Good for what ails ya’!

Are all politics local? If you are tired of the spinning and empty promises of our national leaders, have I got a cure for you. Anyone turned off by the state of politics today ought to attend a local candidate forum. Wednesday night’s forum for the race to fill Michael D’Amato’s seat on the Common Council was surprisingly entertaining. About 300 people packed into the Miramar Theater to listen to the eight aspirants for the Third District Alderman seat state their case. The evening provided more than the requisite drama, humor, and pathos befitting two hours at a theater and the audience left reasonably assured that at least some of the candidates offered the potential of representing the district competently. The February 19th primary will whittle the field down to two survivors who will run against each other on April 1st. It was obvious that two of the candidates do not deserve consideration for advancement. One, Dan Fouliard, got the evening off to an unusual start by squandering the two minutes he was given to introduce himself to explain the leadership process he defined as “asking, advocating and achieving.” His insistence on including that alliterative phrase in all of his responses left many in the crowd scratching their heads, suppressing giggles and then just plain feeling embarrassed for the guy. Another candidate, David Schroeder, also distinguished himself as another future also ran. Mr. Schroeder told the audience that he was motivated to run for the office when he discovered that contesting a parking ticket required him to personally appear at a downtown court. Clearly our local government needs someone like him to clean up its mess. To his credit, Schroeder did not waste much time giving detailed responses to many of the questions. In most cases, he simply tapped on the table and admitted that he hadn’t given much thought to the issue. Schroeder further endeared himself to the audience by declaring that rather than raising money for his campaign he was asking residents to contribute to other politicians they admire such as Sen. Russ Feingold. That suggestion generated his best reaction of the evening. While Fouliard and Schroeder earned the label of the evening’s “Not Ready for Primetime Players,” they did provide some not altogether unwelcome comic relief. The other panelists, however, made somewhat more compelling arguments for their candidacies. Sam McGovern-Rowen, a D’Amato aide, suggested that he had the most valuable experience since he has built relationships with the other aldermen and has answered the phone from residents and intimately knows their concerns. But he failed to communicate a vision and struggled awkwardly to avoid alienating voters who feel the current alderman has not been responsive enough to his constituents. He has his work cut out for him. As the only woman on the dais, Sura Faraj appeared to have a natural advantage. The current Common Council is an all-male institution and many feel that just ain’t right. She also latched on to the zeitgeist of the 2008 […]

Chief Flynn and the Unknown Plan

Candidate Forum Tonight

Whose Side are You On? With all the hoopla surrounding the presidential sweepstakes, it’s easy to overlook the state and local races taking place this year. Adding to the confusion is Wisconsin’s odd tradition of holding so-called non-partisan elections in the Spring. Sometime back in our state’s history, our ancestors decided that certain offices, like Mayor and County Executive, shouldn’t be tainted by the unseemliness of political party competition. As a result, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, a proud Democrat, and County Executive Scott Walker, an equally outspoken Republican, will be on the non-partisan ballot April 1. Just as our founders intended, eh? But wait, there’s more. If more than two candidates run for any of these non-partisan offices then a primary is held to whittle the field down. Which brings us to February 19, the date of Wisconsin’s primary. Most political prognosticators are predicting that our primary will be too late to have any meaning in this year’s heavily frontloaded race for the Democratic and Republican nomination. The oddsmakers are convinced that that the choice of both parties will be determined by February 5th, when more than 20 states, including delegate rich New York and California, will have their say. It’s looking more likely that at least two candidates from both parties will still be competitive when our primary comes along so brace yourselves for the quadrennial onslaught of the presidential wannabes and their national media entourages parading across the state sometime in the not too distant future. But don’t forget some of those pesky local races will also be on the Feb. 19th primary ballot so it’s time to roll up your sleeves and figure out who you support. For example, if you live in Milwaukee’s East Side or Riverwest neighborhood, currently represented on the Common Council by Michael D’Amato, who has chosen not to run for reelection, there’s a wide open race to replace him. And nothing stirs the juices of a political junkie more than the competitive ramifications of an open seat. A candidate forum will be held 7 pm tonight, Jan. 16th at the Miramar Theater (Oakland and Locust) and another is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 29th at Gordon Park Pavilion (Humboldt and Locust). The crowded field includes Sam McGovern-Rowen, a legislative aide to D’Amato who happens to be the grandson of George McGovern, the 1972 Democratic candidate for president. D’Amato could probably have cruised to reelection so McGovern-Rowen may be the presumptive favorite. But D’Amato has also drawn criticism for being too supportive of development so the activist district is unlikely to give McGovern-Rowen a bye. Sura Faraj, a co-founder of the Riverwest Food co-op and 2007 chair of the Riverwest Neighborhood Association; Nik Kovac, a journalist and member of the RNA and Matt Nelson, a member of the Milwaukee Transit Riders Union and the Milwaukee Police Accountability Coalition are among the other candidates for the third district alderman seat. So if you live in the Third District come to the one of the candidate […]

Baby girl

She is 12 years old. She is beautiful and funny. Instead of saying, Mom, you’re embarrassing me she laughs and says, “Mom – you’re scaring me.” It’s her joke. She is 12 years old. She is in love with a boy from school. And one from the theater. She ponders herself in the mirror, practicing for the rest of her life. This is like one long rehearsal and she wants to be ready. She is 12 years old. She comes into my room late at night – to check on me. Not because the thunder woke her, but because she thought maybe I needed something. She is 12 years old. She stamps her foot and bites her lip when she’s angry. “Whatever.” And walks out of the room. We both know she can’t stay mad for too long. She is 12 years old. She says “I love you” to me, her dad, her brother and sister. Aunts, uncles, cousins. Friends from school. Can’t bear to part company without letting her people know she loves them. What if it’s the last she’ll ever see them? An accident or something could part her from her loved ones – she worries about this. She worries that the last words they hear from her won’t be “I love you.”

Michigan Democrats get the shaft

The edible and incredible Russ Feingold

Call for entries

The 10th Annual Milwaukee Short Film Festival, named Best Local Festival in MovieMaker’s Winter 2006 issue, is scheduled for May 10-11, 2008. The event includes industry judges, panel discussions, social events and awards, with a Grand Prize of $1000. Submit now in any genre. Early Deadline is January 31 with an entry fee of $10. Regular deadline is February 29 ($15) and final deadline is March 26 ($20). Email Dirty Job Films for more information or visit either their website or the Short Film Fest MySpace page. Best of luck!

Kucinich, Diebold, Kerry, oh my!

Confounding the pundits

Hillary’s Moment

Hillary’s Moment… It goes without saying that this year’s presidential election is important. The American electorate will be making a choice that will have enormous implications for our nation and the world. But every so often during an election, a simple event sends a message about its times and becomes part of history for the ages. Of course, I’m talking about “Hillary’s moment” the day before the New Hampshire primary, when Sen. Clinton actually appeared to display an unscripted emotion. History will record that it was in response to an apparently sympathetic questioner, who asked how she managed to keep going (and who did her hair). She didn’t cry, of course, though her eyes definitely appeared to moisten. And she didn’t sob, but there certainly was a catch in her voice and, yes, an undeniable display of emotion. It became the major story of the day and most of the media coverage used the incident to support the conclusion that her campaign was imploding, that it was a repeat of Ed Muskie’s fatal tearing up in 1972. This was the logical conclusion, you see, given her loss to Barack Obama in Iowa and all of the polls were predicting another win for Obama in New Hampshire. Then the people of New Hampshire had their say. The media prognosticators and pundits ended up with egg on their collective faces when Clinton was declared the winner with 38 percent to Obama’s 35. Suddenly, Clinton was the victor in a stunning upset and this race was anything but over. It turns out the incident in the diner wasn’t a death knell but a declaration of sincerity that connected with female voters from Manchester to Nashua. It was like when Sally Field won the Oscar but Hillary was saying “I care about you; I really, really care about you!” Coupled with the moment in Saturday’s debate when Clinton responded to a question about how she felt about apparently not being well-liked by saying it hurt her feelings, her display of emotion was now seen as brilliant strategy. Hillary seized on the opportunity to reinvent herself by declaring in her victory speech that she “listened to (the voters of New Hampshire) and found my voice.” Well time will tell. But for now, I think we have witnessed a moment for the ages. And the message of this moment is … “We have totally lost our minds and gone stark raving mad!” Of course, there was plenty of evidence of our insanity in 2007. There was the focus on Hillary Clinton’s laugh, John Edwards’ hair, Mitt Romney’s religion, Rudy Giuliani’s wives and other matters of transcendent importance. So hold on to your hats. There will probably be lots more examples of zaniness and hilarity in the months ahead. I guess with the writers’ strike we ought to appreciate moments of mirth where we can get them. I, for one, prefer laughing to crying.

The Politics of Fear

DECISION 2008…..Your Vote Matters!