A Political Leader Who Actually Gets It!

I posted this at Milwaukee County First, but it is so amazing that an elected leader who actually gets it and has the fortitude to speak the truth out loud deserves all the kudos he can get..

So I and my brothers and sisters in the union and #wiunion should stand and applaud Supervisor Eyon Biddle for being the voice of reason rising about the din of the Tea Party Mad Hatters:

Milwaukee County Supervisor Eyon Biddle, Sr., released the following statement in hopes that the County Executive is as gracious to workers in budget as he is to his cabinet members.

“Our County Executive is well within his right to give raises to his Cabinet heads. Parks Director Sue Black, as well as other department heads, do quality work and manage efficient services. They work hard and should be compensated fairly. Everyone feels like they deserve a raise, and they probably should get a raise. At the same time, we live in a time of great economic distress. There are more people doing more work for less. In these tough economic times, we have to be sensitive to the fact that the taxpayers that fund these raises are under duress as well. We have to respect that.

“Department heads such as Sue Black and others don’t do their work alone. There are many workers on the mid- to lower-levels that do efficient, high-quality work. I hope the County Executive will be as fair to those workers as he is to certain cabinet members. Without dedicated public workers doing their jobs at an efficient level, department heads wouldn’t
look as good. They don’t do the work alone. I hope he doesn’t send the message that department heads are valuable, but those that work under them are not. We have union workers that have taken hits. We have nonunion workers that have taken even more hits over the years. We, as County leaders, should always respect taxpayers. And, we should also treat all workers fairly, not just the cabinet.”

The thing that I find really sad is that his was the only voice. Where were the others?

But my fellow Milwaukeeans should keep a close eye on Biddle. I have a strong feeling he's going to be moving up and fast. How could he not, when he has the clear vision and the spine to come out and say it the way it is.