Blogging Blue

A little earlier today, I wrote about the decision by the South Milwaukee Common Council to push through an ordinance prohibiting the city of South Milwaukee from mandating that private businesses provide certain wages or benefits to employees.

It’s no secret State Representative Mark Honadel - whose district includes South Milwaukee - is no fan of providing health insurance coverage to all his constituents, with Rep. Honadel on record as saying, “I always respect the right of citizens to get involved with their government — that’s a good thing. But I am against universal health care.” It’s worth noting Rep. Honadel opposes universal health care for his constituents despite the fact that those of his constituents who went to the polls on November 4, 2008 voted overwhelmingly in favor of an advisory referendum that asked if they believed the legislature should enact health care reform legislation that guaranteed every state resident affordable health care coverage as good as what is provided to state legislators.

Here’s the referendum question, as well as the results for South Milwaukee:

South Milwaukee - Referendum

Shall the Legislature enact health care reform legislation by Dec. 31, 2009, that guarantees every state resident affordable health care coverage as good as what is provided to state legislators?

Here’s the results:

Yes - 7,235 - 72%
No - 2,872 - 28%

Seventy-two percent of those who voted in South Milwaukee support health care reform legislation that guarantees every state resident affordable health care coverage as good as what is provided to state legislators, so why is it that the elected officials representing South Milwaukee - both at the state and local level - are so unwilling to do their best to represent the desires of their constituents? After all, weren’t our elected officials elected to represent us and our beliefs, rather than ignoring us?

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.

It goes without saying that I’m elated that Barack Obama and Joe Biden are our nation’s next President and Vice Presisdent, but my election night elation over the success of the Democratic ticket was tempered by news this morning that 21st Assembly District candidate Glen Brower narrowly lost to incumbent Republican Mark Honadel. Rep. Honadel prevailed by just over 600 votes out of approximately 28,800 cast, for a margin of victory of two percent (51% to 49%).

To say I’m disappointed in this outcome is an understatement, but it just motivates me to do more to help turn the 21st District Democratic in 2010. Hopefully I’ll get the chance to play a more active role in the next Democratic challenger’s campaign, but if not, I’ll continue to blog the truth about Rep. Honadel and why he needs to be voted out of office.

I’m going to go out on another limb and predict Democratic challenger Glen Brower will unseat Republican incumbent Mark Honadel in the race for Wisconsin’s 21st Assembly District by a margin of 50.3% to 49.7%.

In yet another sign that Rep. Mark Honadel’s (R-21st District) re-election campaign is in trouble, the College Republicans of Wisconsin held a pair of “CRAAM” events this weekend in the 21st and 22nd Assembly Districts. CRAAM, which stands for College Republicans Assisting Assembly Majority, are part of a statewide effort to aide Republican candidates in winning their Assembly races. College Republicans from Marquette, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Ripon converged on the 21st and 22nd Assembly Districts to distribute literature and make phone calls for Yash Wadwha in the 22nd Assembly District while aiding Rep. Honadel in his reelection bid in the 21st Assembly District. The fact that Rep. Honadel has had to enlist the help of College Republicans to bolster his sagging campaign speaks volumes about the trouble he’s in, but given the poor job Rep. Honadel has done representing the citizens of the 21st Assembly District, it’s no surprise he finds himself in a tough fight against a strong candidate in Glen Brower.

Change is long overdue in the 21st District, and come November 4, the citizens of the 21st District will have the change we want and deserve when we elect Glen Brower to serve as our Representative.

More good news for State Assembly candidate Glen Brower, who received the endorsement of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel today over incumbent Rep. Mark Honadel:

Glen Brower, a Democrat from South Milwaukee and a retired lieutenant colonel with a 30-year history of working with large budgets and complex problems with the U.S. Army, would be a good fit for the 21st Assembly District, which encompasses Oak Creek, South Milwaukee and two wards of Milwaukee.

If elected, Brower said, he would be committed to closing corporate tax loopholes. He said the current tax system does not generate adequate revenue to cover state operations. “I would advance a proposal for the reassessment of our tax system to update our tax structure,” he said.

Brower faces incumbent Rep. Mark Honadel (R-South Milwaukee), former owner of Honadel’s Inc., a lawn and garden center. Honadel was first elected to the Assembly in a special election in July 2003 and was re-elected in 2004 and 2006. Honadel said he will oppose tax increases because “they would do nothing to stimulate our economy and are an added cost on the backs of consumers and businesses.”

While Honadel has committee experience, Brower’s experience working on large budgets earns him the nod.

Yeah, this sure doesn’t bode well for Rep. Honadely come November 4, and hopefully he’ll be voted out of office, like he should have been years ago.

…and that can’t be a bad thing. As I travel around South Milwaukee, I’m seeing an awful lot of yard signs for Glen Brower, and while that obviously doesn’t mean he’s going to be the sure victor in November’s election for the 21st Assembly District, it’s just nice to finally have a candidate running against Rep. Mark Honadel, who’s done a poor job of repping the 21st, at least in my opinion.

Given the current political and economic climate, I’m hoping folks here in the 21st will choose to send Glen Brower to the Assembly, because I’m of the belief he’d do a far better job of representing all the voters of our district - not just the ones on the far right of the political spectrum.

Glen Brower, the Democratic candidate for Wisconsin’s 21st Assembly District, announced today his economic recovery plan for Wisconsin:

21st ASSEMBLY CANDIDATE GLEN BROWER UNVEILS ECONOMIC PLAN TO GROW RENEWABLE WISCONSIN ECONOMY
Plan Includes a Number of Initiatives that Rep. Mark Honadel Opposed

SOUTH MILWAUKEE – GLEN BROWER candidate for Assembly from the 21st District, unveiled several key economic initiatives that he plans on supporting as the next State Representative from the 21st District. The proposals are all focused on promoting green jobs by investing in renewable energy as well as helping middle class families cope with the rising cost of living. Several of the proposals in GLEN BROWER’S plan are bills that Rep. Mark Honadel helped defeat.

“A common theme throughout my campaign has been the idea of investing in ourselves. We need to put an end to the era of corporate control, and start to put our financial emphasis on the growth and stability of the American Economy. We can begin this much needed transition by investing in renewable energy sources that will alleviate our dependence on foreign oil while simultaneously creating new and better jobs for our citizens. Our state currently spends more than $20 billion a year on energy that we purchase from other states and other countries. That equation is simply wrong and unacceptable. By investing in Wisconsin businesses that pay livable wages to Wisconsin citizens we can reverse this broken formula and truly move forward in a better direction. ”
-Glen Brower

GLEN BROWER’S PLAN INCLUDES:

Investing in Green Jobs for Wisconsin
• $30 million for Energy Independence Grant and Loan Program - In his FY 2007-09 biennial budget, Governor Doyle proposed spending $30 million on renewable energy. The budget that Rep. Mark Honadel supported cut that number in half. [JFC motion A1 to paper 210, 5/10/07]
• 25 percent renewable energy research and development tax credit - The renewable energy industry represents the jobs of the future for Wisconsin. The state should be supporting companies who are investing in creating these jobs that will fuel the future of our state’s economy.

Keeping Jobs in Wisconsin and America
• American Jobs Act - Prohibits the state from granting contracts to companies who send jobs overseas. Rep. Mark Honadel had the chance to pass this bipartisan bill last session but voted to kill the bill. [AB 307, 2/26/08]
• Double funding for the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program - This successful program provides assistance to Wisconsin businesses so they can continue to train their workforce to compete in the global economy.

Making Life More Affordable for Middle Class Families
• Wall Street Accountability Act - Will require the oil companies and big businesses that make money in Wisconsin to disclose exactly what taxes they pay and which ones they don’t pay. Rep. Mark Honadel had the chance to support this bill but voted to kill it. [AB 751, 2/26/08]
• Enforce existing anti-gouging law - In 2006 Wisconsin passed a tough, bipartisan anti-gouging law to prohibit retailers from raising the price of goods by more than 10 percent during natural disasters or national emergencies. Republicans and their special interest allies are now trying to undo the law in order to allow retailers to raise prices by 25 percent. [Assembly Judiciary and Ethics Committee, 9/10/08]

“As a member of the Wisconsin Legislature I will stand up for the hard working men and women of this state and convey the message, that it’s not handouts or charity that are going to solve our many problems or fix our many flaws, but rather an honest and renewed mindset of investing in ourselves. That mindset will lift us from the depths of despair and bring us to the heights of prosperity. We can do better, we must do better, and we will do better. ”

-Glen Brower

At first glance, I’m struck by the fact that Rep. Honadel voted AGAINST a bill that would have prohibited the state from granting contracts to companies who send jobs overseas. After all, I don’t think our state government should be in the business of rewarding companies that outsource jobs by awarding them state contracts. I’m also wondering why Rep. Honadel would oppose anti-gouging legislation, because I don’t know of anyone who supports gouging - except maybe Rep. Honadel.

On Thursday, Wisconsin State Assembly candidate Glen Brower announced he had received a key endorsement of his candidacy for the State Assembly. The Wisconsin State AFL-CIO endorsed Brower, who issued a statement on the endorsement:

***For Immediate Release***
August 28, 2008

With the Labor Day weekend quickly approaching, Glen Brower candidate for the 21st Assembly District receives Wisconsin State AFL-CIO endorsement.

With an Economy in peril, gas prices hovering near $4, and news every day of more jobs being lost or shipped over seas, we need strong leadership perhaps more than ever before. The Wisconsin State AFL-CIO has long been a leader in protecting the rights of workers as well as their quality of life, but their still a lot work to be done.

They need the support of strong and proven leadership to ensure that the working men and women of our great state have a voice in Madison. Therefore, recently the AFL-CIO threw its support, along with 1,000 of their affiliated groups, behind Glen Brower.

“As Labor Day approaches I am honored by the endorsement of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO along with its 1,000 affiliated unions. Labor groups such as these have been vital in the creation of our middle class and the quality of life now enjoyed by many of our citizens. We need to make sure that the working men and women of this state are paid livable wages, have job security, and can afford good healthcare for their families.”
- Glen Brower

The Son of a Machinist and a retired Lieutenant Colonel from the United States Army, Glen knows the value of hard work and the many challenges that come with it. Because of Glen’s background and understanding of these values, we know we can count of him to fight for our working class.

Contact Person:
Scott Dettman
Brower for Assembly
Campaign Manager
sdettman@ymail.com
414-530-0725

To be fair, Rep. Mark Honadel has received two endorsements since August 4th, with one coming from Pro-Life Wisconsin (no surprise there) and the other coming from the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.

This endorsement is huge for Glen Brower, and it’s just another example of the momentum his campaign has.