnson-Odom, who had served 24 years as an alderman, to become the Sixth District's alderman.Jones, Meg. "New Common Council smaller, younger, all male; Longtime aldermen Johnson-Odom, Gordon defeated", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 7, 2004, pg. 1B
Once in office, his first high-profile action was the creation of what he called a Rapid Response Team, which included neighborhood and community leaders mobilized in an effort to combat increasing community violence.Borowski, Greg J. "Alderman forms Rapid Response Team; McGee says group will combat 'domestic terrorism'", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 1, 2004, p. 1-B In a press release issued at the time, McGee said: "The Rapid Response Team would be dispatched immediately when serious disputes between neighbors are reported, when there are complaints about police brutality and when residents and business owners have serious concerns about police response to burglar alarms. The team will respond to community concerns and will be on the scene to collect and exchange information and to document what's going on." The group, which stated its intention to make citizen's arrests, was variously described as an initiative to address black-on-black crime, a monitoring program to deal with police brutality and an information source for north side residents.Borowski, Greg J. "Group to make citizen's arrests; Alderman says Rapid Response Team will monitor police, too", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 3, 2004, pg. 1-B
Following an investigation of the Opportunities Industrialization Center of Greater Milwaukee which resulted in charges against two of the agency's subsidiaries, the conviction of its former head, Carl Gee, and a guilty plea from former state Senator Gary George, McGee filed a complaint against United States Attorney Steven M. Biskupic with the United States Justice Department claiming racial bias and overzealous prosecution.Borowski, Greg J. and Gina Barton, "Alderman accuses U.S. attorney of biased inquest; Biskupic says facts determine targets" Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 30, 2004, p. 3-B In his letter, McGee claimed that the black community sees Biskupic, who is white, as "a plantation overseer ... whose sole purpose is to lynch black leadership and the institutions that support us."
The beating of Frank Jude Jr. Following the beating of Frank Jude Jr. by off-duty Milwaukee police officers, McGee led a demonstration of about 100 people about the slow pace of the investigation. McGee called District Attorney E. Michael McCann a "dumb ass", called Jude's attackers "hate mongers and KKK killers". He said, "Any man that would pull another man's pants down is a straight-up sick faggot", while adding that he did not mean to offend all homosexuals."McGee owes an apology", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 15, 2005, p. 10-A
Numerous public officials called upon McGee to apologize for his use of the homosexual epithet, particularly State Senator Tim Carpenter, who is openly gay. When confronted by Carpenter, McGee refused to apologize and told Carpenter to "move out the way." He then walked into his office, causing Carpenter to shout after him, "Why are you hiding?"Pabst, Georgia, and Greg J. Borowski. "More want McGee apology; He says mayor is insensitive to African-Americans", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 24, 2005, p. 1-B
Six of McGee's fellow aldermen signed a letter asking McGee to apologize. The letter, an unusual public rebuke of a colleague, called the beating of Jude "heinous and despicable", but denounced McGee's use of "hateful and inflammatory speech" and went on to note McGee's comments "dipped well below the common threshold of statesmanship and civil decorum that we hold dear." Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett in reference to McGee's comments said, "he owes an apology to the gay community; he owes an apology to African-Americans in my office and African-American women in general", adding that McGee's remarks "go beyond what is acceptable for any mature adult or elected official."
McGee called for blacks to boycott downtown and central city shopping centers as a means of protesting the beating of Jude."McGee's bogus boycott", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 24, 2005, pg. 16-A These boycotts were widely criticized on the basis that they would disproportionately affect black workers and black business owners and thus be counterproductive, and that the targeted businesses were completely unrelated to any complained-of actions in the Jude case.
As the verdicts were read acquitting the three officers who were charged with beating Jude, McGee repeatedly said "bullshit" in court.Diedrich, John and Georgia Pabst. "'Not guilty' U.S. attorney to immediately consider federal charges; All-white jury clears officers in 4 of 5 charges", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 15, 2006, p. 1-A Subsequently, McGee led demonstrations calling for United States Attorney Steven M. Biskupic to bring federal charges. Biskupic eventually did bring federal civil rights charges that resulted in the convictions of seven Milwaukee police officers.
Wauwatosa arrest In November 2005, McGee was arrested and was cited for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest in Wauwatosa following an incident in a Blockbuster parking lot.Johnson, Annysa and Greg J. Borowski. "Milwaukee Ald. McGee arrested in Tosa; he alleges racism", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November 10, 2005, p. 1A The incident began when the Blockbuster store manager called the police concerned about a suspicious car in the store's parking lot after the store closed. Police officers responded and made contact with McGee. The officers explained why they were called and McGee responded that he understood the employees' concerns. The officers told McGee he was free to go, but as he left, McGee shouted an obscenity at the employees in the store.
The police officers who were still on scene, then pulled McGee over. McGee then became combative with the officers, asking "What are you going to do about it, arrest me?" McGee's statement says he was then pulled from the car, handcuffed, struck with a closed fist on the side of his head and then had his head slammed against the hood of the squad car.
The Police report, jsonline.com, November 2005; accessed November 6, 2014. police report says McGee was pushed to the hood of the car because he was struggling against the handcuffs. It said McGee claimed that he was punched in the head and was bleeding. But the police report said that there were no visible wounds and the dampness on his head was from water on the hood of the car.