Democratic gubernatorial nominee David Crowley released a new campaign ad Thursday claiming he “balanced the budget while delivering the largest property tax cut in Milwaukee County history,” while vowing to “hold data centers accountable” if voters hand him the keys to the governor’s mansion.
Republican rival Tom Tiffany’s campaign quickly challenged the claims, pointing to Crowley’s actual record on taxes, data centers and the county’s fiscal outlook.
Crowley has raised property taxes by $9 million during his time as county executive. He has declined to support rolling back data center tax subsidies. And Milwaukee County is projected to face a $51 million budget deficit next year.
While Crowley points to a one-time property tax reduction in 2024, his subsequent budgets tell a different story. The county’s 2025 recommended budget included a 2.8 percent levy increase of $8.2 million. The adopted 2026 budget raised the levy another 4.1 percent, the largest increase in 20 years, driven largely by debt service. Department requests for 2027 would require a roughly 25 percent jump in the property tax levy if funded at the levels submitted.
Meanwhile, the Milwaukee County Comptroller’s latest five-year forecast projects a $50.8 million structural deficit in 2027 that grows to $75.8 million in 2028 and reaches $168.7 million by 2031. That is the opposite of a balanced, sustainable budget.
Crowley’s talk on data centers is just as slippery. He promises to “hold data centers accountable,” but in reality, he’s refused to touch the state’s sweetheart tax deals for Big Tech—giveaways that could drain $2 billion from Wisconsin taxpayers. He dreams of turning Wisconsin into a global AI and data hub, which would mean blanketing over 100,000 acres of farmland with solar panels and wind turbines. Apparently, in Crowley’s world, ‘accountability’ means taxpayers foot the bill while farmland disappears.
Tiffany has taken the clearer position: end the subsidies, protect farmland, require data centers to pay their full costs, give local communities the final say, and ban secret non-disclosure agreements.
Crowley’s ad presents a carefully misleading version of his record. The actual books show tax increases after the “historic cut,” a growing structural deficit, and a continued willingness to maintain Big Tech’s preferential tax treatment. Voters will decide which version of the story they believe.
