Racine Official Calls Out Democrat Patronage Scheme

By Rebecca Draeger

Second Amendment advocates might be alarmed by Gov. Evers’ plan to establish an Office of Violence Prevention, but one Racine alder says it’s nothing more than a Democrat patronage scam.

The program would cost $13 million, and its main function would be to hand out grants to local communities and nonprofits to help “reduce crime, prevent gun violence, support crime victims and support efforts to increase community safety.”

Sandy Weidner is the alder for District 6 in Racine. She says Racine’s Department of Community Safety is counting on that funding. Otherwise, the city plans to close it at the end of the year. Weidner says the city needs to close it down.

Racine created the department three years ago with a grant from the Wisconsin Medical College. John Tate is the Executive Director of the Department. Tate is a well-connected Wisconsin Democrat with a troubled track record. He was the chairman of the state’s Parole Commission until Evers was forced to ask for his resignation after a controversial decision. Tate initially faced felony corruption charges for negotiating his way into the position while still serving as a Racine alder, which were later dropped.

Tate hired Isaiah Lambert to be an “intensive outreach specialist.” Lambert is also known by his rap name, “Lul Icey.” Weidner says it was a controversial hiring decision, because he’s posted “many [rap] videos out in social media that some consider pornographic.”

Weidner says Evers’ proposed Office of Violence Prevention’s “sole purpose is to dole out money to communities like mine to continue these programs that, in all actuality, are plain political patronage.”

In 2024, the Department of Community Safety gave out $141,359 in grants funded by the Medical College of Wisconsin. According to Civic Media, they gave $41,359 to a Women's Resource Center to “expand legal advocacy services”, while Payne Consulting and Focus on Community Inc. both received $50,000 for mentoring and youth support programs.

Payne Consulting’s website says their “​mission is to amplify community voices by engaging diverse community members.”

Along with their “Next Level Mentoring Program”, Payne Consulting offers training and offers speakers with titles like “Educator”, “Activist”, “DEI expert”, and “Social Justice Advocate”. Critics say that these grants are supporting liberal policies, and have nothing to do with public safety.

The city’s 2024 budget, under their Department of Community Safety’s strategic initiatives section, states that their purpose is to, “Strengthen collaborative relationships with public and private sector partners, and community members towards the objective of reducing instances of community violence.”

According to FBI crime statistics, aggravated assault in the City of Racine has been steadily decreasing since 2020, though data for 2024 and 2025 is not yet available. Given that the Department of Community Safety was established in 2022, it is difficult to determine whether the department contributed to this decline.

Additionally, the budget says the department is supposed to, “Complete and report out a Comprehensive Community Safety Plan for the City of Racine, informed by community members’ and system partners’ feedback.”

“This plan will serve as a guiding document for orienting City resources and advocacy to external partners to impact overall community safety.”

The department publicly put out a survey in a Facebook post June 18th of 2024, that asked residents in the city of Racine, “what safety means to you, and how the city can better meet your needs to foster a safer community,” in order to create this comprehensive safety plan.

One commenter wrote, “Safety is one thing, a perception and a state of mind.”

Another commenter criticized the program, writing “Fund what works and not your cronies!”

The MacIver Institute hasn’t been able to track down a copy of the comprehensive safety plan, and the Clerk and Treasurer’s Office hasn’t responded to a public records request sent on April 9th asking for the survey results or the finished plan.