Blogging Blue

If I remember correctly, Scott Walker was elected to serve as County Executive largely on the promise he’d rectify the scandal-ridden quagmire that had become the county’s pension system.

And yet, all these years later, we’re still hearing tales about a stunning lack of oversight over the county’s pension system:

Milwaukee County pension officials say they mistakenly overpaid former House of Correction superintendent Richard Cox and will seek a refund of more than $100,000 - one of 115 newly discovered pension payout errors.

The disclosure comes in a new filing with the IRS that admits numerous systemic mistakes caused pension overpayments and underpayments from 1994 through the present. The county is seeking refunds in some cases.

Necessary reviews of payouts were left undone and the county’s own pension laws were not followed in the various cases, says the IRS “voluntary correction” filing. It comes nine months after a Journal Sentinel investigation of county “buyback” pension benefits prompted a similar admission to the IRS.

…

The total price tag on the mistakes has not been determined, but could approach $1 million including pensioners’ and the county’s liability, according to estimates based on the county’s filing.

So let’s recap:

• 115 newly discovered pension payout errors? Thank you, Scott Walker!
• Laws not being followed? Thank you, Scott Walker!
• Liability approaching one million dollars? Thank you, Scott Walker!
• General lack of oversight over Milwaukee County’s pension system, despite promises to clean things up? Thank you, Scott Walker!

Scott Walker’s failure to clean up and fix Milwaukee County’s pension system is just another in a long line of promises he’s broken, and that’s why it’s time for new leadership for Milwaukee County.

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So says Walker campaign staffer Tim Russell, in talking about the following ad that’s been all over the airwaves in the past week or so:

Now sure, it’s a pretty decent ad, but as Greg Borowski of the MJS reported, the ad’s not really that unique, borrowing heavily from a theme most recently used by former Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist during his 2000 re-election campaign. However, when prompted by a “longtime political observer,” Borowski queried the Walker campaign to find out if any of the folks featured in Walker’s ad were paid actors, as opposed to being the “real citizens” the ad portrays them to be. The Walker campaign’s response?
“They’re all real people,” Tim Russell of the Walker campaign said. “They’re all real people” - seems pretty unambiguous, right?

It sure does, except that it’s not really true. After Borowski posted his story, Tim Russell fired off an email clarifying his assertion that all the individuals in the ad were “real people.”

“I did not intend to say that none of the people in the ad were talent. Our
agency had talent on hand for the taping in case our volunteers didn’t
work out. We had a couple that got stage fright and were replaced
with people the agency had on hand. I apologize if I was unclear in
my answer.”

Unclear is one thing, but Russell seemed pretty clear and unambiguous when he said none of the individuals in the ad were “real people.” Instead of trying to explain away his lie, Russell should have the gumption to simply fess up and admit he lied, instead of trying to spin his comments as him “not being clear.”

H/T to xoff.

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All Politics posted an entry earlier tonight highlighting the differences between Lena Taylor and Scott Walker as election day draws closer. What I found most interesting was this particular blurb:

Taylor also criticizes Walker over escapes and walk-aways from the work-release center. Walker puts the blame on judges, saying greater care was needed in who is sentenced there.

I find that particular blurb to be most interesting because it really highlights Scott Walker’s management style: when something goes wrong, blame someone else. Scott Walker’s assertion that judges - and not he as the County Executive - are to blame for poor management and security procedures at the Community Correctional Center is absolutely ludicrous.

What’s more, Walker has provided further proof that his hypocrisy and willingness to lie knows no limits, as evidenced by this ad:

Sure, it’s a mildly amusing take on the ever-popular Apple ads, but what I found most amusing about the ad is Walker’s assertion that he’s diverted money from parks and transit in order to enhance public safety - an assertion that flies in the face of the cold hard reality of things in Milwaukee County. After all, if Scott Walker’s been putting so much money into public safety, how does he explain multiple escapes from county facilities, one of which ended in a murder?

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Sometimes as I sit and think about the upcoming election for Milwaukee County Executive, I can’t help but wonder how how much more of a hypocrite Scott Walker could be, considering his status as one of Milwaukee County’s foremost practitioners of the dark art of hypocrisy.

After all, who can forgot these humdingers:

• Taking credit for Milwaukee County’s seven million dollar budget surplus, despite the fact that the surplus came about as the result of a budget Walker himself vetoed.
• Or how about the fact that Walker touts his concern for public safety - despite the fact that during his tenure in office the House of Corrections has been plagued by chronic understaffing, not one, but two high-profile escapes, the second of which ended with a citizen being murdered. And lest we forget Scott Walker’s plan to “keep Milwaukee safe” by closing CCC and placing the individuals confined there on GPS.
• And then there’s Walker’s hypocritical attacks against Lena Taylor for raising campaign funds from outside Milwaukee County, when Walker’s own campaign has been hitting up out of county donors for campaign contributions.

As I sit here thinking about Scott Walker’s repeated hypocrisy, I’m left to wonder if his hypocrisy knows any limits.

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I’ve been thinking about the upcoming election for County Executive, and a great entry by the Brawler got me to thinking about the promises Scott Walker’s kept - and the ones he’s broken - during his time as Milwaukee County Executive, so I came up with a little list.

Promises Scott Walker’s Kept Since 2002:

• Will not allow the 2003 tax levy to increase. In future years, will try to hold tax increases to rate of inflation or below. - Sure, he’s kept the tax levy down during his time in office, but at what price? Our parks are in an escalating period of decline, the jail and House of Corrections have been woefully mismanaged, and cuts have been made to child support and the county zoo, not to mention the parks system.

Promises Scott Walker’s Broken Since 2002:

• Walker says he won’t stay as county executive beyond 2008, when he’d be 42, and may one day pursue a business career. - MJS; March 29, 2002
• Will not serve for more than one full term (no longer than 2008) - MJS; May 1, 2002
• Oppose any rail-based transportation system, including any to link attractions in downtown Milwaukee. - Now I suppose this is a broken promise I can live with, since he’s listed as a supporter of the KRM Commuter rail line.
• Require that any non-union employees under control of executive sign a waiver of Milwaukee County’s pension “buyback” program “as a condition of their continued employment. - Yet those buybacks continued 5 years into his tenure as County Executive.

With a record like this, why would anyone willingly support Scott Walker’s re-election?

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