Ericka and David Crowley attend Game 1 of the National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers. The 40-year-old Milwaukee County Executive looks to become the first Black governor in Wisconsin history.
Source: Provided by Crowley campaign
David Crowley disclosed his wife, Ericka’s, employment at Community Advocates in May 2021, records show. Milwaukee County’s relationship with the nonprofit goes back decades
Oct 13, 2026, 6:31 PM ET
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Community Advocates, a prominent Milwaukee nonprofit helping thousands with homelessness, has been serving Wisconsin since 1976.
The social services agency got caught up in gubernatorial politics on Oct. 13 after conservative websites, including The Daily Wire, ran hastily reported articles on Ericka Crowley, the wife of Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who is the Democratic nominee.
The article and the coverage from local right wing political influencers accuses David Crowley of using federal dollars provided to the county to benefit Ericka Crowley’s employment at Community Advocates.
“Crowley’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment asking whether he had any role in approving or overseeing Milwaukee County’s funding arrangement with Community Advocates, whether he disclosed any potential conflict of interest, and whether he was aware of any changes to her compensation during that period,” the article states.
Ericka Crowley is a longtime social services and poverty reduction advocate who began working at Community Advocates in June 2020, the same year her husband took the oath of office outside their Milwaukee home amid the COVID-19 pandemic in May.
Prior to taking a job at Community Advocates, Ericka Crowley worked at the Social Development Commission which also contracts with Milwaukee County.
The county’s relationship with Community Advocates likely goes back decades. But according to online records, the county had a contract with the agency in 2007, 2013, 2015 and 2017.
Community Advocates has grown to over 170 employees with over 40 programs and a $20 million budget and is often cited as a nonprofit success that made real change.
David Crowley also wrote a letter to the County Ethics Board in May 2021 informing them that Ericka Crowley was an employee at Community Advocates and the county’s relationship with the agency goes back decades. He asked if there were any conflicts of interest and met with county lawyers who informed him the contract was proper.
Also in every financial disclosure from 2021 to 2025 sent to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission, David Crowley discloses his wife’s employment.
For what it’s worth, the federal funding was for emergency rental assistance and Community Advocates was able to prevent at least 12,000 households from facing eviction.
Nearly 75% of households that received assistance had an income less than 30% of the annual median income in Milwaukee County. Over 75% of the households were Black and over 75% of recipients were women.
Many couldn’t help but notice the poorly-informed news articles that were written and the treatment of a politician’s wife, a Black woman, when other political families who are deeply involved in the community don’t face the same scrutiny and baseless attacks.
Ericka Crowley, who holds a college degree from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in community engagement and education, started off as a volunteer at the SDC and climbed the ladder.
Her work at the SDC focused on weatherization services for low-income families, which led to thousands equipping their homes to be more energy-efficient and to be able to handle Wisconsin winters.
She sat down for an interview at “Tap-In with Jazz Tyler” on 101.7 The Truth in July where she discussed being laid off while pregnant and becoming a stay-at-home mom for a short period.
She said she battled with postpartum depression before finding herself again.
This gubernatorial campaign has reached new lows, with Republican donors and surrogates spewing racist nonsense and falsehoods, but Ericka Crowley said she knows where home is.
“David has always been my biggest cheerleader,” she said.
Drake Bentley is the general assignment reporter for the Milwaukee Courier, covering politics, sports and the community. He is an award-winning investigative journalist who has worked for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin State Journal, Newsweek, Heavy and The Sporting News. He is a northside Milwaukee native, former political staffer and graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and the University of Nebraska.
