Franklin Today

CCP Taylor deserves another three years on Council

Perhaps the alderman with the most controversy in Franklin is its Common Council President, Steve Taylor. Taylor is up for re-election tomorrow, running against the individual he removed from office three years ago, Pete Kosovich. While both candidates make points about moving Franklin Forward, I have to say Taylor's points stand out much further.

Looking at the issues, Kosovich is angling heavily on two items: Taxes and 27th Street. Unfortunately, these items actually clash in a big way for him, and don't really generate as much attention as I'm sure Pete would like. During the times when Pete was an alderman, all of Franklin's leaders truly ignored the vast majority of the city in terms of economic development and threw all their eggs in one basket, that being 27th Street. This street's planning began in the 1990s and Franklin residents are still waiting for the great landscaping and wonderful rehabilitation of the rural-looking road today. Furthermore, half of the city sees the 27th Street corridor due to it being the easternmost road of our community. In the meantime, areas where residents would label our business or civic districts received little-to-no attention.

Taylor understands this and does get the need for community pride within rather than on the edges. His strong support for our Sabers also goes hand-in-hand, and indicates that he has some knowledge and concern amongst the parents for true community facilities and amenities. At the Candidate Forum, he did express concern as to the funding, but remained interested to see if there can be some possibilities in getting something accomplished.

The only negative for Taylor is that he can be somewhat entrenched on certain positions and can give off feelings of being inflexible, which has been noticed as a problem. Fortunately, though, signs are looking good that as he's continuing his tenure as alderman, his views on matters are also becoming more open and he's showing signs of willing to learn more.

Narrow minds are not needed in these tough economic times, especially in a community like ours. Franklin is truly in a fight for regional notice in terms of luring businesses into the city and attracting residents to live and play within its borders. A person like Steve Taylor is needed to help get the job done. This is why Franklin Today encourages its readers in the 4th District to RE-ELECT STEVE TAYLOR tomorrow.

Wilhelm proves there are still honest politicians who work for the people

A day after Alderwoman Kristen Wilhelm announced that she is seeking re-election as District 3 Alderperson, District 3 resident and now Plan Commissioner John Michlig provided a warm and kind endorsement. In it, he pointed out several items Wilhelm accomplished during her tenure so far as alderwoman.

Serving with her on multiple committees past and present, I've grown to know that she is one of a very few and rare politicians. While most claim as they're running for office that they are going to represent the people and hear their concerns, as well as bust their buns to get their voices heard, unfortunately those words head out the door once they're elected. That wasn't the case for Wilhelm, who didn't do the obvious campaign ploys, but rather made a focus on the fact that Franklin has a very limited Sense of Community, and how that needs to change for the better. The voters in her district must have been stunned, I'm sure, since in Franklin every politician seems to be limited to only speaking of taxes, taxes and, yeah, taxes. However, they must have liked a candidate that was focused on more than one issue to work on, and probably thought she had some spunk because the idea of a Sense of Community ultimately brings in more tax revenue and can result in lower tax bills. It kills two birds with one stone, and that's a big benefit for everyone.

Now the "old guard" on the council has latched onto campaign phrases that Wilhelm used, including her desire for that Sense of Community. There is a true focus on connecting our neighborhoods, business districts and civic centers rather than just mere proclamations. While we do not have an Economic Development Director promoting Franklin outside the city limits, Wilhelm has sought out and informed businesses, especially restaurants, that Franklin can be a new location for them. With this, she is continuing to work to make Franklin a better place to live and play.

Looking more at the civic end of things, Wilhelm's e-mail list is burgeoning with residents from her 3rd District and from every aldermanic district in the city. Her dedication to keep Franklin residents informed on what's happening in their community has proved to be of significant use to each and every one of us. I say Wilhelm has done an excellent job at maintaining government transparency and encouraging the people to be involved in their government, which is exactly what some organizations like the TEA Parties seek and demand from politicians.

Having spoken with her opponent, Bob Schick, I know that he has similar ideas and would appreciate more cooperative government with other entities, public and private. Schick has mentioned one of the biggest issues that truly motivates him is that our schools are truly lacking in so many departments, which hurts Franklin's image to the rest of the metropolitan area. To that I say this, and have told Schick this many a time: If Schick decides to put his hat in the ring for the 2012 School Board elections, he can count on strong support from many. Schick is correct on his top concerns, but those concerns can be addressed on a greater level with stronger vision and leadership on the School Board, not Common Council.

As John Michlig noted in a comment on this site, "Without regard to Mr. Schick's intentions, ideology or personality, the very idea that he could presume to take over for a person as hard-working, conscientious, creative, collaborative, inclusive, and proactive as Kristen Wilhelm is simply beyond the pale." Wilhelm has shown us that there certainly is a light at the end of our community's tunnel, and that's why Franklin Today is providing this endorsement and encourages its readers in the 3rd District to RE-ELECT KRISTEN WILHELM as its representative.

Works, Nielson will help steer Board in right direction

With all the controversies and discussion remaining on the aldermanic candidates for the 3rd & 4th Districts, nothing has been really said of those running for School Board. In this case, the School Board race is important because the entire school district, which holds a vast majority of Franklin residents, can cast their votes and cast their influence on these two seats.

In 2008, I was pleased to endorse David Works and Linda Witkowski, believing that they had the courage to help steer a new wave of School Board Members in a new direction. When they got elected, Works and Witkowski began a trend that saw 5 incumbent Board Members of Franklin Public Schools choose not to seek re-election. It also was the first full year after the failed 2007 referendum where a new middle school and high school were highlighted at an impressive cost with no details, no plans, and no locations for the schools.

Three years have passed, and have Works and Witkowski made the grade? I think one of them did, while the other was moving forward but decided to associate themself with an interesting "ally". 

Linda Witkowski, with all the knowledge and experience she could have brought to the table, decided in recent months to begin taking positions with Board Member Janet Evans, once a true "lone wolf" on the School Board. This included a push to make Evans the School Board President, and once that failed, Vice President. Given Evans' constant votes against the children of Franklin Public Schools, against moving Franklin Forward, and along with her firebrand attitude that can be rather intimidating and extremely negative at times, it doesn't put Witkowski in a good light at all.

This is why Witkowski needs to be replaced with newcomer Tim Nielson. Tim is a concerned parent with a great business background, and brings much to the table if he's on the School Board. I have known of the positions and issues concerning the Nielson Family for a very long time, well before the Robinwood situation became big news. The Nielsons are the true real deal in terms of being concerned parents wanting to do something right for Franklin's children.

Retaining David Works and putting Tim Nielson on the School Board also promotes what many city and community leaders are beginning to discuss relative to a "Central Park" in Franklin. This park could (and should) be the new home of several Saber athletic programs, which would mean less cost to taxpayers and newer facilities for our youth athletes, who have proven that they are some of the finest in the State of Wisconsin time and again. I have always been appreciative of Works and fellow Board Member Melissa Klein being strong advocates of looking at ALL options for the future of Saber athletics. With the addition of Nielson, I remain immensely positive that he would join Klein and Works on this very important matter where many parents want results.

So when all of us living in the Franklin School District go to the polls, please strongly consider casting your votes for DAVID WORKS and TIM NIELSON.

Blogger feels "insulted"; rails aldermen on budgets

The other day, Franklin blogger Kevin Fischer put up a blog post discussing why he is supporting Pete Kosovich and "the opponent" of Kristen Wilhelm on April 5th. Kevin is a 3rd District voter, so his household can certainly put their words into action at the polls that day with Wilhelm's re-election bid. What's so frustrating about the post is how it simply focuses on one issue.

Granted, Fischer openly admits he's a "one issue" voter, but it seems a bit naive to cast your vote simply based on taxes and nothing else in one's community. Furthermore, when Fischer brings up his chiding of the two incumbents, he calls out his alderperson, Kristen Wilhelm, as apparently breaking a promise. You see, when a candidate has a conversation with someone at a fundraiser, that somehow equals to making promises and pledges...but I digress. Fischer writes:

Wilhelm told me she had heard from many concerned property taxpayers that property taxes were too high and that she would vote accordingly. I asked her several times if she meant it because I wouldn’t forget. Wilhelm assured me she would do everything she could to control taxing and spending.

After that paragraph, he continues on with remarks on how she apparently didn't do this. He ends up essentially labeling this inaction as an "insult" to him. To add some confusion to the logic, Wilhelm seconding motions to support Alderman Steve Olson on budget reducing measures isn't enough, either. Forget the whole point that if Alderman Olson didn't have a second on his motions, they would have died and never been brought to vote, let alone discussion. Therefore, the second to the motion is just as important as the maker of the motion. It takes two to tango on proposals, which Wilhelm did several times on Olson's proposals. Lastly on this particular matter, if Wilhelm would have made the motions, Olson probably would have been a bit peeved since they were his ideas and suggestions. It's called common courtesy and respect.

Looking at the budgets and reviewing Fischer's recollection of his conversation with Wilhelm at a fundraiser, I'd say Wilhelm (and Alderman Steve Taylor) did their parts to control spending. Some bloggers seem to forget that prior to 2008, their readers were paying city taxes with yearly levy increases of over 5%. At times, it was flirting with 6%. After the 2008 elections, the levy increases were almost cut in half, from 5-6% to 2.5-3%. In my book, that's called the start of controlling spending in the community.

To bring tax levies down to 0% in one swoop from the 2008 budget to the 2009 budget, there would have been significant cuts to services that residents depend on and enjoy. The fact that the budget's levy increases have been cut in half while maintaining (even adding) excellent services and that "quality of life" factor in the community is great news for taxpayers. With additional revenue coming from the business park and the city's recent agreement with Waste Management, expect those levy increases to perhaps drop even further.

What frustrates me are when remarks like Fischer's are made without any regard as to where tax dollars are going or what they are supporting. If Fischer or other bloggers don't want quality police, fire or paramedic services, that's fine. If they don't want any parks or community amenities, that's fine. If they don't want to see our community remaining competitive with our neighboring suburbs in terms of quality services and features, that's fine too. If they and those who share those views want that to occur, then feel free to witness our fine community lose whatever clout it has today as a high quality, top-of-the-notch suburb in the Milwaukee Metropolitan Area. 

To me, to my family, that would be a much bigger insult; to go one step forward from 2008-2011, and then take two steps back. Due to that, I encourage this to my readers: 

To continue Putting Franklin First and moving our community in a positive direction, promoting both the need for community "quality of life" amenities & features while cutting wasteful spending, VOTE April 5th for KRISTEN WILHELM in the 3rd District and STEVE TAYLOR in the 4th District.

Expect individual endorsement pieces on both Wilhelm and Taylor's bids as April 5th closes in.

Janet Evans is now truly "In The Race"

Janet Evans informed me during a conversation last week that she had submitted her Declaration of Candidacy papers in early December for School Board member for the April 7, 2009 election. She said she had also attended the December 18th informational meeting presented by Franklin Public Schools on “What Does It Take To Be A Board Member?” Also in attendance were three other individuals but none of them, as of that night, had submitted papers. Janet also noted that School Board President, Dave Szychlinski, mentioned he had received a phone call from one other interested citizen as of the 18th.

Since Janet’s papers had already been submitted, and she already attends most School Board meetings, she didn’t really have any burning questions for Dave Szychlinski or Dr. Steve Patz, who were running the session. Most of the questions presented were concerns from one attendee regarding time commitment - - how many emails and phone calls does a Board Member receive, how long meetings last, and how long does it take to learn the ropes, so to speak. She quoted Mr. Szychlinski as saying that being a School Board member was “a fun job” and believes he glossed over the responsibilities.

Janet said that after spending the past year attending meetings and following this School Board before and after the last election, if she had been telling the group “What Does It Take To Be A Board Member?” she would have said, "If you run for this position, you had better be committed to representing every student…and every taxpayer.  You had  better plan on listening and communicating.  You had better plan on being committed to the job, and you had better plan on thinking carefully about everything that comes before you.   Because in the end, you want the students to achieve and succeed, and it’s the citizens who will pay for it, and it’s you who will be held accountable, especially if you fail. This is a serious job."

On a personal note, I warmly welcome Ms. Evans into the School Board race as a candidate. I will be supporting her and thus endorsing her right now for the April elections. One thing I noticed about Janet is that her heart is definitely in the right place, and that she does have a passion to maintain a high quality education for our students. Keep in mind folks that I don't take School Board endorsements lightly; while Ms. Evans and another new Board member are in office for the next three years, both of my sisters will be attending Franklin High School. I certainly would hope that their education would be similar if not better than the education I received several years ago.

On another note, I'll also go on record by saying that I believe due to her current attendance at Common Council meetings she will be a strong catalyst in getting city/school district relations back on track. This is an absolute MUST, especially with regards to a potential community center, rec projects, and beginning to help promote various nonprofit organizations trying to get community wellness and beneficial projects, such as the Briscoe Family YMCA and the Franklin Cultural Arts Center.

I hope many of you will keep Janet in mind for the next few months, and in the end cast your vote to have her represent you on the Franklin Public School Board.