WJI's Alexandria Staubach joins the Milwaukee Equal Rights Commission

L to R: Equal Rights Commission Chair Tony Snell, Equal Rights Complaints Liaison Ramona Ramos, new commission members Elle Halo Hill and Alexandria Staubach, and Equal Rights Specialist Omar Barberena, on May 8, 2025, at Milwaukee City Hall.

Wisconsin Justice Initiative Policy Analyst Alexandria Staubach joined the city of Milwaukee's Equal Rights Commission yesterday when the Milwaukee Common Council’s Judiciary and Legislation Committee formally approved her membership and that of Elle Halo Hill, a Milwaukee community organizer and trans rights activist. 
 
Staubach and Hill were nominated to the commission by Mayor Cavalier Johnson earlier this year.
 
Ald. Mark Chambers Jr. moved Hill’s nomination for approval, while Ald. Robert Bauman moved Staubach’s nomination approval. Both nominees were confirmed by the committee without comment.
 
The commission begins a period of regrowth following the COVID-19 pandemic, when its membership and capacity shrank, as discussed by commission Chair Tony Snell at the hearing.
 
Staubach and Hill bring the commission’s membership to nine individuals, with room for two more members by city ordinance.
 
The commission’s website describes the entity as a group of “diverse and invested city residents who advocate and celebrate Milwaukee’s diversity – while also working to eliminate all forms of bias and discrimination.”
 
The commission began in 1944 as the Mayor’s Committee on Inter-Racial Relations. Per the commission’s website, the committee was charged with examining community issues to recommend and support polices that included all Milwaukeeans.
 
The commission evolved over time and now has “the latitude to develop policy recommendations related to equal opportunities in housing and employment beyond race and including gender, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disabilities, lawful sources of income, martial status, sexual orientation, or familial status.”
 
The governing ordinance charges the commission with monitoring the employment, contracting and program activities of the city; preparing and providing reports to the mayor and common council on efforts to promote equal rights and opportunities; promoting positive community relations; and eliminating discrimination and inequities in city government and the city as a whole.
 
Currently, the commission’s scope of authority falls within three major areas: creating internal accountability within city departments, enforcing the Housing and Employment Discrimination Ordinance, and working with neighborhoods to improve community relations and address equal rights issues.
 
The commission generally has investigative and enforcement powers over discriminatory employment and housing practices that do not otherwise fall within the jurisdiction of federal and state agencies.
 
Commissioners are city officers under the Milwaukee code of ordinances.