A Cudahy resident is trying to recall the mayor.
But in an exclusive interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Mayor Ken Jankowski said the allegations resident Diana Zielinski is making are completely false.
The recall petition, filed in mid-May 2026, needs 1,817 signatures by July 17 to move forward, Zielinski said. She said Cudahy’s new wheel tax “was one of the issues that made me stand up and say something.”
Cudahy passed a $25 wheel tax in January 2026 after initially voting down an effort to implement a $50 wheel tax at the end of 2025. The goal of the wheel tax is to cover Cudahy’s over $1 million 2026 budget shortfall.
Zielinski spoke against the tax at city meetings in late 2025 and early 2026. Zielinski told the Journal Sentinel she isn’t opposed to the concept of a wheel tax, but said the city didn’t do a good job explaining why it was needed. She also said it didn’t make sense because it was not enough to cover the deficit.
“I was absolutely appalled . . . at how bad the city government had gotten,” Zielinski said.
Jankowski said implementing the wheel tax was a hard decision.
“Cities have to get creative because your taxes just don’t cover everything anymore,” he said, noting increases in the price of many goods and services.
While the wheel debate may have been the most public, Zielinski said it’s not the only issue she has with Jankowski.
Zielinski alleges retaliation for speaking out
Zielinski said a couple of days after she spoke at a city meeting, she got a violation notice from the city about a pop-up business she had on her front porch selling self-made art, jewelry and other items on nine weekend days in October, November and December 2025.
Zielinski said she’d gotten the proper licensing and wasn’t violating any codes. She said she felt this was retaliation from the mayor and an alderperson for her speaking out.
Jankowski said the retaliation allegation is false. He said an anonymous complaint was submitted to the city and Zielinski was sent a warning letter, not a full violation notice. He said residents can run a business selling homemade goods, but the inspection department found she was selling some things that she’d purchased.
Jankowski met with Zielinski at a local restaurant and they discussed a few things, including the notice letter. He said he worked to have the warning removed from her record because a zoning change that was being worked on would allow her business and she should’ve gotten an email from the inspector to that effect.
“Then all of a sudden she drops this (recall petition) on me,” he said.
Other allegations that Zielinski said led to the petition
Zielinski told the Journal Sentinel she believes Jankowski was violating open meetings laws by having one-on-one meetings with council members and department heads.
“I refute all of it. It’s all not true,” Jankowski said. “Her allegations of violating open meetings laws is a complete falsity.”
One-on-one discussions between elected officials and/or department heads are not a violation of open meetings law, according to state statutes.
Zielinski told the Journal Sentinel Jankowski admitted to her he was signing deals with companies on his own. She mentioned one example in particular of a company that mitigates methane.
Jankowski said that allegation is “totally untrue” and that the situation is going through the proper channels. He said the city is in contact with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources regarding bringing a company in for methane mitigation on a plot of land in the city.
Zielinski said she also takes issue with Cudahy’s Capital Improvement Program, which is designed to plan for infrastructure, public facilities, and other capital expenditures. She doesn’t approve of how some funds are being allocated, such as the outlay for expensive vehicles.
Zielinski said she doesn’t know Jankowski on a personal level, but “can only say that as my employee he is not doing the job he was hired to do.”
Jankowski said the city is facing significant financial challenges of rising operating costs, infrastructure needs, and more.
“I’ve only been in office a year and somehow all of the city’s budgetary issues that have come [up] before are all of a sudden, all my fault,” Jankowski said. “It’s unfair.”
Jankowski said he’s trying to get the city back on track.
“We’ve got a lot of good things happening here and I’m sorry she doesn’t want to see the city move forward,” he said.
Months of preparation for the petition and who could run for mayor
Zielinski said she started working toward a recall of Jankowski at the end of February, including having signs made via Amazon. However, some complications delayed her filing until May.
While Zielinski is coordinating the petition herself, she said nine people have come forward to help canvass and get signatures.
“They are trustworthy; they are not mayor loyalists,” Zielinski said of the canvassers. “They do want to see a better Cudahy.”
When asked on May 27 how many signatures she has, Zielinski wasn’t sure but said she’d be meeting with the canvassers in the coming weeks.
Zielinski said five people have come forward expressing interest in the mayor’s seat since the petition started. She said one person is fairly new to the area, but the others are long-term recognizable residents who have been active in the community before.
Zielinski said she’s not interested in running for mayor herself.
Contact Erik at erik.hanley@jrn.com. Follow his Facebook page, The Redheadliner Erik S. Hanley, and follow him on X @Redheadliner.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Cudahy resident trying to recall mayor. Mayor calls allegations false
Reporting by Erik S. Hanley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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