Interview with Ald. Howard Brookins, Jr.

Ald. Brookins Wants to Build Up His Ward to Attract and Retain Young Families

Ald. Howard Brookins, Jr., of the 21st Ward spoke to League member Elona Vaisnys in the Zooming with the Aldermen interview that premiered on October 7. Watch the 30-minute program.

Here are a few highlights. 

His priorities for the remainder of his current term include:

• Encouraging economic development. Ald. Brookins said that the biggest deterrent to crime is having a job.

• Building up the housing stock to make middle-income families comfortable.

• Thinking forward and making use of new technology, such as adding electric vehicles and charging stations.

• Creating more hard boundaries for bikes and scooters.

In response to a question about whether he thinks neighborhoods should be kept in as few wards as possible, Ald. Brookins explained that while the city has defined 77 neighborhoods, the reality is that there are overlapping communities of interest. That adds to the difficulty of redistricting.

Brookings is not a fan of ranked choice voting. He has participated in four run-off elections and thinks this allows the voters to truly find out about the two candidates.