Jensen taking his friends down with him?
Some very interesting tidbits coming out of the Scooter Jensen trial - rather than rehash the latest, I encourage you to check out
Bill Christofferson's coverage.
What I will add is my confusion over what Jensen must have been thinking in taking this to trial! His defense has been two-fold so far:
1. Everyone else was doing this too, and
2. This was going on before he was elected to office.
And the point is? Campaign ethics laws, weak as they might be in Wisconsin, are still pretty clear that State workers absolutely may not campaign on state time, using state property, in state buildings. I don't think there is any "consensus" clause that makes it legal if enough people are breaking the law with you.
What surprises me even more than his lame defense is that Scooter seems to be okay with bringing down all of his political allies with him! Gubernatorial candidate, Mark Green is now fully implicated as well - even if no charges are ever brought against him, Jensen just handed Doyle and Scott Walker one hell of a campaign issue.
To be fair to both sides of the isle - I wish Chuck Chuala would have lived up to his arrogance more and gone to trial. Full exposure on both sides of the isle might finally wake up some citizens and convince them how poorly represented they are by either party!
Whoa - do we need a general election?
Well, of course we do, but wow! Per the unofficial results from
Ambulance Fugo's site, Sandy Decker won the primary in a landslide wit 324 votes. Karen Aikman, the "heir apparent" to the Mayor received a distant 94. Mike Anderson came in third with 76.
The big question is how did Ms. Decker manage such a commanding victory?
Phone calls to everyone in the phone book, yard signs everywhere, and the only candidate (to my knowledge) to hand out personally signed flyers door-to-door can't hurt.
I found it quite ironic that the Gazette predicts such a
miserable turnout when so little has been done to inform and educate. Where were the candidate profiles? Where were the previous articles on the issues? I remember one article from a month ago. So yeah, turnout will likely be low as even those who care to vote have a good chance of not remembering.
As is my habit, I will mull over my choice right up to when the curtain closes behind me in the voting booth. I am leaning a bit toward Sandy Decker lately. She is the only one I have gotten literature from. Besides, I owe her father serious payback for being instrumental in starting my seven years in City politics.
Mike Anderson is an intriguing choice and I am always supportive of the rabble rouser alder. I just wish I knew more about how he would act on different issues.
Karen is the "safe" status quo choice. That isn't necessarily a good thing, but is a comfortable choice.
I look forward to the
Observer gettting the results out!
Preconcieved Notion?
I know the Badger Women have struggled this year and have had a hard time winning the close ones, but has it gotten to where the media has pre-determined headlines now? Check it out (read both the headline and the story):
DOH!
The Double Negative
Who would have thought that our city could become polarized over a national/international political issue? School Referendums - sure. Mandatory sidewalks - you bet! The real cost of a mill rate - damn straight!! But the current war in Iraq?
First we have the Soglin-esque referendum from CUUE (Citizens United of Union/Evansville) calling for an immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, beginning with the National Guard and Reserves. It was predictably met with accusations of being unpatriotic and treasonous - funny, isn't that what Thomas Jefferson was called by his Torie neighbors?
Then comes Pastor Gay with his referendum calling for support of the President's leadership and for troops to not quit this fight until unquestioned victory is clearly won. While it smacks strongly of a Rush Limbaugh feel, I have to credit Pastor Gay and Tony Ryerson for acknowledging the legitimacy of our democratic system known as the referendum rather than taking the easy route of simply attacking CUUE.
Evansville now has to give conscious thought about the issue. They have to either check a yes or no box on their ballot or counsciously choose not to decide (this assumes the person votes of course!). That is democratic tradition at its finest and I wholly applaud the efforts on both sides of the issue for bringing this to the ballot.
For myself - I get to cast two "No" votes. Although many will tout this election as a choice between two points of view, the reality is that each referendum must stand on its on merits, not as an alternative to the other. Both fail on their merits.
The CUUE referendum calls for immediate withdrawal and specifies which portion of the military should be withdrawn first. As noble as that may sound, I think it very presumptious of the electorate to pretend that they somehow know that now is the strategic military/political opportunity to withdraw. The argument from conservatives that this would create a 'power vacuum" is unfortunately very correct. One need only look at the bloody history of the British withdrawal from India in the 1940s, the French withdrawal from Vietnam in the 1960s, and the Balkan situation in the 1980s and 90s to see the vacuum that is created when a large occupying force leaves abrubtly from an unstable region without a stable sustainable local regime in its place. Iraq would likely become a place of anarchy and a battleground between Shiite, Sunni, and Kurdish minorities.
The Gay/Ryerson referendum calls for two things that I can not vote in favor of:
1) the support of the President's leadership. I can support the President's right and privilage to lead - that is our government. But the wording implies that I tacitly support the current results of that leadership, which I do not. I am guessing that Gay and Ryserson didn't support Clinton's leadership either.
2)that the troops not quit this fight until unquestioned victory is won. Guess what? Any claimed victory in this war will always be questioned, therefore this referendum would state that we don't want the troops to be withdrawn, ever. Ick.
What would I propose? I support the orderly and planned withdrawal of troops using a timeline that is reasonable and prudent (whatever that means!). I also support the men and women who have sacrificed themselves to the cause known as the United States of America.
So for any readers who are wondering which side to support on this issue, I propose that there is a third side: None of the Above!
Turn up the heat?
Article V Section 4 of the
Wisconsin State Constitution states:
He [the Governor] shall have power to convene the legislature on extraordinary occasions,In my Civics class, the "power to convene" meant they actually showed up. This isn't an invitation to a Packer Party, but a call for the Legislature to come together to address what the top elected official in the State has deemed a critical issue.
Today's case was providing emergency funds for Heating Assistance for low and low-mid income families. Considering heating prices have nearly doubled in the last two years and as of April 15 (which is NOT the end of most Wisconsin winters) Utilities can and will shut off customers who are behind on their bills, I would have to agree with Gov. Doyle that this is indeed a critical issue.
Apparently the elected officials of our Legislative Branch
don't agree. Nor do they consider the "power to convene" to mean anything more than a message the Assembly and Senate chambers will be open if they decide they want to meet. Only two Assembly and seven Senate members bothered to respect the Constitution. Only two Assembly and seven Senate members seem to think that family heating costs are a critical issue.
The Democrats have already blasted the Republicans -- but I am pretty sure there are more than nine Democratic legislators in Wisconsin. I know the Republicans have made some strong gains recently, but not that strong. The Republicans' excuse is they will work on a bill in the coming weeks - that doesn't excuse them from their Constitutional duy to attend Legislative Sessions however.
The irony of course is that I have no doubt that maintenance staff at the Capitol made sure that both Chambers were fully heated this morning!
Chuck and Scooter...
When I saw the Chuck Chuala had begun his 90 day jail term, I thought I would feel more satisfied. But I'm not.
As I see Scooter Jensen's day in court drawing near, I keep thinking that justice will somehow be served. But I am pesimisstic.
The only real winner it seems is apathy. Nobody seems to really care that the top elected state officials from both parties are (or are about to be) convicted felons. This is the state of Fighting Bob! Tommy Thompson's common man! Where is the outrage? I don't get it.
The press has covered the stories dutifully. Bloggers have blogged away on the subject. But bring the subject up in the Capital city in a government office building where you would think the most interest would lie and you get, "huh? They still aren't done with those trials?" I guess it is no wonder that Wisconsin has such an incredibly ineffective Legislature. The people voting them in obviously don't care - why should the legislator?
The Sequel...
Here we go again…
Son of TABORNever mind the debacle in Colorado and how badly this hamstrung local governments there -- this apparently makes for good politics in the minds of Republicans.
What I could never understand is for a party that claims to be dedicated to reducing the role of "big government," why they seem so determined to remove local control and decision making.
At least today if my property taxes seem to high or the city/school/county services seem to low -- I know who to not re-elect!
Evansville Mayoral Race
It is time to focus on the candidates for Mayor - election day is just a couple of weeks away. Problem is, there seems to be so little information. I am out of the city gossip loop and have been for years. The Gazette hasn't run its comparison yet. What I am left with are the ads in the Review/Trading Post and a couple of well done blogs:
The Evansville Observer and
Ambulance Fugo's.
I guess that is an improvement over years past when it was word of mouth and yard signs to guide your thought. Door to door seems a lost art. I remember when I ran for Council and received some votes, not because they agreed with me, but because I took the time to knock on their door and listen for a bit. I don't think candidates do that these days. It's a shame.
The following is what little I know and think of the 3.5 candidates running:
Karen Aikman -- seems competent and experienced. Knows how the City runs and understands the process. Basically agrees with Mayor Ringhands policies and would continue those forward. Basically, more of the same.
I guess it is a known quantity and there is comfort in that. Janice Ringhand and I disagreed on more issues than not, but I always respected her ability, honesty, and consistency. I'm guessing that Karen would be the same way.
Mike Anderson -- no political experience (though one might argue that working for the Madison FD is political by nature). Volunteer Evansville FD member - always a plus, not only for the obvious community volunteerism, but also because they have a very good information network (read - gossip grapevine) for the City. Whenever I wanted the "real poop" I would often go to the folks that know - EPD and EFD!
I want to like Mike, but don't know enough to get there yet. I want to think he is the alternative issue guy that I am looking for, but he needs to step up and let us know. I will await his letters to the editor and blog comments!
Sandy Decker -- I know more about her from her yard signs than anything else, thus I know she likes her first name but not her last. Not sure why, it seems a nice enough name. From what I have gathered from blogs, she is well educated which is a plus.
No clue on this one. Her picture and the few comments I have seen make her sound stiff. Waiting to see what she says.
Tom Nonn -- Write in candidate. Owner of Badger Cycles. I know I saw him on the Agenda of one of the City committees with the subject "Enforcement" in front of his name. Is this a protest candidate? They are always fun to watch!
Please feel free to tell me where I am dead wrong on any of the 3 1/2 candidates. Most of this is gut assumptions at this point, but that is what usually drives the polls anyway!
I missed the Mayoral candidate's forum last night at the Bauer House, but looks like The Evansville Observer is putting out some
coverage. I am anxious to see the text from all of the candidates.
Apparently one issue that was raised was regarding the City not helping to fund the School Crossing Guards. Talk about what goes around comes around!
As I recall from my time chairing Public Safety, the City helped create the crossing guard program along with the leadership of some wonderful volunteers. $5,000 seems to be the annual amount that comes to mind to provide equipment and stipends. The School District became involved only after the program got off the ground and the City began wondering why it was footing the full cost. It seemed clear at the time that the program was in the interest of BOTH the City and the District.
While I agree with the City's
decision not to absorb the District's wage increases, it is a shame that this is no longer a partnership.
Been a long time...
Hmmmm…Odd. 'Woulda sworn I had a blog here somewhere. Oh well - wasn't much to look at.
Anyhow, imagine my surprise when Google-ing Sgt. Fitter's Blog (which I still haven't found), I discovered a very active blog community in my town of Evansville. But then, time has a way of showing us just how much happens that we aren't aware of.
I am way behind the times with Evansville news -- I seem to have become the stereotype commuter I always promised not to be. Four people that I have never met running for Mayor? I never would have admitted that as ever being possible - but my fault for not paying attention. I might have to actually leave the house next week and check out the Mayor's Forum at the Bauer House.
Incidentally -- I haven't been there since it was the Coach House. Do the Allen brothers still own it?
So bear with me -- this blog is going to take some time to build up any steam. It is better if I hold off on my ignorant statements till I have caught up on all the news! But it is good to be back.
