Blogging Blue

Earlier today Governor Jim Doyle was cleared of any wrongdoing in the 2005 sale of the Kewaunee nuclear power plant. The sale of that plant became the subject of an investigation after it was revealed utility company executives had given more than $43,000 to Doyle’s re-election campaign just prior to the approval of the sale by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission. Shortly after the revelations came to light, former Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager opened an investigation into whether Governor Doyle’s office improperly influenced the Public Service Commission in its deliberations about the proposed sale of the Kewaunee power plant. This investigation became the subject of more than one attack ad against Governor Doyle during the gubernatorial race in 2006, with some citing the investigation - along with the prosecution of high-ranking state employee Georgia Thompson - serving as proof of how corrupt the Doyle administration supposedly was. Georgia Thompson’s federal conviction has since been overturned, and now we have this decision by the Wisconsin Department of Justice that there was no wrongdoing on the part of the Governor in the sale of the Kewaunee nuclear power plant.

In a statement released by the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen cleared Governor Doyle of any wrongdoing, saying:

“After a thorough investigation, we have not found any evidence linking campaign donations to Governor Doyle to the PSC decision to approve the sale of the Kewaunee nuclear power plant. Nor did we find any evidence that the governor’s office improperly influenced the PSC decision in any way.”

I give Attorney General Van Hollen credit for doing his job and seeing this investigation through to completion, as well as for his unwillingness to make a case out of nothing.

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So Democratic and Republican lawmakers are in negotiations to get a compromise state budget finished, and today’s MSJ is reporting that the eight legislative leaders working on finding a compromise state budget have pocketed $617,000 for themselves from special-interest groups and individuals in the first half of the year. What’s interesting is that of that $617,000, about $100,000 came from health care professionals, hospital executives, their statewide organizations and health care lobbyists. Now $100,000 is a lot of money, and it’s worth noting that among the hottest topics of debate and discussion among lawmakers has been the universal health care proposal offered up by Senate Democrats and vehemently opposed by Republicans. According to the article in the MJS, State Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, the chief budget negotiator for Republicans who control the Assembly, received about $10,500 - or just over 20% of the $49,596 his personal campaign fund raised between January and June - from doctors, other medical professionals and groups with a stake in the health care debate.

And of course, when asked about the large percentage of his campaign donations that came from folks associated with the health care industry, Huebsch said he didn’t know why those medical professionals gave that much to his campaign. Now maybe I’m crazy, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what’s going on here. After all, why would Republicans dare support universal health care when that support might mean the end of the money train from the special interests in the health care industry?

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So apparently, Scott Walker defines compromise as getting everything he wants, while giving up nothing in return. Right now there’s 91.5 million dollars in Federal transit aid that’s going unused (and has been unused for several years), and rather than see that money get used productively, County Exec Scott Walker would rather see the money sit if he can’t get his way. Scott Walker wants to use the money to pay for express buses, while Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett wants to use the money for streetcars. According to All Politics Watch, Mayor Barrett proposed a compromise that would use half the money for streetcars and half the money for express buses, seemingly giving both men what they wanted. Unfortunately, Scott Walker doesn’t seem to want real compromise - he’d rather just take all the money for his plan and call it a compromise.

This is just another example of Scott Walker’s utter lack of any tangible leadership qualities. Rather than work towards a real compromise that would benefit all the residents of Milwaukee County - and not just those folks who live in the suburbs - Scott Walker seems content to take his marbles and go home.

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On August 7, we here in Milwaukee County Supervisor District 8 will get to choose who will serve us as our next County Supervisor replacing Ryan McCue, who was elected Mayor of Cudahy. Two candidates emerged from the primary - Chris Kujawa and Patricia Jursik. While I wasn’t able to vote in the primary, I do have every intention of voting on August 7. I’ve been following this race closely, and I’ve decided to support Patricia Jursik. Unlike her opponent, who seems to want to do away with as much county government as possible, Patricia Jursik seems to have realistic objectives for improving the quality of life for residents of the Eighth District while maintaining the level of services folks have come to expect. While Jursik’s opponent Chris Kujawa has managed to rack up an impressive list of endorsements (impressive depending on who you talk to), I don’t see much on his website to warrant getting my vote. His website talks a lot about the endorsements he’s received and how members of his family have served in Cudahy’s city government, but in my opinion that’s not really what matters most when it comes to deciding who’s most qualified to serve as a County Supervisor. Sure, a long list of endorsements is impressive, but I’d rather know what a candidate stands for, and there’s not much information on Chris Kujawa’s website that tells me much about what he stands for - or what he’ll do as County Supervisor.

To be honest, I’m worried that if elected, Chris Kujawa will end up being nothing more than a “yes-man” for County Executive Scott Walker, which is the last thing the residents of the Eighth District need. We don’t need someone who’s going to continue to support Scott Walker’s mismanagement of Milwaukee County government - we need someone who’s going to work to change the status quo.

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Now I know there are some folks in Milwaukee County who think County Executive Scott Walker’s the best thing since sliced bread, but I just don’t get it. A big part of Scott Walker’s campaigns has been his constant talk about fiscal responsibility in our county government, which is why I’m so floored by reports in the MJS that multiple county departments are reporting probable year-end budget deficits, to the tune of 4.2 million dollars. Now of course Scott Walker’s first response is to call for county departments to tighten their collective belts, which leaves me to wonder what Scott Walker was doing while these multiple county departments were building budget deficits.

For someone who’s touted his record of fiscal responsibility, it seems more than a bit curious that Scott Walker’s had so much trouble balancing the county’s books year after year. After all, this isn’t the first year that there’s been a budget deficit, and while I’m sure lots of folks in Milwaukee County appreciate the fact that Scott Walker’s trying really hard not to raise taxes, I’m sure a lot of folks aren’t happy that he keeps cutting county services in order to balance the books. Here’s what Walker had to say about the budget shortfall:

Walker said all county departments should immediately halt any non-essential spending, including travel and to hold off hiring whenever possible. He also asked other elected officials to take action to save money.

He blamed the worsening budget picture on unexpected increases in juvenile corrections placements, needed hiring of additional staff at the county’s mental health complex and a decline in revenue from real estate fees.

It’s typical of Scott Walker to point fingers at everyone but himself, because apparently the buck doesn’t stop with County Executive Scott Walker when it comes to balancing the county’s budget. I just hope folks in Milwaukee County will wake up and choose someone else to serve as County Executive, because we deserve better than what we’ve gotten from Scott Walker.

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