Showing posts with label Tales From the Fridge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tales From the Fridge. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Tales From The Fridge: County Grounds
This is part of an ongoing series to see how true Scott Walker's claim to having kept all of his 2002 campaign promises really is.
In 2002, Scott Walker made a promise about the county grounds, including the Monarch Trail:
Oppose development of the northeast quadrant of County Grounds for anything other than state forest.
Anyone who has been a regular reader of Cog Dis or Milwaukee County First knows that this was a big lie.
Walker pushed to have the county grounds sold at a discount rate to a group of private land developers on the pretense of building an engineering school for UW-Milwaukee.
Now to make matters worse, to get this done, it looks increasingly likely that the tax payers will have to shell out more than $12 million to subsidize the private land speculators.
If Walker had hired competent economic development staffers, before he abolished the department, they could have greatly altered the outcome. They could've steered the school to be built in the Innovation Research Park, or even better yet, in the Park East Corridor.
Tally so far for Walker: Six promised made, zero promises kept.
In 2002, Scott Walker made a promise about the county grounds, including the Monarch Trail:
Oppose development of the northeast quadrant of County Grounds for anything other than state forest.
Anyone who has been a regular reader of Cog Dis or Milwaukee County First knows that this was a big lie.
Walker pushed to have the county grounds sold at a discount rate to a group of private land developers on the pretense of building an engineering school for UW-Milwaukee.
Now to make matters worse, to get this done, it looks increasingly likely that the tax payers will have to shell out more than $12 million to subsidize the private land speculators.
If Walker had hired competent economic development staffers, before he abolished the department, they could have greatly altered the outcome. They could've steered the school to be built in the Innovation Research Park, or even better yet, in the Park East Corridor.
Tally so far for Walker: Six promised made, zero promises kept.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Tales From The Fridge: Cronyism
This is part of an ongoing series to see how true Scott Walker's claim to having kept all of his 2002 campaign promises really is.
I have to admit, I'm going to enjoy this one.
In 2002, as part of the CRG platform that Scott Walker voluntarily agreed to, one of the promises had to do with cronyism:
For some of the names, we will depend on Cory Liebmann, who has already done a fantastic job of pointing out a number of Walker's cronies, to whom he has given cushy positions to, whether they were qualified or not:
I would also be lax if I omitted mentioning the many contracts that Walker has given out, usually on a no-bid basis, to friends of his campaign. People like Chris Kujawa or Edward Aprahamian to name but two of them.
Tally so far: Five promises made, zero promises kept.
I have to admit, I'm going to enjoy this one.
In 2002, as part of the CRG platform that Scott Walker voluntarily agreed to, one of the promises had to do with cronyism:
Implement a program to eliminate cronyism and nepotism in county government, including a review of all management and supervisory functions under the executive. Within 60 days.Not only did Walker fail to keep this promise, he flagrantly went in the exact opposite direction.
For some of the names, we will depend on Cory Liebmann, who has already done a fantastic job of pointing out a number of Walker's cronies, to whom he has given cushy positions to, whether they were qualified or not:
Consider some of the following:
- Jim Villa worked for Walker's campaigns bouncing between them and taxpayer financed county jobs.
- Robert Dennik, a former lobbyist and Walker campaign manager was appointed as head of the now nonexistent Milwaukee County Division of Economic and Community Development. Let's just say that his time there didn't go so well for him or for Milwaukee County.
- Tim Russell has repeatedly bounced back and forth between Walker campaigns and taxpayer funded positions (including a recent promotion). At one point he even took over the train wreck that was the Economic Development job (with not much more success).
- Walker wanted to give a county job to Chuck Grapentine even though he didn't even want to move to Milwaukee County. Chuck is the father of a former Walker aide.
- Cynthia Archer was appointed as head of Administrative Services in 2007. She was previously a top administrator for Walker's former Republican colleague in the State Assembly, Carol Kelso.
- David Bradley Carr had not been out of law school very long before Walker replaced a veteran member of the Ethics Board with him. It was reported at the time that a partner at a law firm suggested Carr to Walker. Several partners and members of that same law firm have also been big campaign contributors to Walker. But I'm sure that had nothing to do with it.
I think the title of a May 9, 2002 MJS story had it right when it said that "Walker has rewards in mind for backers".
It is worth noting that Tim Russell is currently under investigation for blurring the lines between his roles as county official and campaign staffer.
Added to this list, I would also point out Darlene Wink, who is the Co-Vice Chair of the Milwaukee County Republicans, and until caught politicking from Walker's office, was his Director of Constituent Services.
I would also be lax if I omitted mentioning the many contracts that Walker has given out, usually on a no-bid basis, to friends of his campaign. People like Chris Kujawa or Edward Aprahamian to name but two of them.
Tally so far: Five promises made, zero promises kept.
Tales From The Fridge: Term Limits
This is part of an ongoing series to see how true Scott Walker's claim to having kept all of his 2002 campaign promises really is.
In 2002, Scott Walker made two promises regarding the length of his term and term limits in general.
One of these promises, he made on his own, which reads:
He also never introduced that referendum for term limits.
In fact, even now he has subtly switched from endorsing two term limits and is up to three.
Tally so far is: Four promises made, zero promises kept.
In 2002, Scott Walker made two promises regarding the length of his term and term limits in general.
One of these promises, he made on his own, which reads:
Will not serve more than one full term (no longer than 2008)The other promise is one he signed on to as part of the CRG platform:
Introduce a referendum calling for term limits for the position of executive and county supervisor during 2002.Last I checked, this is 2010, and Walker is in the middle of his second full term as county executive.
He also never introduced that referendum for term limits.
In fact, even now he has subtly switched from endorsing two term limits and is up to three.
Tally so far is: Four promises made, zero promises kept.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Tales From The Fridge: Walker's Salary
This is part of an ongoing series to see how true Scott Walker's claim to having kept all of his 2002 campaign promises really is.
In 2002, Scott Walker made two promises regarding his salary as county executive.
One, which was one of his own, read:
As we had discussed earlier this year, Walker's first commercial bragged about giving some of his salary back, which he did do. But he did not reduce his salary.
In fact, due to a law written into the County Code of Ordinances, the county executive receives a raise every year as a cost of living adjustment.
So in reality, his salary has actually increased by a few thousand dollars while he has been county executive.
To make this false promise even more egregious, for the last two years, while people are losing their jobs and their homes, including the county workers that Walker laid off, he forewent his habit of giving his salary back, effectively giving himself a $50,000 a year raise.
He promptly used that money to buy a new house and a large swimming pool. Nice way to throw it in the face of the people losing their homes.
Now, to be fair, Walker couldn't legally cut his salary in the middle of a term. However, there was nothing preventing him from making a push to have it cut back at the beginning of his next term, which would have been only two years later.
End result: Two promises made, zero promises kept.
In 2002, Scott Walker made two promises regarding his salary as county executive.
One, which was one of his own, read:
Voluntarily reduce own salary to $78,850, within 30 days.The other, which was part of the CRG platform:
Immediately sign a waiver of all salary and benefit increases that were enacted after Jan. 1, 2000.First one of the bat and we find that he did not keep these promises.
As we had discussed earlier this year, Walker's first commercial bragged about giving some of his salary back, which he did do. But he did not reduce his salary.
In fact, due to a law written into the County Code of Ordinances, the county executive receives a raise every year as a cost of living adjustment.
So in reality, his salary has actually increased by a few thousand dollars while he has been county executive.
To make this false promise even more egregious, for the last two years, while people are losing their jobs and their homes, including the county workers that Walker laid off, he forewent his habit of giving his salary back, effectively giving himself a $50,000 a year raise.
He promptly used that money to buy a new house and a large swimming pool. Nice way to throw it in the face of the people losing their homes.
Now, to be fair, Walker couldn't legally cut his salary in the middle of a term. However, there was nothing preventing him from making a push to have it cut back at the beginning of his next term, which would have been only two years later.
End result: Two promises made, zero promises kept.
Tales From The Fridge: Scott Walker's Campaign Trail of Broken Promises
A couple of weeks ago, an editorial appeared in the Wausau Daily Herald regarding their chat with Scott Walker. The way the article started triggered a memory for me (emphasis mine):
Then when I watched the last debate between Walker and Mark Neumann, Walker's closing remark brought it home. Walker boasted about the promises he made then, and how he told people to stick them on their fridge.
What was outrageous is he said how he kept ALL of them.
"(Explitive deleted)," I said to the TV screen. I knew he would be lucky to have kept any of them.
With the help of some friends, I was able to get a hard copy and the link to not only his fridge promises, but all of them. These promises include the ones he made himself and the ones he agreed to sign for the grossly inappropriately named group Citizens for Responsible Government.
So starting tonight, and continuing over the next several days, we will look at Walker's promises and how well he did in keeping them. Because there are so many of them, if any other bloggers want to join in, the more the merrier.
Republican candidate Scott Walker promised Tuesday to create 250,000 new jobs in Wisconsin by the end of his first term if he's elected this fall as governor.I thought that sounded familiar and it reminded me of the time when he first ran for county executive in 2002.
Walker said he's so confident his policies will encourage new jobs, voters can hold him accountable for that number.
Then when I watched the last debate between Walker and Mark Neumann, Walker's closing remark brought it home. Walker boasted about the promises he made then, and how he told people to stick them on their fridge.
What was outrageous is he said how he kept ALL of them.
"(Explitive deleted)," I said to the TV screen. I knew he would be lucky to have kept any of them.
With the help of some friends, I was able to get a hard copy and the link to not only his fridge promises, but all of them. These promises include the ones he made himself and the ones he agreed to sign for the grossly inappropriately named group Citizens for Responsible Government.
So starting tonight, and continuing over the next several days, we will look at Walker's promises and how well he did in keeping them. Because there are so many of them, if any other bloggers want to join in, the more the merrier.
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