Milwaukee's Pothole Racial Disparity

UPDATE: Pothole Hearing
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The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is all over the pothole racial disparity story.

The Milwaukee Department of Public Works takes longer to fix potholes in minority neighborhoods of the city than in white areas, an average of about 11 days and 7 days, respectively.

The Journal Sentinel Editorial Board writes:

DPW has some explaining to do, and we applaud Common Council efforts to see if institutional racism is what is at work here. There can be no excuse for unequal service.

The Journal Sentinel investigation was not surprising to many minorities who already believe if they live in poorer areas of the city that their issues are not viewed in the same light as those living in more well-to-do districts.

...From the article, it appears that certain alderman were able to get their constituents' potholes fixed faster than others. Getting potholes fixed shouldn't be a matter of whose alderman has more juice. And it shouldn't be a case of which neighborhood has the squeakiest wheels. If these are factors, these, too, could be cases of institutional racism.

The Board loses me here.

Whether or not a given alderman works harder for his or her constituents isn't a case of institutional racism.

The people of a district elect their representative. If they elect an alderman who isn't effective when it comes to getting potholes fixed or providing other services, that's not a case of institutional racism.

No social institution is functioning in a manner constructed to favor one race over another.

And if a neighborhood is populated with squeaky wheel residents who complain vigorously about potholes, that's not a case of institutional racism either. It's a matter of people demanding service. That's not institutional racism.

It can't be assumed that the findings of the Journal Sentinel's investigation mean that the disparity in pothole repair is grounded in race.

The study doesn't control for specific factors that could account for the disparity. Thus, conclusions determining the reason for the disparity are premature and based on something other than facts.

Responding to the Journal Sentinel's analysis, Mayor Tom Barrett said the city could have done a better job distributing its repair crews equally.

"My view is that we should be . . . making sure that pothole response is consistent throughout the entire city. Obviously we were tested on this," Barrett said. "In retrospect, should we have added more (crews in the north) to even it out? I would say yes."

The Department of Public Works, which handles street maintenance, insisted that race is not a factor in determining when and where potholes are fixed on Milwaukee's 1,400 miles of city streets.

"We categorically do not base our service delivery on demographics," public works spokeswoman Cecelia Gilbert said.

Tom Barrett should address the issue fairly, not give a knee-jerk response.

The Editorial Board writes:

DPW says race is not a factor in determining when potholes are fixed, and, according to the department's numbers, officials may be able to justify that defense. However, given what many minorities already believe and given the investigation's findings, DPW's claim should be put to the test.

Fine. Check it out, but don't throw racism charges around without proving that race is the motivation behind how quickly potholes are repaired in the city.

Naturally, Eugene Kane uses the pothole disparity as a springboard to slam Milwaukee's white residents.

He writes:

Some Milwaukeeans are uncomfortable talking about race, but I think many are more than willing to talk about the subject as long as the conversation centers on failing black students, misbehaving black youth, black-on-black crime or former Ald. Michael McGee.

They don't like to discuss race when it involves the unequal treatment of some people by powerful institutions due to long-standing practices or traditions. I don't think there's anything wrong with putting that topic on the table for discussion.

Kane's accusations are irresponsible.

Same goes for the reaction of the NAACP.

Bottom line: It's wrong to claim that the operation of the Department of Public Works is racist without having sound information to back up that claim.