Baird Center’s top executive has been fired from that position after allegedly spending more than $50,000 of public funds on personal expenses, including campaign contributions and expensive shoes.
Marty Brooks was CEO and president for more than eight years at the Wisconsin Center District, which also operates UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and Miller High Life Theatre.
The district board met in closed session for around two hours on June 8 before reconvening in open session to approve a motion to fire Brooks for cause.
That vote occurred with no discussion, followed by the board adjourning.
Brooks’ firing was tied to around $50,000 to $60,000 in charges he made to a district credit card for inappropriate expenses, said Alderman Robert Bauman, a board member. He spoke after the meeting to reporters.
Those charges includes two pairs of luxury shoes, costing $2,250, as well as campaign contributions, Bauman said.
One source told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that included contributions to County Executive David Crowley, Mayor Cavalier Johnson, and Common Council President Jose Pérez – the only board member who abstained on the vote to fire Brooks.
Asked about those contribution recipients, Bauman responded by saying, “If lightning doesn’t strike me, those would be accurate.”
Johnson’s campaign committee has confirmed it received four $500 donations over the past few years that Brooks charged to credit cards, said Thad Nation, a campaign spokesman. That $2,000 will be returned to the district, he said.
Pérez issued a statement saying he’s returning a campaign contribution to the district that Brooks made several years ago using a district credit card.
The statement said Pérez learned on June 8 that Brooks made the contribution through the district. It didn’t provide the amount.
The Crowley campaign also is returning Brooks’ contributions, a spokesman said. An amount wasn’t immediately available.
Along with misuse of district funds, Brooks’ firing is tied to violations of district bylaws and the employee handbook, and misrepresentation to the board, board Chairman James Kanter said, in a statement. It didn’t elaborate.
Shoes were from French designer
The high-end shoes were “red bottom” shoes, said the source, who spoke to the Journal Sentinel on the condition of anonymity.
That’s a term for shoes from French designer Christian Louboutin, known for their trademark lacquered red soles.
That source mentioned other inappropriate credit card charges, including furniture, toiletries and two Lego-built replicas of Baird Center’s expansion. Those Lego replicas cost $6,000 each and were given to two firms that worked on that construction project.
Neither Brooks, nor his attorney, immediately responded to a request for comment. Brooks in January 2018 started his district tenure, which included presiding over Baird Center’s 2024 expansion.
The vote came after the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported the meeting’s agenda would feature a closed session to consider the performance evaluation, and possible dismissal, of an unnamed district employee.
That closed session also allowed board members to discuss with counsel the district’s legal strategy tied to potential employment-related litigation. And the open session agenda called for action regarding the CEO’s employment status.
Wisconsin’s Open Meetings Act allows governments to discuss some personnel-related items in closed session. That’s been cited by board members who’ve declined to comment on Brooks.
Kanter’s statement said Brooks has been placed on administrative leave during a 30-day period following the written notice of his pending termination. His contract gives Brooks the right to appear before the board “prior to actual termination.”
Hotel report not part of firing decision
Brooks was publicly criticized by board members in the wake of a report that recommended a new convention center hotel. That includes Bauman, who said the hotel report wasn’t part of the decision to fire Brooks.
That report by consulting firm Hunden Partners, issued in January, said Milwaukee is losing conventions to competing cities because it doesn’t have enough hotel rooms tied to Baird Center.
It suggests a 650-room hotel and other development could replace the Miller High Life Theatre and would bring more business for downtown hotels. Critics say the Hunden report is flawed, and that a new hotel would hurt other hotels competing in a weak market.
A district board committee studied the report and recommended it consider developing the hotel as a long-term strategic option.
But the board at its May 15 meeting declined to vote on whether to formally adopt that recommendation. Some board members said the Hunden report was supposed to create a district master plan, and not focus on a potential hotel.
Brooks has faced another recent issue.
Council President Pérez in November accused Brooks of inappropriately touching him.
The incident was investigated as a sexual assault, but no charges were filed in the case. Brooks denied the accusation, and he remained on the job after the district’s internal investigation ended in March.
Bauman told reporters the allegation made by Pérez didn’t play a role in Brooks’ termination.
Pérez, in his statement, said he abstained from voting on the termination because he reported Brooks’ “inappropriate conduct.” He agreed that wasn’t a basis for Brooks’ firing.
Brooks’ base salary is $410,000
Brooks, whose base salary is $410,000, can be fired for cause, according to his contract – which expires on Jan. 20, 2028.
With bonuses, however, his total compensation is much higher, the source said. A copy of Brooks’ contract, obtained through an Open Records Act request, has blacked out his retention award, market adjustment award, and car allowance.
The contract’s list of reasons allowing firing for cause include fraud, dishonesty, negligence, and misrepresentation to the board.
Other grounds include an act of moral turpitude; not performing duties to the board’s reasonable satisfaction, and failing to follow a board directive.
The resolution to fire Brooks said his termination is in the district’s best interests.
The board also voted to name its Kanter as district interim chief of staff – a newly created position. His statement said the district “remains operationally very strong and focused on serving customers, partners and the community.”
“Most importantly, we want employees, customers, partners and stakeholders to know that the Wisconsin Center District remains focused on its mission and the important role it plays in our community,” Kanter said.
“We have tremendous confidence in the Wisconsin Center District Board, in Jim Kanter as chief of staff, as well as the WCD leadership team and their staff as they navigate this transition,” said Peggy Williams-Smith, president and CEO at Visit Milwaukee.
That nonprofit, publicly funded group promotes Milwaukee as a destination for convention goers and other visitors.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram,Bluesky, X and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Baird Center CEO fired, spent $50,000 public cash on personal charges
Reporting by Tom Daykin and Mary Spicuzza, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Tom Daykin and Mary Spicuzza, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
