Pratt's bitterness tour was an epic FAIL

Former City of Milwaukee alderman/mayor, Marvin Pratt raised many eyebrows when he endorsed Scott Walker for governor. It didn't take long for most people to realize that this was probably due to some lingering bitterness over his loss to Tom Barrett in the 2004 mayoral election. Others speculated that he was angling for a job with Walker. His reasons are almost irrelevant at this point because his efforts ended up being hugely unsuccessful.

When reports surfaced that Pratt was escorting Walker to Milwaukee churches, people assumed that it might help Walker make a dent in the African American vote. Those early assumptions clearly underestimated the savvy of the actual voters. Not only did Mayor Barrett command Milwaukee County (62% to 38%) but his strongest 47 wards statewide were in Milwaukee's African American majority neighborhoods. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Craig Gilbert reported today that Scott Walker had almost "zero support" in these wards. Here are some of the details that he provides:

In city ward 175, Barrett got 244 votes and Walker got one. In city ward 99, Barrett got 478 votes and Walker got two. Barrett got more than 99% of the vote in four Milwaukee wards, and 97% or more in 33 wards.

The bottom line is that voters in communities like mine were not fooled. They were all too familiar with Scott Walker's miserable record in Milwaukee County in general and for the African American community in particular (county layoffs of largely AA workers, mismanaged assistance programs, the destruction of public transit, repeatedly trying to close the MLK Community Center...etc). Marvin Pratt running around with Walker to local churches clearly did not change that reality. In fact Mayor Barrett's margins in many of these wards couldn't have numerically been much higher. It looks like Marvin Pratt's last second bitterness tour ended up being more of an epic FAIL.

MMAC Takes a Partisan Pass on Progress

Over the past week I have been publicly wondering why the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) has been so silent on high speed rail and all of the jobs and development that it has already brought to Milwaukee. While hundreds of current Milwaukee jobs, a new Milwaukee manufacturer, area suppliers and critical development are all hanging in the balance...MMAC has been content to stand mute.

On day six (Wednesday) they finally emerged from their increasingly isolated bunker to say that the high speed rail project really isn't that big of deal to them. And apparently new Milwaukee manufacturer Talgo is not that big of deal to them either. Likewise, MMAC is not very concerned about Talgo's area suppliers, the hundreds of current and future Talgo jobs, or the critical development of the former Tower Automotive site. This is not to even mention the 300 (non-Talgo) layoffs that have already occurred because of the stalled high speed rail project.

While I'm listing off the things that aren't such a big deal to MMAC, I certainly have to mention the City of Milwaukee. The city has been a very active partner with MMAC and area businesses in the areas of creating jobs and economic development (unlike the County). But by virtue of their "who cares" attitude on high speed rail, they are also proving themselves to be a lousy partners for the City of Milwaukee in the future. What kind of real partner is willing to so casually dismiss multi-millions of dollars in city investments in the high speed rail project? Those dollars include investing in the expansion of the Milwaukee Intermodel Station and in the aggressive efforts to successfully woo Talgo to Milwaukee. If I were a City of Milwaukee official, I would certainly have to think long and hard about whether I can afford to team-up with people that have such little regard for city interests/investments.

So what is the real reason that MMAC has taken a total pass on the high speed rail project and the jobs/commerce connected directly to it? Are these big powerful business elites simply fearful of an unchecked power-crazed governor-elect? I seriously doubt that since they very directly helped put him there (see their funnelling $400k in anonymous donations). No, it looks more and more like this recent election has finally inspired them to come-out of their partisan closet once and for all. Sadly it has also caused them to take a pass on manufacturing, commerce, jobs, development and progress in Milwaukee.

Renaissance of Jobs vs. Walker's Rubble

Three Cheers for the City of Milwaukee!

I was out of town last week (which is why there was no blogging) and the night before coming back home I heard about the deluge that was hitting Milwaukee. The first news that I got was from a relative that was watching my home while I was gone. They informed me that I had water in the basement. Later that evening there was a power outage at my home and I had difficulty communicating with that relative, which was maddening. (Thank goodness I didn't see this video until after I was home!)

Viewing the press conferences held by City of Milwaukee officials online was certainly encouraging. It was very clear that all aspects of city government from the Mayor's office to first responders, public works and health department officials had all risen to the occasion. In addition to online access, it was also helpful to get useful information from city officials doing interviews on national outlets such as the Weather Channel.

By the time I got back home and after the City sewer system was able to catch up, nearly all of the water in my basement had already gone down the floor drain. After cleaning out the basement and tossing things that had been damaged I called the City and their clean-up crews picked the stuff up only a handful of hours later.

Although there were certainly tragedies as a result of the flooding, there were also positives to take away from the experience. Neighbors helping neighbors and City of Milwaukee officials and workers showing that they are both ready and able to respond to emergencies in our community. Our tax dollars hard at work when we need it most.