Franklin Today

Who's running in 2011?

There's a voice swirling around on some Franklin blogs over the upcoming April elections. I'll get deeper into that on a different post. But for now, here are some names I've been hearing as possible candidates:

FOR MAYOR: As predicted, it looks like the Mayoral race will become a primary. Mayor Tom Taylor is right now prepping up for a run for another term, and as I figured would occur, 1st District Alderman Steve Olson is also readying himself up for a possible run. Olson's remarks during the budget discussion, on top of close friends of Olson claiming that I "might be" right with a prediction I made a long time ago about this matter leave me with almost no choice but to say Olson is seriously considering, if not already decided on, running for Tom's seat. There's also a strong chance that TEA Party favorite Larry Gamble, who ran unsuccessfully for Rep. Jeff Stone's seat in November, will toss his hat in the ring as well.

FOR 3RD DISTRICT ALDERMAN: There has been some indications of possible opponents, but no clear names have been heard. I believe this is occurring because those with the clout and in the political circles know and appreciate what Kristen has done for the district so far, including being the most open alderman in the city in terms of communication to constituents both via phone and e-mail.

FOR 4TH DISTRICT ALDERMAN: Common Council President Steve Taylor has been targeted for ousting since earlier this year. Hopefully those who feel so strongly negative about CCP Taylor have the contacts to "put up" a contest against him, or I'd recommend that they "shut up" if none are produced. CCP Taylor has noted in the past that he has gone to many doors in his district already over the Summer and Fall months. This, technically, means that he has already started his campaign for re-election, and is getting greater name recognition. As of right now I'd see the top two possibilities to run against him as Larry Gamble or former School Board candidate Paul Rotzenberg.

FOR 6TH DISTRICT ALDERMAN: Mayor Taylor's strongest ally on the council, Ken Skowronski, is up as well. I don't see many choices for opponents against him, however I have heard that former alderman Jim Bergmann wants his old seat back. How interesting would that be! Bergmann was ousted as part of the FCRL overthrow of the council back in the early 2000s. Bergmann could be part of a similar 'overthrow', with him on the side FCRL once was.

Steve Olson for Franklin Mayor?

Did I just ask that?

I couldn't help but think it after I read a post by Olson's good friend Kevin Fischer slamming Mayor Taylor and every alderman BUT Alderman Olson. My prediction is that we'll be seeing an announcement this December from Fischer telling us that Olson's going for the gold.

With the attitude and stark differences forming between Olson and Mayor Taylor, a Mayoral race between the two wouldn't be surprising. You just can't oppose someone time and again, and allow your allies to openly chastise someone time and again, and then just sit there and do nothing. Given that Olson's support on the council sways depending on the topic, the Mayor's role should be something on his mind. It would be if I was in that role. Why continue to be in a role where your positions are not improving when there's something better?

In all of this, I do need to note Fischer mentioned how past "taxpayer-friendly" aldermen, Alan Hammelman and Pete Kosovich, disappeared because voters chose different leadership. If I'm not mistaken, the tax levy increases during Hammelman and Kosovich's years were higher than the levy increases underneath the current council. Why else would a blogger have to ask mayoral candidates in 2008 to sign a pledge to keep tax levies capped at 3%? So much for taxpayer-friendliness.

Furthermore, how was the quiet, ineffective leadership of Hammelman and Kosovich (no offense) somehow, some way, better for the residents in the districts they represented? Sorry if I'm breaking news here, but I believe the 3rd and 4th Districts have had much more attention on council matters. I also believe more decisions impacting those districts have occurred with Aldermen Wilhelm and Taylor taking over their roles.

Franklin never was the doldrums, yet some want it like that then and now. We're way too close to a booming international airport and the center of a metropolitan area to be in slumberland. While Fischer's post attempted to make Olson out to be the savior of Franklin by standing firm in saying NO to installing tornado sirens in the city, I think it will do more harm than good for an Olson for Mayor campaign. It basically puts Olson in a place where no elected official wants to be - the odd man out. Residents, taxpayers, want to see progress and effectiveness in their elected officials. By being a lone vote on the council, especially on important and hotly-debatable issues, shows either extreme stubbornness or a lack of support among the other aldermen.

Is that what is needed in a leader for this community? That's your call.

Mayor Taylor reconsidering tie-breaking vote?

Word on the street is that Mayor Tom Taylor is thinking about reconsidering his vote on Puetz Road's reconstruction. Several days ago, Alderman Steve Olson sent out an e-mail to residents describing what occurred at the last Common Council meeting. Olson said the following:

Two votes were taken on this matter after a report was given by City Engineer Bennett outlining the four options.  During his presentation he was clear in the fact that the neighbors did not want the road widened by a 2 to 1 margin.  Installation of sidewalks was a split result with half for and half against a path.

I made a motion to proceed with either option 3 or 4 with the decision on whether to install a path to be made near the time of construction.  That motion FAILED.  Ald. Wilhelm and Ald. Schmidt supported me.  Ald. Solomon, Taylor and Skowronski voted no.  The Mayor refused to vote.

Then Ald. Taylor made a motion to proceed with applying for state funds to do option 2, that being widening the lanes (and roadway) and providing a path on the south side of the street.  He was supported by Ald. Skowronski and Solomon.  This time, Mayor Taylor broke the tie in favor of the motion.

Contrary to the people who live on or near the street, the Common Council has voted to widen the street, potentially taking a number of large, well established trees and impacting the property of many of you.

I argued that there would be no more development on the eastern ¾ of the road.  The traffic that’s there now will essentially be the traffic of the future.  I argued that it makes no sense to destroy trees and take property to widen a road that will see very little if any increase in traffic.  I also argued that you, the neighbors have voiced an educated opinion, many having been to the meeting and reviewed the drawings.  You, the neighbors didn’t see the need.

In the end, the three members of the council were, I think, looking only at the money and they were joined by the Mayor. 

This decision can be changed by a week from Tuesday if you call the Mayor and discuss the matter with him and ask him to change his vote.  425-7500

Election of Council President doesn't even take 5 minutes

Several weeks ago I wrote a piece mentioning the potential political mess that could ensue at last Tuesday's council meeting. At the time, it was strongly suggested that Alderman Ken Skowronski was going to seek the Common Council Presidency, which has been held by Alderman Steve Taylor since his election in 2008. Due to both being on the same side of the aisle for a good portion of council decisions, this posed a potential conflict in that voting bloc. Before the meeting started, I sarcastically remarked that the agenda item to elect a Common Council President could "take hours" based on how this council enjoys a good chit-chat.

When it came up, it didn't even take 5 minutes to re-elect Steve Taylor as CCP for another year.

School Board candidate sees a future in blogging

I received word late tonight that former candidate for School Board Hugo Nguyen has sent in his interest to become a blogger on FranklinNOW.com. I would hope NOW Editor Mark Maley would give the approval to Hugo for him to begin writing about matters he feels is important to discuss.

Entering the world of writing entries and providing views on issues is quite the task. Thinking back three years ago almost to the day, I started my FranklinNOW.com blog. With that in mind, I think anything is possible.

It was just last month when Hugo was praised by teachers and their union representatives for publicly questioning the School Board's decision to go into closed session relating to the budget shortfall. As we learned earlier this evening, it looks like Hugo's doubts about the legitimacy to going into closed session were valid, since the union filed a complaint with the Corporation Counsel alleging the Board violated open meetings laws. With that said, he wasn't even a blogger but apparently was making an impact.

Hugo - best of luck to your future on the blogs. I suppose I only got one tip for you that some could argue I learned the hard way: Don't let State Senator Mary Lazich's aide get to you! Think of it this way - if he attempts to be overly critical of any of your positions you could very well share a Milwaukee Magazine article with him!

Crummy voter turnout last Tuesday

The numbers don't lie - Franklin residents simply didn't care enough about the local races to show up at the polls. After the jump are the voting percentages from Franklin City Hall.

The Common Council's future will be interesting

In some ways, the future is happening now, with the issue of who will be Franklin's Common Council President.

While CCP Steve Taylor is looking to retain his position for another year, word of challengers seeking his position are alive and well. Word getting around the most is that Alderman Ken Skowronski has been trying to woo support of aldermen not affected by yesterday's results over the past few weeks.

My thoughts on the election

First off, I want to thank all of you again for sticking around and keeping yourself as up-to-date as possible over these past few months. It was quite "on-and-off" during the campaign season, and while that generally equals to a drop in readership, I'm glad to say that didn't happen on Franklin Today.

As for the elections, let me just say that I always like to see the highest turnout possible. I was disappointed in seeing that many residents were away on vacation this Easter/Spring Break and didn't take time to vote absentee. Given the low turnout throughout Franklin, it was bittersweet to see the 1st District topped the others in voters with slightly over 20%. Bitter that it was a low turnout but sweet that it was the highest turnout in the city. It's good to know that people are reading the literature they receive in the paper box and listened to the candidates at their front door.

And the winners are...

ALDERMAN - DISTRICT 1

Steve Olson (inc): 323 (54%) 320 (53.6%)

Me: 277 (46%) (46.4%)

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ALDERMAN - DISTRICT 5

Doug Schmidt: 227 (60%) (59.89%)

Bryan Maersch: 152 (40.11%)

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SCHOOL BOARD

Melissa Klein: 899 (21.97%)

Jeff Traylor (inc): 897 (21.92%)

Debbie Larson (inc): 829 (20.26%)

Paul Rotzenberg: 750 (18.33%)

Hugo Nguyen: 704 (17.2%)

Who should you vote for tomorrow?

Every election year I've done my best to pick out those candidates who I believe will do their best in ensuring that the community will benefit from their service the most. I've been very fortunate in holding onto a strong base of residents during this particular election cycle, since I have been away a good majority of the time campaigning myself. I'm glad to see that many of you are sticking around, even if it is only to see one or two posts up a week.

So who do I plan to vote for tomorrow? See my picks after the jump.