When it comes to working with Marquette, State Rep. Leon Young (D-Milwaukee) said he's done a "decent job," but "it could be better."

Young characterized his 16th District, which includes Marquette's campus, as a diverse area with its fair share of challenges, which he said he is working to address.

One university issue Young took note of was last year's nickname debate.

"I was not a fan of the Marquette Warriors because I have a very diverse district," Young said. "I was happy you all voted for the Golden Eagles."

He said he has spoken to a few classes at Marquette since being elected to the assembly in 1992 and worked with a couple of groups on campus such as College Democrats.

Noelle Gilbreath, president of the College Democrats and a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said the organization has not collaborated with Young this year but generally supports his work.

"I think that his dedication to improving the quality of housing is very important in Milwaukee and especially in the neighborhoods and area around Marquette," Gilbreath said.

Dan Maciejewski, chairman of the College Republicans and a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said he was not aware of any work the group had done with Young.

He said if there was an issue most relevant to the Marquette community that he would like Young to address it would be "safety in the areas nearest campus."

Young sits on the Committee on Highway Safety, but he said his committee obligations does not mean he has had a lot of involvement with the Marquette Interchange Project.

"The Committee on Transportation played a bigger role with that," he said.

Young said he has heard concerns from constituents such as "how they are going to get home with the Wisconsin Avenue bridge down," and added he's aware of the many homeless people in his district and the city.

Young describes the district he represents as a "low-income area" and said he's worked to improve the quality of life in the area. Part of this duty includes creating jobs and reducing crime.

"Part of (the assembly's) responsibility is that we provide funding so local government and agencies such as churches can provide certain services such as feeding the homeless, providing health care," he said.

Affordable, livable housing is also an issue. As a legislator, Young said he has been able to work with the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, or WHEDA, an organization that links residents and communities with affordable housing and economic development opportunities.

Antonio Riley, executive director of WHEDA, said the organization has granted 44 home loans, totaling $3.6 million, within the area surrounding Marquette in the past two years.

"It hasn't been huge because that area has a lot of multi-family apartment buildings," Riley said. "We offer incentives such as tax credits, or what we call business incentives, to developers to encourage them to do more housing in the area."

He said WHEDA has formed six of these deals with developers in the past two years.

He said Marquette is an anchor for the area. The school's students and faculty members have contributed to the diversity of Milwaukee.

Young echoed Riley and said Marquette has drawn a number of people to his district. In turn, businesses and property rentals benefit the district.

"I think (the area) has gotten better over the past 10 years," Young said.

Young said people in his district have worked together as residents and neighbors to improve the area.

"Marquette has been a big asset — not just to my district, but to the city," Young said. "It has a rich history and when I tell people it's in my district, people's eyes light up."