Blogging Blue » Lena Taylor

Media Trackers smears Sen. Lena Taylor, refuses to apologize

Zach W — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:45:59 +0000

Media Trackers had suggested Taylor and her mother might have been “accessories” to voter fraud for their role in helping a felon named Russell Collins vote illegally in the April election.

In reality, Collins had been released from custody weeks before the election. That means he was legally free to vote.

“When we became aware of (the Media Trackers’ report), we immediately took a look at what we considered to be the most serious aspect of it – the felon voter aspect,” Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf said last week. “We quickly determined that Mr. Collins had been released from House of Correction’s custody in the middle of March, had completed his sentence and would have been eligible to vote at that time.”

Reached for comment on the fact that Russell Collins was actually eligible to vote, rendering Media Trackers’ accusations false, Media Trackers communications director Brian Sikma said he didn’t think Media Trackers should offer an apology to Taylor or her mother, saying, “We stand by the information we were given.”

Rather than letting a blatantly false smear stand, Brian Sikma should do the right thing and offer an apology.

“in fact, shooting can be a fun sport”

Zach W — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 05:00:31 +0000

“Guns should not be feared, in fact, shooting can be a fun sport.”

So says Democratic State Senator Lena Taylor, in a statement she issued explaining her support for Wisconsin’s new concealed firearms law. I can’t help but wonder how many of State Sen. Taylor’s constituents – too many of whom are all too familiar with guns, gunshots, and gun violence – would beg to disagree with her assertion about shooting as a “fun sport.”

Wait….what?!? Lena Taylor voted in favor of Republican concealed carry legislation?

Zach W — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 01:17:16 +0000

Earlier today Democratic State Senator Lena Taylor voted with every single Republican in the State Senate in favor of the Republican-promoted concealed weapons legislation that was passed today in the State Senate. Sen. Taylor’s vote was not completely unexpected, as she telegraphed her support for concealed carry in a statement issued by her office last week.

While Sen. Taylor supports concealed carry, her fellow Democratic State Senator Spencer Coggs, who also represents portions of the City of Milwaukee, said the way to deal with violence in cities wasn’t to encourage people to carry hidden weapons.

“The solution is less guns, not more guns,” Coggs said.

Apparently Sen. Lena Taylor disagrees.

UPDATE: Sen. Taylor has taken to Twitter to explain her vote, writing, “WI eye has my speech on conceal carry. I have constituents on both sides of this constitutional issue. We won’t always agree and that’s ok.”

Lena Taylor gets involved in the looming NFL labor strife

Zach W — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:14:44 +0000

State Sen. Lena Taylor wants to get involved in the labor strife that’s looming between NFL owners and the players’ union following the 2010 season. To that end, Sen. Taylor has fired off a letter to Packers Team President Mark Murphy, and in the letter she makes it abundantly clear that she views a lockout by NFL owners as a breach of the covenant between the team and taxpayers. Sen. Taylor goes on to extend an offer for Murphy to call on her as he needs, and I can’t help but wonder…what could Packers Team President Mark Murphy possibly need from State Senator Lena Taylor?

What’s more, I’m wondering if Sen. Taylor sent a similar letter to the NFL Players Association, as there’s no guarantee they won’t just go on strike if the NFL’s labor issues aren’t resolved prior to the 2011 season.

So who’s the target??

Zach W — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:24:28 +0000

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, State Sen. Lena Taylor testified today in a secret John Doe proceeding at the Milwaukee County Courthouse. During a previous appearance at the John Doe proceeding, Sen. Taylor refused to answer questions, citing her right against self-incrimination, however she testified today under a promise of immunity from a prosecutor examining suspected criminal violations (emphasis mine):

The prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf, declined to say what was being investigated in the John Doe. Landgraf handles public corruption cases for the Milwaukee District Attorney’s Office. His recent cases involve alleged election violations and campaign finance violations.

Sources with knowledge of the proceeding said Taylor (D-Milwaukee) is not the target of this criminal investigation.

So if Sen. Taylor isn’t the target of the criminal investigation, who is?

Alderman Zielinski running for Lt. Governor

Zach W — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:00:13 +0000

It’s been rumored State Senator Lena Taylor is thinking about running for Lieutenant Governor in 2010, but while she hasn’t made her intentions officially known, at least one Democrat from Milwaukee is making his intentions clear:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MILWAUKEE ALDERMAN FILES STATEWIDE COMMITTEE
ZIELINSKI TAKES STEPS TOWARD LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR’S RACE

MILWAUKEE, WI. August 21, 2009 . . . Tony Zielinski (D-Milwaukee) announced today he has formed a committee to set the groundwork for the race for the Democratic Party nomination for the open seat of Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor.

Alderman Zielinski was first elected to public office in 1988 as a Milwaukee County Supervisor, and has served since 2004 as an Alderman representing the southeast district of Milwaukee.

Zielinski holds a B.A. in Political Science, a Masters Degree in Business Administration, is a graduate of Marquette University Law School, and is a practicing attorney.

“The Lieutenant Governor has a bully pulpit to champion this state’s Law and Order issues, promote a healthy economy and level the playing field for American workers, “ said Zielinski. “That’s my plan to move this state forward. I will aggressively champion Wisconsin.”

“We will have a new team leading Wisconsin after the election,” said Zielinski. “I look forward to working with the Governor and serving the citizens of Wisconsin and seeing their interests come first when the state spends their tax money.”

Zielinski, who graduated as an Officer from St. John’s Military Academy said that experience taught him discipline and dedication to hard work, adding, “My twenty-one years of experience in elected office has helped me learn how to create coalitions and work with disparate groups to bring people together.”

“My six election victories – most recently with 84% of the vote — have shown I understand the rigors of campaigning. I have experience in building grassroots support,” said Zielinski. “I look forward to stumping the state for the Democratic leadership ticket in the 2010 race.”

Under state law Zielinski can transfer the balance –approximately $50,000 — of his current campaign account to his Lieutenant Governor campaign committee. This is in addition to the $10,000 he raised for the Lieutenant Governor’s race in the first day.

The primary election is in September 2010. The Lieutenant Governor serves a four-year term.

In brief: Doyle’s reelection, DPW officers, MPD fundraiser

Zach W — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:55:08 +0000

There’s speculation Gov. Jim Doyle won’t run for reelection in 2010, and while I’ve previously said I don’t think Gov. Doyle will seek reelection, I’m beginning to think he just might try to win another term as governor. After all, lots of folks were counting Gov. Doyle out in 2006, and he still won pretty handily, so perhaps the reports of his demise are greatly exaggerated.
Mike Tate is the new Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. While some conservatives seem to think Tate being chosen is a bad thing for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, I see nothing but upside in Tate’s selection. Sure he’s young, but I see a lot of youthful exuberance and a strong desire to continue to grow the Democratic Party, and I think he’ll be just fine. In a related story, State Sen. Lena Taylor lost her seat as first vice chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party after she missed the May deadline for filing for the position. I’ve never been impressed with Sen. Taylor, so I’m certainly not sad to see her go.
A fundraiser is planned for June 20 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. June 20 at S. 2nd St. and W. National Ave. in the Walker’s Point neighborhood to benefit officers Bryan Norberg and Graham Kunisch, who were shot and seriously wounded during a confrontation with a man in Walker’s Point on June 9. If you’d like to show your support for the injured officers, make a point to attend the fundraiser….and I’ll see you there!

Lena Taylor makes news

Zach W — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 02:06:39 +0000

On Tuesday, I noted State Senator Lena Taylor made Milwaukee Magazine’s list of the worst legislators in Wisconsin, I noted I was no fan of Sen. Taylor’s. At the risk of jeopardizing my standing as a liberal, I’ll just say that I find Sen. Taylor to be a less than impressive legislator and campaigner, and I think her constituents would be better served with someone more effective.

Sen. Taylor is also good at generating news, and not necessarily in a good way:

Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn decided Thursday to reinstate a traffic ticket against state Sen. Lena Taylor after the Milwaukee Democrat had successfully lobbied lower-ranking officials to drop it.

Taylor was pulled over during rush hour Friday evening after police said they witnessed her crossing the center line and driving southbound in the northbound lane so she could pull into a driveway at 1018 N. 35th St., according to the ticket. The officer who wrote the ticket described Taylor as “very argumentative” at the scene, saying she appeared to be trying to “provoke an argument” with the officers.

Sources say the senator contacted authorities at the 3rd District headquarters to complain about the ticket. Acting Capt. Edith Hudson later dropped the traffic ticket against Taylor.

So here’s the recap: State Senator gets pulled over for violating traffic laws. Said State Senator becomes “very argumentative” and appears to be trying to “provoke an argument,” and follows up her police contact with a call to a supervisor to have the ticket dropped. That sure sounds kinda shady to me, and I’d love to know more about the conversation between State Senator Taylor and Captain Edith Hudson of MPD, because I’m willing to bet Sen. Taylor made sure to mention her standing as a State Senator in her conversation with Capt. Hudson.

The best & the worst

Zach W — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 00:38:38 +0000

The latest issue of Milwaukee Magazine is out on newstands and available on the internet, and
Marc Eisen has a great feature highlighting the best and worst of Wisconsin’s legislators. Among the worst? State Senator Mary Lazich, of whom the article says:

Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin): “Everybody hates her, even the Republicans. She’s just an idiot,” says a liberal-cause lobbyist.

As for Republicans, one GOP foot soldier says Lazich, 56, is flat-out cuckoo: “Literally nuts.” Conservative activists like him despise Lazich for lying about a GOP leadership vote and for duplicitous statements on the ill-fated Taxpayers Bill of Rights legislation. “There may be no legislator taken less seriously by her colleagues,” he asserts.

“One never knows what she will do or why,” sighs another observer. “Mary’s vision doesn’t extend beyond her own short-sightedness.”

Also among the worst legislators in Wisconsin according to the feature? State Senator (and former County Exec. candidate) Lena Taylor:

Sen. Lena Taylor, (D-Milwaukee): She’s no Gwen Moore, who, despite her occasionally rancorous style, was “brilliant and knew state law back to front,” says an admiring staffer. With Moore’s promotion to Congress, Taylor stepped up to the state Senate from the Assembly. Too bad for Milwaukee.

“She has absolutely no depth of understanding,” says a conservative-minded lobbyist. “And she’s tiresome. It’s just awful to have to listen to her talk and talk.” A liberal-minded lobbyist calls her “bombastic and egotistical. You can’t have a conversation without her reminding you she’s an attorney.”

A veteran trade group representative faults Taylor for “never stopping to understand the issue, because she already has the answer.” She’s “all bluster, with no substance,” says another observer.

I’ve never been a fan of Lena Taylor, and though I considered her the lesser of two evils in the County Executive race, I’m glad to see she’s been included as one of Wisconsin’s worst legislators, because it’s an honor she surely deserves.

Thoughts on the Election

Zach W — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 23:35:30 +0000

First of all, there’ll be no gnashing of teeth or whining here.

Am I disappointed in how things turned out last night? Hell yes, but such is politics. Sometimes your side wins and sometimes they lose; that’s just the reality of our political system.

While I’ve made no effort to hide my dislike for Scott Walker and the job he’s done as Milwaukee County Executive, I wasn’t terribly surprised he won, because Lena Taylor ran one of the worst campaigns I’ve witnessed since I became interested in politics. At times she seemed disinterested, and at others she seemed clueless, and I can’t help but wonder if she was really the best liberal candidate out there to run against Scott Walker.

And sure, I’m disappointed Louis Butler lost to Michael Gableman, but my disappointment has less to do with Gableman’s ideology – though I do disagree with his judicial philosophy, to the extent that he has one – and more to do with the kind of negative and unethical campaign he ran.

While last night had its share of disappointment, there were also some positives. The “Frankenveto” is no more, and that’s definitely a good thing. The “Frankenveto” allowed for tremendous abuses by Republican and Democratic governors alike, and I for one am glad to see it go. Besides, our governor will still have some of the broadest veto powers in the nation without the “Frankenveto.” Another high point was the re-election of Lisa Neubauer to a full term on Wisconsin’s Second District Court of Appeals, defeating newly conservative wannabe Bill Gleisner.

Closer to home, I’m glad to see Pat Jursik won a full four year term on the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors without any opposition, and I was happy to see Tom Zepecki elected to another term as South Milwaukee’s mayor. Pat and Tom have done well during their time in office, and they definitely deserved another term in office.