Rosa Cameron was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi on 8 August 1947, one of nine
children. She came to Milwaukee in 1965 to live with a family member when she was
18, having just completed the 11th grade. Her first job was at National Foods where
she became a checker in 1970. Married twice, she has eight children, including four
adopted children. Cameron became a community activist in the late 1980s by trying to
outlaw the sale of toy guns. She began a petition campaign “Citizens Against Toy
Guns” in 1990. She ran unsuccessfully for the 1st District Milwaukee County
Supervisor seat in 1996. She later became a commissioner on the Social Development
Commission, Milwaukee’s largest anti-poverty agency, beginning in 1992. Cameron
became the Chairwoman of that organization in February of 1996, but resigned her
post later that year. She also founded and was the executive director of the
Williamsburg Heights Community Association until her election as Alderwoman in
2000.
Cameron won the 10th Aldermanic District seat of the Milwaukee Common Council in
April 2000, defeating incumbent George C. Butler in a race so close that a recount
was ordered. As alderwoman, Cameron served on the Utilities and Licenses Committee,
Community Development Committee, and the Anti-Graffiti Policy Committee while also
serving as the Vice Chair of the Public Safety Committee and Chairwoman of the
Litter Task Force. Cameron was indicted in October 2002 for illegally obtaining
federal block grant funds and using them to help finance her re-election campaign
and funneling them into the Williamsburg Heights Community Association. She was
sentenced to eight months in federal prison, plus four months of house arrest. She
resigned from the Milwaukee Common Council in October 2002 as part of a plea
agreement. In 2008, Cameron tried to run for 6th District Alderwoman, but her
application was denied because she was a convicted felon. She died in 2021.
