Brew City Brawler

Scott Walker's right:Milwaukee County should follow Indianapolis' lead

At least when it comes to electing politicians.

What does the Brawler mean? Go ask Alice (from comments below):

I would be careful if I was Walker throwing Indy around as a model. The mayor there is the equivalent of the county exec here. Despite these impressive stats, the two term mayor who everyone thought was unbeatable just lost to an underfunded challenger that no one gave a chance to win.

Here's a story. (Obviously political allegiances have to be switched to make the analogy hold, etc.)

Can we be that lucky? God, if you can make this happen ... I'll totally buy a Chris Hinton jersey!

Scott Walker is running on competence? Seriously?

Scott Walker was elected by a public irate over the pension scandal.

And yet, six years later, we're still hearing tales of lack of oversight. From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

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.

Some large overpayments were made in several disability cases in which recipients' pensions were not reduced by significant other income they earned in non-county jobs, the county says in its latest filing.

Most of the errors involve the county's failure to track down certain retirees who left county employment years earlier and are owed pensions.

In addition, County Executive Scott Walker has been notified that the IRS is now auditing a county pension program that covers certain temporary employees not enrolled in the regular county retirement system. The audit's scope is secret, but pension officials previously said that separate program had not made payments to several thousand former workers typically owed $100 or less.

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.

Walker declined to comment Wednesday, saying county pension lawyers had advised him and Pension Board officials to remain silent.

Being county executive is hard work!

Besides not maintaining the baseball diamond at Washington Park or repairing the rutted roads of countless other parks, besides not developing a comprehensive transportation system for the county, besides not managing HOC -- what the hell has Scott Walker been doing?

115 new pension payout errors. What secretary will Walker fire now?

Local boards of directors -- imagine what Scott Walker could do for your company!

Perhaps Scott Walker should seek private-sector opportunities in Indianapolis

A lowlight from yesterday's JSOnline chat with hopefully soon to be outgoing Milwaukee County executive Scott Walker:

Q: Andrew of Milwaukee - Scott, Can you name a single prosperous, booming, world class city in the world that does not have a modern rail transit system? (Don't say Milwaukee, it is not prosperous, booming or world class). Why don't you understand how rail systems are necessary to build dense and prosperous cities?

A: Scott Walker - Andrew, Indianapolis does not have a rail system. Here are some interesting facts from their website: • Indianapolis is 10th in the nation when it comes to the production of fast-growth, super-achieving companies. (Inc. Magazine, August 2006) • Indianapolis has exceeded job growth expectations and outperformed other cities in the wake of the 2001 recession. In addition, the Indianapolis metropolitan area was the only large city tracked by the Chicago Fed's region to experience job growth between 2000 and 2005. (Federal Reserve Bank, June 2006) • Indianapolis is the 8th best logistics metro in the Midwest. (Expansion Management, June 2006) • Indianapolis is the 10th best place for business and careers in a ranking of the 200 largest metropolitan areas. (Forbes, May 2006) • Indianapolis ranks as the #3 least-costly large city to do business. (KMPG Competitive Alternatives Study, 2006) They are, however, discussing a Bus Rapid Transit (like the system we are promoting). BRT is the wave of the future with nearly 20 major urban areas moving in that direction. It has many of the same benefits as rail at a fraction of the cost.

Rather than making the case for why Milwaukee doesn't need a modern rail system, Scott Walker flaks for the Indianapolis tourist board. WIthout even going into whether it makes sense to compare the two cities. Yes, Walker "answers" the question but does so in a way that reinforces ma Brawler's verdict of him: weasel. (Also, Walker has been in office six years and the best he can say is he is "promoting" a system like BRT?)

A modern rail system would spur development in the city -- the major economic engine in the county. And improving the transportation system would makes the region more competitive. And it would facilitate better connection with Chicago. One big difference between the two cities is that Milwaukee benefits -- or stands to benefit -- from being in the orbit of one of the true global cities in the U.S.: the great beast Chicago. Improving Improving our connectitivity to the greater Chicago metropole -- as a modern rail system would -- improves Milwaukee's chances of being relevant in a globalizing economy.

Meanwhile, Capper points out another howler from the chat: Walker's claim that he is neither pro nor anti-transit.

And did Walker seriously not get a question about his recent ad featuring actors standing in for Milwaukee County residents?

Apparently Scott Walker can't find any Milwaukee County residents who support him

What's the phrase? Oh, yeah: Amateur hour.

Scott Walker has a new ad up in which he talks to a cross-section of folks about their concerns. His campaign insists that the folks are real people ... until they're forced to reveal, no, they're actors.

The Journal Sentinel's Greg Borowski had the story:

Earlier today, a blog post referenced the newest Scott Walker TV ad. In it, Walker aide Tim Russell said the folks attesting to their belief in Milwaukee -- and in Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker -- were all "real people."

Now comes this clarification, via email, from Russell:

"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."

Timmeh: Your answer wasn't unclear -- it was a lie.

The metaphorical richness of this story cannot be overstated. The Brawler hopes someone raises it in Scott Walker's online chat tomorrow.

H/t Xoff.

A question for Scott Walker

Apparently Scott Walker's going to be holding an online chat tomorrow at JSonline. Perhaps he'll even show up.

I can't make it, sadly, but could someone throw in this question:

Scott: The Journal Sentinel on Monday described you thusly:

Scott Walker, the incumbent and a former Republican state legislator, wants to make the race about taxes, crime and competence.

Could you please point to evidence that you have, in fact, demonstrated competence during your run as county executive? I mean, giving yourself a $50,000 raise is a neat trick. But when I look at the state of public transportation, when I look at problems at HOC, when I look at the blighted state of the park system, when I look at the ongoing pension problems you vowed to correct when you were elected, when I look at the spelling in various press releases you send to Charlie Sykes and other non-county residents to spin your line, I see precious little evidence of competence.

Let me pass the keyboard to Jim Mora:

Competence? You're talking competence? Competence? Don't talk to me about competence! Competence?

Heckuva job, Scottie! Pay for non-performance

Xoff got it exactly right in his discussion of Scott Walker's decision to give himself a $50 K pay raise:

Is the county executive overpaid at his full salary of $129,000 a year? No, not if he/she is doing his/her job. It's a big job with a lot of responsibility.

The thing is, Walker hasn't been doing the job. He's been mismanaging county government, running it into the ground, all in the name of fiscal responsibility. In fact, it's fiscal irresponsibility, but he's hoping to get out of the courthouse before the chickens come home to roost.

After Walker, expect the deluge.

He's played a shell game with the taxpayers, taking credit for a "surplus" this year while the county's parks, bus system, and infrastructure deteriorate.

Deciding that his performance is worth a $50,000 raise is equivalent to the giving multi-million dollar bonuses to Wall Street and corporate execs when they leave a business they have run aground.

Scott Walker once mused that his experience as county executive would serve him well in the private sector. Though obviously he's not too eager to test those waters. But let's be clear: If Walker attempted a money grab like this in the private sector -- based on zero results --  a responsible board of directors would have him out on his ear. Pronto.

Heckuva Job, Scottie! Scott Walkers unremitting war against Milwaukee

In discussing a recent Scott Walker ad, Pundit Nation says Walker was a "lowly, unaccomplished state representative."

Usually, The Brawler would applaud the use of those adjectives (yes, in this instance lowly is an adjective) in connection with Walker. But Pundit Nation errs when he describes Walker as unaccomplished. For Walker was quite accomplished in voting for a bill -- any bill -- that would help Milwaukee or the people residing therein.

And it's important to remember that. Because when people look at our city's crumbling parks (can't wait to see how those cracked roads and walks will look after this winter!), the city's hollowed out bus system or an utterly dysfunctional House of Corrections, their initial reaction may be: Surely Scott Walker would fix these things if only he had the money.

But that's quite naive. Because history has shown that if Walker is committed to anything, it's doing things that undermine the infrastructure and the people of Milwaukee.

An April 14, 2002 story by Greg Borowski actually does a fair job of cataloguing positions Walker took as a state representative. Many of which, the Brawler would argue, are counter to the interests of the people of Milwaukee.  His support of voter ID is one. Given that a voter ID requirement places a burden on the poor and elderly -- and Milwaukee has plenty of both -- it's not something that's in the best interest of the city (particularly since there is no evidence that voter fraud has been anything approaching a significant problem in our elections).

And there's more where that came from:

The Milwaukee County Labor Council cites two Walker votes against raising the state minimum wage, one in the 1993-'94 session, another in 1999-2000.

...

In 1999, Walker sponsored a budget provision to require a countywide public referendum before any system could be built here, even if it was limited to the City of Milwaukee. In addition, the measure applies only to Milwaukee County, not a proposed rail system in Dane County or Kenosha's street-car system.

That drew cries of foul from local officials, who said it unfairly singled out Milwaukee and was an attack on local control.

On other county issues:

-- Hoan Bridge: In 1997, Walker offered a budget amendment to prohibit the use of any state money to pay for a bike path on the Hoan Bridge in Milwaukee, an issue that recently has taken on a new life. He remains opposed.

-- Government structure: In the wake of the county pension scandal, Walker introduced measures to lift the mandate that county executive be an elected position and to bar members of the County Board from raising their salaries during an existing term.

-- Union bargaining: A current Walker bill would mandate a different bargaining system for the county and the Milwaukee Deputy Sheriff's Association, a union that has endorsed him.

The change would mirror the system imposed on the city and Milwaukee Police Association, in which an arbitrator can decide disputes on an issue-by-issue basis, instead of choosing from the full offer from each side.

City officials say the set-up discourages the union from settling, leads to high costs to prepare for arbitration and, ultimately, forces taxpayers to pay more.

-- State aid: In 1999, Walker introduced a measure that would have eliminated the long-standing shared revenue program for municipalities, instead giving cities and towns the ability to create their own sales taxes.

Critics say this would lead to great disparities, with communities like Wauwatosa -- home of Mayfair Mall -- benefiting, while other cities, such as Milwaukee, would be forced to raise their taxes so high it would discourage people from shopping there.

Walker also has voted for numerous budgets that included a freeze on shared revenue.

This year, Gov. Scott McCallum has called for the elimination of all state aid as a way to help close the state's $1.1 billion deficit.

Local officials have argued that such a change will be devastating and force major tax hikes.

Walker voted against an Assembly version of the budget that would phase out the payments and immediately shift some $26 million earmarked for Milwaukee to rural and suburban areas. He said he opposed the budget plan because it did not first identify how much could be saved through consolidation of local government functions.

In another vote on the issue, Walker voted last year to approve a state budget that shifted several million dollars in shared revenue earmarked from a handful of counties, including Milwaukee County, to Lafayette County.

Although an amendment was offered to delete the change, Walker opposed it. Walker says Milwaukee County lobbyists came to him too late, after the budget itself had already gone to conference committee, so it could no longer be amended on the floor.

A vote against the entire budget, he said, would have killed $400,000 set aside to create a state forest on the Milwaukee County grounds, a plan Walker helped develop to resolve the thorny issue of development on the grounds.

Despite no longer being in the state Assembly, it seems that Walker still feels more beholden to the disgraced Scott Jensen than he does to the people of Milwaukee. Let's hope they remind him of that in a few weeks.

Heckuva Job, Scottie! Walker Throws Milwaukee Under the Bus

Another day, another story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel of  the Milwaukee County Transit System decline under Scott Walker's watch: 

Together, those developments mean that every effort to improve public transit in southeastern Wisconsin - or even to stabilize funding for existing transit systems - has ground to a halt, probably until after local and legislative elections.

Milwaukee County bus ridership last year fell 9%, to 42.5 million, the lowest level since the county took over the system in 1975. By contrast, national bus and train ridership hit a 50-year high of 10.3 billion, driven by rising gas prices and traffic congestion.

County officials have raised fares, cut service or both every year since 2000, moves that transit officials and regional planners have cited as major factors in the ridership decline. Fare-box revenue increased 4%, however, to $42.6 million, reflecting last year's 14% boost in weekly pass prices, from $14 to $16, transit spokeswoman Jacqueline Janz said.

The Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission has warned that a 35% service cut could be needed if new local or state funding isn't found by 2010.

Truly this is frightening stuff that demonstrates Milwaukee cannot take much more of Scott Walker. But to truly appreciate the miserable failure that is Scott Walker's tenure as county executive, let's flash back to Walker's vision of the role of buses six years ago, before he was elected the first time.

From the March 29, 2002 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

WALKER: Opposed to light rail transportation systems. Supports a regional transportation authority that could include freeways, airports and mass transit. Says authority could include Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington counties. Says lower bus fares should be considered as a way to boost ridership.

From the April 28, 2002 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Q. The rubber tire system is vanishing. Service is constantly being cut back. Will that continue under you as county exec?

Walker: I think part of it would be looking at the market. That one (the current trolleys), you're looking at a system that's much more of a summer or warmer-weather type system, where they've tried to run it a little bit beyond that territory. When you look whether it's conventions or it's just attractions in general, with the summertime elapsing and (then) we hibernate for nine months and come out in full for three months and take advantage of every festival possible.

I think the other thing -- and one of the frustrations, in part, ties in with light rail -- is that (the trolleys were) viewed as a temporary fix until another rail-based system was put into place. There's never been the kind of promotion that you have with these type of systems in other parts of the country, where they have distinctive stops, where they . . . literally have a red line painted down the street and other things so that visitors, whether it's conventioneers or tourists, actually know (where the trolley runs), having in many ways some of the consistency of a fixed system without having the cost of a fixed infrastructure system. So that someone who's not familiar with the downtown area knows where it is, where the stops are, where they can get on and off, and where it goes to.

No question about it: Walker has serious skillz at not answering questions!

Q. I wasn't necessarily referring just to the downtown trolley. I was talking about the whole bus system. Service is being cut back constantly in the overall county bus system. I was wondering if that would continue.

Jim Ryan, gentleman that he was, stepped in to answer the question. Walker responded: what he said! And followed up:

Walker: ...  guess the other thing I'd expand on is I think (that) beyond just a transportation link, there's a very real economic issue involved, as well, not just within the county. Clearly you want to make sure that . . . the work force that's available in the county can get connected to jobs within the county, and the transit system plays a key role in that. But again, I go back to regional transportation issues, that increasingly, more and more jobs are appearing outside of the county borders. And while there are some limited links into Waukesha County, for example, there are not, in many cases, a reliable link . . . . There's got to be a reliable system so that people can depend on getting to and from work if a job happens to appear in a surrounding county, and they have to go live in Milwaukee County. I think there's a key connection to the whole jobs issue, not just in terms of transportation.

Yes, there is a connection to "the whole jobs issue" -- that essence of a Marquette University education clearly coming through -- and far from improving the system, you've made it worse. An honorable man would step aside and let new blood into a position he doesn't plan to hold for very long anyway. You, Scott Walker, clearly are not that man.

Hey Journal Sentinel: Why did Charlie Sykes get "voter fraud" report before the mayor?

Dear Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Daniel Bice had an interesting column the other day about how both the police chief and the mayor were blindsided by the release of an 18-month old report on voter fraud that -- weakly -- made the case WI should adopt voter ID laws and dump same-day registration.

It didn't answer the question of why the report was leaked to Charlie Sykes and his apparatchiks.

Patrick McIlheran, demonstrating he's more a copy editor than reporter at heart, hails the leak as "whistleblowing." Which might be true if it exposed wrongdoing by MKE leaders or revealed something that the good people of Milwaukee didn't already know (that there were problems with the 2004 election).

The report's stealthy release didn't do either of those things. What it did do is keep the meme of extensive voter fraud alive .... even if the facts reported are old news and don't demonstrate a compelling need to overhaul the state's election laws. (And to what extent do we trust the judgment of investigators who say -- with a straight face -- that there was a question whether Gwen Moore would be elected to Congress?)

The report's release does fit in with the RPW's efforts to raise the specter of voter fraud -- often based on zero or crap evidence, It's done so in the past two election cycles. And none other than the Brawler predicted they would do so just in time for the County Executive race. Is the Brawler a prophet? No! He just knows a pattern when he sees one.

Some questions you might want to ask:

1. Was there any contact between the RPW/RPW surrogates and the people who leaked the report?

2. Was there any contact between Scott Walker/his surrogates and the people who leaked the report?

3. Who actually wrote the recommendations in the report?

4. Was anyone given a sneak peek of the report?

5. Why the timing of the report?

The Brawler suspects the people of Milwaukee would be interested in finding out whether their tax dollars funded a report that, through the cooperation of some rogue cops and the RPW, was aimed at making it more difficult for people in Milwaukee to vote.

But that's just a hunch.

When did Scott Walker learn about the police "voter fraud" report?

If I'm MPD Chief Ed Flynn -- angry about getting blindsided by a police report raising the specter of voter fraud in Milwaukee -- I'm thinking I'm checking if the people who pushed the report had any ties to Scott Walker or his affiliates.

Why? Because Walker's the guy who stands to gain the most from the perception of problems in Milwaukee voting. If Lena Taylor can drive significant turnout in Milwaukee, she stands a solid chance of winning. Using the report to cast doubt on Milwaukee poll results -- or to whip up the troops -- certainly would benefit Walker.

Recall way back in September that the Brawler said this:

Walker's people -- and Sykes et al -- will raise the specter of "phantom voters" and pandemic fraud. (Even though St. Steven M. Biskupic, who pressed plenty of dubious cases in his time, conceded he could find no evidence of fraud in the 04 election, dashing the fantasies of many conservatives). This is an easy way to possibly get names struck from the rolls, throw the bureaucracy into a tizzy and also drive turnout for your guy who are outraged at what Charlie Sykes is saying is happening in the city.

And on election day expect plenty of belligerent poll watchers challenging city voters on specious grounds and creating long lines that may turn away folks who, you know, have to get back to work.

And one can only guess at Walker's other machinations to suppress the vote in the city. Because keeping down the city vote is going to be critical to his reelection strategy. After all, if he loses, he's gotta go into the private sector.

Now, obviously the Brawler has no idea whether the people who pushed this report are in cahoots with, or even would vote for, Walker. Or if Walker or his people knew anything about it. But it's certainly an angle worth exploring.