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…it’s actually his third. I reported when news of Rep. Wood’s arrest first broke that he was arrested on charges of operating while intoxicated-first offense, but it turns out Rep. Wood has been arrested twice before for Operating While Intoxicated, in 1990 and 1991.

As James Wigderson notes, Rep. Wood gave an interview with WAYY-AM, and during that interview he wasn’t completely honest about when he was convicted of his two previous OWI’s:

WAYY: Was this first time OWI for you, Jeff?

JW: Not exactly. When I was a teenager I got drinking and driving, but it’s been over twenty years.

It hasn’t been over twenty years, and the more Rep. Wood opens his mouth, the more he’s starting to sound like a politician desperately trying to spin a bad news story and less like a contrite public servant who realizes the mistakes he’s made.

Ah well, I suppose it’s just politics as usual.

Independent State Representative Jeff Wood was arrested early Friday on charges of operating while intoxicated-first offense and possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Rep. Wood, who recently won reelection, was arrested by the Wisconsin State Patrol at approximately 3 a.m. on Friday morning. Rep. Wood, formerly a Republican, gained notoriety after leaving the Republican Party and declaring himself an independent before his bid for reelection. He was recently named a committee chairman by Assembly Democrats.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens as a result of Rep. Wood’s arrest, but in a statement issued by Rep. Wood, he apologized for his behavior:

“I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible behavior. I apologize to my family, friends and my constituents who expect more from me. On Thursday evening I was arrested in Columbia County by the Wisconsin State Patrol for drunk driving and possession of marijuana. I cooperated fully with law enforcement and will continue to do so throughout the entire process. There is no excuse for my actions and I accept full responsibility. This is not typical behavior for me, but unfortunately I drank too much and exercised very poor judgment. I want to let my family and friends know that I regret what I did and am very sorry for the embarrassment and pain I have caused.”

It remains to be seen how Assembly Democrats will react to Rep. Wood’s arrest, but I’d be shocked if he’s allowed to keep his chairmanship in light of what’s happened.

Even though it’s Monday and there’s a lot of potential for idiocy this week, I’m going to go ahead and name Rep. Wood my “Idiot of the Week.”

Sometimes I really wonder how state legislators - who I’m assuming at one point in their lives were relatively “normal” people like you and I - got so out of touch about what it means to serve the public. A perfect example of what I’m talking about is the decision by state lawmakers to continue to take reimbursements from their campaign funds for meals, hotels and meetings on days they also accept their daily expense allowances paid for by taxpayers. Why should lawmakers be allowed to double dip on the taxpayers’ dime, especially at a time when our state is faced with a 5.4 billion dollar budget shortfall?

The per diem system cost taxpayers $1.2 million in 2007, and while that might not seem like a heck of a lot of money considering the size of our state’s budget deficit, I think every little bit of savings helps. The decision to continue to double dip reeks of greed and arrogance, and I’m not alone in thinking that:

Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause in Wisconsin, called it the “height of arrogance” for legislators to show no interest in making themselves more accountable, especially at a time when taxpayers are reeling from job losses and shrinking retirement accounts.

Heck said legislators don’t seem to care that the average person, unlike lawmakers, can’t collect a per diem even on days they do little or no work. Likewise, he said, taxpayers don’t have the luxury of getting paid twice for the same expense - from campaign funds and state per diems.

Lawmakers on both sides of the political spectrum should be ashamed of themselves for double dipping on the taxpayers’ dime at a time when lawmakers should be looking to cut costs wherever possible, instead of looking to line their pockets.

Apparently, Mark Belling seems to think he’s a savvy political prognosticator. In an opinion piece Belling wrote at GM Today Belling predicts Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker will be a force to be reckoned with once the 2010 gubernatorial election rolls around:

Walker’s fiscal responsibility message will be especially powerful in 2010 if, as expected, the Democrats deal with a massive state budget deficit by passing monster tax hikes. He is a political nightmare for the Democrats.

Interestingly enough, back in 2005 Belling predicted Walker would crush Mark Green in the GOP gubernatorial primary in 2006, a prediction which never came close to coming true. As Xoff points out over at Uppity Wisconsin, Belling also predicted Russ Darrow would be the Republican Party’s nominee for the U.S. Senate race against Russ Feingold, and we all know how that turned out. Belling’s no Nostradamus, and instead of trying to play political prognosticator, he should stick to something he’s good at - like hurling racial epithets from the safety and comfort of the WISN studios.

Xoff has more here and here.

As reported by Today’s TMJ4, Oak Creek aldermen voted yesterday evening to allow what’s likely the state’s largest postal facility to be built in Oak Creek. Aldermen voted to approve the facility despite vocal opposition to the facility by residents of Oak Creek. In fact, Oak Creek Mayor Dick Bolender told a reporter for Today’s TMJ4 no amount of public outcry would have swayed his support for the project.

Newly reelected State Rep. Mark Honadel, who represents Oak Creek in the State Assembly, urged approval because of 2,200 jobs USPS promised to relocate to the area, saying, “They will buy the houses. They will spend the cash here.” It’s worth noting that the 2,200 jobs “promised” to be relocated to Oak Creek are not 2,200 new jobs, but rather existing jobs that are being shifted to the new facility, and I’m willing to bet the folks who have those jobs aren’t going to relocate and buy houses in Oak Creek just because the facility moved 20 minutes south from downtown Milwaukee.

What’s more, the facility itself won’t generate any property taxes for the city of Oak Creek, because as a federal facility it is exempt from paying property taxes. In my opinion, putting a tax-exempt building seven times the size of a Woodman’s grocery store right next to a residential neighborhood seems to be not only an odd fit, but a waste of a prime piece of real estate, given the facility’s proposed location on the corner of College Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue.

The fact that these elected officials - individuals who are supposed to be a voice for their constituents - have chosen to ignore the concerns of the people they represent speaks volumes about just how much they care about their constituents, and I hope the disregard Rep. Honadel and Oak Creek’s mayor and aldermen have shown towards their constituents will be remembered come when those officials are up for election again.

Here’s some video of the TMJ4 story.

Greg Kowalski over at Metro Milwaukee Today has more.

Fresh off his re-election as the 21st Assembly District’s Representative, Mark Honadel says he’s ready to serve everybody in his district:

State Rep. Mark Honadel wants residents of the 21st Assembly District to know he is at their service, especially the 14,000 who voted for his opponent, Glen Brower.

Honadel won re-election Nov. 4. A Republican and a lifelong resident of the district, Honadel said he will make himself available to voters who would like to discuss policy.

“Pick up the phone and let’s talk about it, because I’m at your service,” Honadel said. “I’m here to serve everybody.

Yeah, Rep. Honadel is here to serve everybody, unless “everybody” happens to be the parent of an autistic child or if “everybody” happens to include those folks whocares about safe and clean communities.

The fact is, Rep. Mark Honadel doesn’t work for everybody in his district; he’s really only working for those folks who support and agree with his far-right beliefs.

Here’s some bad news out of Madison:

Madison — Administration Secretary Michael Morgan told state agencies today that the looming state budget deficit means they will have to cut operations spending by more than 10%.

The agencies were under orders in June to submit plans by Monday to cut their administrative operations by 10%. But today Morgan told them the deadline is being extended because they will have to cut further into their budgets since the worsening economy has plunged the state into a $5 billion deficit through mid-2011.

Morgan’s letter does not say how much agencies must cut their budgets or when their plans are due. The proposals will be used by Doyle to shape the budget he will introduce early next year, the letter said.

There’s no denying there’s some room for state agencies to improve efficiency and make cuts without drastically affecting services, but I wonder how an agency like the Department of Corrections will be able to cut over ten percent out of the agency’s budget without affecting the agency’s ability to safely and effectively operate prisons and supervise those individuals on probation and parole. Fewer corrections officers and probation and parole agents wouldn’t be a good thing for our communities, so where does the Department of Corrections make its cuts?

As a result of the bad news about the state budget deficit and the order to make budget cuts of ten percent, the Department of Corrections has instituted a hiring freeze, which might seem like a good idea on the surface, but given the high costs the Department has incurred to pay overtime to corrections officers and probation and parole agents, it seems to me it would make sense to evaluate just how many new positions would need to be filled to reduce or eliminate overtime, and then hire enough new employees to provide equilibrium, so that the Department could save some money.

Then again, what do I know…I’m not paid to make those kinds of decisions.

Perennial gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker, Milwaukee’s ever so capable County Executive, is making the rounds at the Republican Governor’s Association meeting in Miami, Florida:

Potential gubernatorial candidates making the RGA rounds in Miami:

Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell (2009)

Sen. Sam Brownback (Kansas)

Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman (California)

Former representative and OMB chief Rob Portman (Ohio)

Former Pennsylvania US Attorney Patrick Meehan

Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett

Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox

South Dakota Lt. Gov. Dennis Daugaard

Rep. Peter Hoekstra (Michigan)

Alabama Treasurer Kay Ivey

Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land

Wyoming Auditor Rita Meyer

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters (Arizona)

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker (Wisconsin)

I just hope Walker’s not spending time in Miami on the taxpayers’ dime. What’s more, shouldn’t Walker be spending a little more time in Milwaukee County dealing with a budget mess and doing his job?

Assembly Republicans, meet the new boss:

Democratic Representative Mike Sheridan of Janesville was chosen today as the Assembly’s new Speaker, replacing Mike Huebsch, who lost his position after Democrats gained the Assembly majority. However, the good news for Rep. Sheridan isn’t necessarily good news for Milwaukee-area lawmakers, who were shut out of leadership positions in the Assembly:

Assembly Democrats today elected Rep. Mike Sheridan of Janesville as speaker and Rep. Tom Nelson of Kaukauna as majority leader - leaving Milwaukee without any top leadership jobs.

Sheridan, a former United Auto Workers president, beat Rep. Jon Richards of Milwaukee for the top spot. Nelson defeated Rep. Pedro Colon of Milwaukee.

I suppose I could complain that the Milwaukee area was shut out of leadership positions in the Assembly, but at this point, I’m just happy Democrats have the majority, so I’m not going to start complaining now.

I’ve spent some time on this blog writing about autism, especially efforts by Democrats here in Wisconsin to mandate that health insurance companies provide coverage for behavioral therapy for autistic children, therapy which is not currently covered by any private health insurance offered by any insurer in the state of Wisconsin. Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin, including my Representative, Mark Honadel, have strongly opposed any efforts to make the mandate law, citing the high cost of a mandate. Cost estimates have placed the cost of an autism therapy mandate at roughly 10 million dollars, and while that’s a lot of money, in my opinion it would be money well spent.

After all, instead of spending 11 million dollars to reopen a paper mill in Park Falls and to buy a shiny new soybean crusher for Republican Rep. Brett Davis’ district. I know I’m biased, but if I had to choose between a government handout for a soybean crusher or providing health insurance coverage for behavioral therapy for autistic kids, I choose the therapy for autistic kids ten times out of ten.

Thankfully, Democratic lawmakers in Madison seem to appreciate the importance of providing health insurance coverage for autism behavioral therapy, and with a new majority in the State Assembly - to go along with a Democratic majority in the State Senate and a Democratic governor - that autism therapy insurance mandate could become a reality. I’ll admit I’m not a big fan of broad government mandates, but in this case I think a government mandate certainly seems warranted. No family that has their own health insurance should be forced to file and wait for Medicaid - or worse, to pay money out of their own pockets - just so their child can have the therapy that could dramatically improve that child’s life.

I just hope Democrats in Madison will take action on this issue sooner as opposed to later.