Kenosha's mayor steps down after a total of 24 years in office

 

KENOSHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Kenosha's longtime mayor is stepping down. He's seen the fourth largest city in Wisconsin through good times and bad, and leaves behind a legacy of growth, redevelopment and healing.

CBS 58's Michele Fiore sat down with Mayor John Antaramian Thursday afternoon.

"Sometimes we don't know when to walk away. In this case it's time for me to walk away, for good," said Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian.

Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian is retiring, again. He first stepped away from office in 2008 after 16 years in office. And in 2016, he returned and has been mayor this time around for another eight years.

"And the decision was really based on what I thought we were missing in Kenosha," said Mayor Antaramian.

Back then, Antaramian saw Kenosha losing its young people.

"For communities to live and survive and grow you need to get young people back involved and give them opportunities," said Mayor Antaramian.

So, the mayor set a path to give young Kenoshan's the skills they need in fields of the future, like technology.

"I think what I'm most proud of at the present time would be what we're doing with the Innovation Center in the Central part of the city," said Mayor Antaramian.

Leading Kenosha hasn't always been easy. The unrest of 2020 left a trail of damages and broken hearts.

"We all have racial issues in all communities, and we have to deal with them, and I think we have done a very good job in trying to do so. I would probably tell you that the biggest issue when I look back in frustration because Kenosha was portrayed in an image that I don't think is accurate," said Mayor Antaramian.

At the start of his tenure, Kenosha was going through hard times in a different way.

"When I took over as mayor, we already had started losing large amounts of our industrial base. You used to see the articles in the press always saying you know, last person to leave Kenosha turn off the lights," said Mayor Antaramian.

And today, Harbor Park's transformed the way people view Kenosha, as this lakefront's no longer the eyesore it was when major companies pulled out.

"That was a big hole in the ground with a cyclone fence around the whole area and if you stood in the middle of it, you couldn't see the lake," said Mayor Antaramian.

Moving forward, major redevelopments are coming to the downtown area again, this time with more housing, a hotel, retail and office space, and a public market similar to Milwaukee's.

"And the downtown is going to truly blossom," said Mayor Antaramian.

Under Mayor Antaramian's leadership, Kenosha has seen the addition of trolleys, improvement to the storm water plan, and soon, the entire city will have a fiber optics network that will enable internet speeds up to 10 gigabytes, and the possibility of a casino is still awaiting federal and state approvals.

"If it happens the opportunities with the financials that'll happen will make Kenosha even stronger in the sense financially in the things we need to do. You know, it's never just me. It's all the people who get involved in these things," said Mayor Antaramian.

He has advice to the next administration.

"You have to start planning today for what that next eight years is gonna be because if you don't, you're gonna have nothing ready to go," said Mayor Antaramian.

The next mayor, David Bogdala, takes over April 16.

Click here to see the full interview with Antaramian.