First-ever Black Manitowoc City Councilor sworn into office

MANITOWOC, Wis. (WBAY) - A historic moment was held Monday evening in Manitowoc, as the city’s first ever Black city councilor was sworn into office to fill an open seat.

When the City Council sat down Monday night, it was the first time with a person of color holding a seat, and Aaron Bailey was sworn in as the newest member.

“This is historic. I mean, for myself just coming from Mississippi, a small town to another small town and doing something that nobody has done before and being persistent about it, it’s huge,” said Bailey.

It’s a major transition for Bailey, who was just weeks ago among those protesting the death of George Floyd.

“This is the next step from those protests. This is when you talk about marching in the street trying to get results. These are the results. These are the ‘what’s next,‘” said Bailey.

With Bailey now having a seat at the table, the mayor of Manitowoc hopes the entire community will benefit.

“Hopefully with what’s going on in the world, and our country I think it’s very important that the city of Manitowoc has diversity and has different points of view. It’s sad that it took till 2020 for this to happen but it’s an exciting day that is happening,” said Mayor Justin Nickels.

Bailey has served as a volunteer in the community, but this is his first time ever holding any type of political office By being on the council, he hopes to serve as a role model for other people of color.

“I truly hope that this situation and my position they say hey, I should challenge myself more, I should look into being a part of something instead of standing outside of something,” said Bailey.