Peg Lautenschlager

Schimel Concedes Election to Kaul

Republican attorney general won’t seek recount, lost by 17,000 votes to Democrat Josh Kaul.

33 Election Winners and Losers

Beyond the vote totals, who were the election’s other big winners and losers?

Catching Up on Summer’s Political News

Summer’s over. Election looming. What do you need to know?

Statement from Rep. Dana Wachs in Remembrance of Peg Lautenschlager

"My heart goes out to her family and friends in their time of loss."

Governor Walker Releases Statement on the Passing of Former Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager

"She was a dedicated and passionate public servant who became the first woman elected to serve as attorney general in Wisconsin history."

One Wisconsin Now Statements on Our Friend Peg Lautenschlager

"Peg was always a trailblazer and a warrior."

In memory of former Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager

"Today we say farewell today to one of Wisconsin’s most dedicated grassroots progressives..."

Shilling statement on the passing of Peg Lautenschlager

"She was a trailblazer for many women in Wisconsin politics, a loyal friend and true blue Democrat."

Controversy Defines Schimel’s First Term

Attorney General has jumped on hot-button issues he hopes will get him reelected.

Brad Schimel’s Opioid Problem

Attorney General has been reluctant to pursue opioid manufacturers. Why?

Anti-Fraud Law’s Repeal Hurts Taxpayers

State losing millions in federal settlements because Walker, GOP killed whistleblower law.

Chisholm For Governor?

Will District Attorney run against Walker? DA's son encourages speculation.

Governor Walker Appoints Judge Timothy Van Akkeren to Ethics Commission

Judge Timothy Van Akkeren currently serves as a reserve judge.

Schimel Patrols Only Democratic Voters?

AG’s “Election Integrity Unit” will monitor polls, but targets urban or Democratic areas.

AG Schimel Announces Election Integrity Efforts

Election integrity teams from DOJ monitor polling sites for such violations as electioneering, observer misconduct, or wrongful denial of right to vote.

Atty Mark Thomsen’s Tudor Mansion

New appointee to state Elections Commission overhauled his East Side mansion.

Governor Walker Appoints Judge Mac Davis and Judge Robert Kinney to Ethics Commission

Both majority and minority party leadership submitted three names each. Two of the minority party’s nominees withdrew their names from consideration.

Moore Backs Barrett, Brostoff Slams Abele

And One Wisconsin Now celebrates 10 years of bashing Republicans.

Kenney Targets Ald. Borkowski

Should challenger win, would be only military veteran on Common Council.

Repeal of forced ultrasound bill introduced

Democratic legislators vow to continue fight

Can Fallone Beat Roggensack?

Pat Roggensack leads the Supreme Court's conservative bloc and may be its most powerful justice. Ed Fallone blames a "dysfunctional court" on her.

Whose Scandal is it, Anyway?

Republicans try, fail to shift blame to Dems on Kenilworth project

Museum’s Wish List

"Many permanent exhibits will be upgraded."

City Image Logo to be Unveiled Soon

The nonprofit Spirit of Milwaukee is undertaking an image rebranding for the community.

Burke Gets Break

The Supreme Court granted a stay Friday, and Burke’s trial is postponed.

Plale Recall Drive Begins

Can a group of south side political activists pull themselves together enough to acquire 13,212 signatures to force a recall election against Sen. Jeff Plale? Rep. Jon Richards said he doubts it. “This thing is going nowhere,” says Rep. Josh Zepnick. “These people are so lazy! They’ve taken out a newspaper ad asking people to come by and sign a recall petition. Who is going to do that?” True enough. To win an election, you’ve got to knock on doors, post signs in windows and do all kinds of grass-rooted activities. There is scant evidence of this in the Plale recall attempt, and absolutely no evidence of it in the northern fringes of Plale’s district, including Brady Street and the East Side. That hasn’t stopped Plale from printing up thousands of football schedules that he is handing out at every turn. The South Milwaukeean made the journey to St. Rita’s Church last week to attend the Brady Street Association monthly meeting where he was asked about the recall. “They’ve got until September 7th to get the signatures to recall me,” Plale told the audience. When told there seemed to be no effort on the East Side to circulate petitions, Plale said, “well, these people wouldn’t know how to find Brady Street.” Plale was also in the Brady Street area for what the neighborhood hopes is an annual Artisinal Food Festival. The gig was held Sunday, July 25th, and Plale was there along with his schedules. The recall effort against him stemmed from his crucial vote to uphold Governor Doyle’s veto of a republican-sponsored measure to limit property tax increases. Plale says the upcoming plans to sponsor a constitutional amendment known as the Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights, (TABOR) is similarly flawed, and a potential recipe for disaster. He cites Colorado, a state that has enacted similar provisions into its laws and is now in the midst of its worst fiscal crisis ever. Amendment on the Run The legislature republicans spent the last unedifying session promoting the agenda of Gays, Guns and Gambling. The Madison gang came up with loads of goofy legislation, none of which could sustain a veto by the governor. Leave it to this group to be able to reconvene and pass a constitutional amendment, no less, in just one week. This was the decision of Sen. Mary Panzer, the republican leader who had earlier been criticized for not rushing a Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights law through the Solomonic deliberations of the nation’s most august lawmakers. But, as soon as she faced a primary challenge from Rep.Glenn Grothman, an ambitious fellow republican who covets her senate seat, Panzer decided to schedule a vote for this week. Then, the legislature can go home and come back next year to vote again. Then, finally, the matter will be put to public vote in a referendum, if it is still alive. But, if the legislature does not act by August 5th, the whole procedure would have to be repeated in yet one […]

Lavender, Black and Green

The Green Party’s national convention will be in Milwaukee this week, with voting by delegates to be held on Saturday. The big question: will the outfit endorse Ralph Nader? This vexing question will put Milwaukee, however briefly, once again in the national spotlight. The party has endorsed the formation of several subgroups including the Black Greens, and the Lavender Greens. The first group consists of African-American members of the party, and the second with its Gay, Lesbian, Transgendered and “Intergendered” (a new one for me) members. As of May there were 297,964 registered greens from 22 states, along with an undetermined number from states like Wisconsin where voter registration does not specify political party. Candidates for the party include four for U.S. Senate, 38 for the House of Representativees, one for Governor, one for Lieutenant Governor and 94 for State Legislatures. According to the party, at least 204 Greens hold office in 27 states, including Wisconsin. Nader, who received the party’s nomination in 2000, has 50 delegates thus far, behind David Cobb, with 194 and Peter Camejo with 112. Over 200 delegates support none of the above or are uncommitted. Nader wrote the party in March to say “I am running as an Independent and am not seeking nor accepting the Green Party nomination. If you do not choose a presidential candidate in Milwaukee, I would welcome your endorsement.” You can figure out for yourself whatever that means. Whomever the candidate, the party promises to run television ads in the presidential race, another first. One of the featured speakers at a post-convention rally will be Frank P. Zeidler, a former presidential candidate himself (Socialist Party) and reason enough to attend the event. A Man in a Hurray: Marc “Leadfoot” Marotta Department of Administration head Marc Marotta has a date in the Jefferson County intake court on June 29th at 9 a.m. in conjunction with his citation on May 24th for speeding on the freeway. The 41-year old attorney and former basketball star was busted for exceeding the speed limit by 20 – 24 miles per hour, an offense that carries a $255.40 bond. Officer Michael Meyers of the Jefferson County Sheriff Department collared the Mequon resident after clocking him going 21 miles over the limit. Earlier this year, on February 25th (the day after Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager was busted for drunk driving) Peter Moe of the State Patrol cited Marotta for speeding on the freeway, also in Jefferson County. It was a more easy-going Marotta that time, since he was caught speeding 16 – 19 miles per hour above the speed limit. On April 22nd, that charge was amended to Speeding on Freeway 1 – 10 miles above the limit. Marotta pled no contest to that charge and was fined $181. The vigilant officer Moe also noted that Marotta, a senior government official, had expired plates (PUR108), so we assume it is his personal vehicle in which he was hot-rodding, but that charge was dismissed. His attorney was Michael […]

“Groundbreaking” for Bridge

It’s not really a groundbreaking without a shovel, so Cecelia Gilbert of the Department of Public Works brought five well-used, albeit ceremonial, spades to the Thursday 27 May event celebrating the beginning of construction of the Holton Marsupial Bridge. Obliging dignitaries, sensing a photo-op, grabbed the shovels and pantomimed digging them into the asphalt pavement below the Holton Viaduct. The ceremony was scheduled to accommodate Mayor Tom Barrett, who was present at the event before racing off to his daughter’s piano recital. Other guests included Ald. Michael S. D’Amato, Ald. Michael I. McGee, Jr., Supervisors Gerry Broderick and James White, and former State Senator Brian Burke. Julilly Kohler served as master of ceremonies for the event, and she kept her remarks sparing, yet managed to name all of the many individuals who have helped to make her dream a reality. This included “the former congressman from the fifth district,” as Brian Burke called his old elementary school chum, Tom Barrett, who, as Mayor was able to yield the ceremonial shovel on a public works project for the first time. Architects James Dallman and his wife Grace La were also on hand as were Mathew P. Tharaniyil, P.E. and Yakov N. Nenaydykh, another P.E. They are, respectively the president and the vice president of Bloom Consultants, the engineers of the project to span the Holton Viaduct with the suspended “marsupial’ bridge – a bicycle and pedestrian path that will provide grade-level access between the Brady Street neighborhood and the Lakefront Brewery and its surrounding Beer Line “B” neighborhood. Missing from the event was Frank Busalacchi, the Wisconsin Secretary of Transportation or any representative of Lunda Construction, the Black River Falls outfit that won the bid to construct the bridge. Lunda appears to be a publicity-averse organization. The firm has expressed a reservation about having webcams at the construction site, saying they might reveal some “trade secrets” of the mysterious, arcane art of bridge building. Good heavens! It’s a bridge, not a plutonium refinery. Also missing from the event was Whitney Gould, although you wouldn’t have known it from the article she managed to write about it for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the next morning. She reported, correctly, that the Mayor was there, in an otherwise generic story composed of previously reported items. Sonya Jongsma-Knauss and Vince Bushell of the Riverwest Currents were there. The sole representative of the electronic media was Channel 58. Afterwards, the crowd of 100 or so headed up to the Lakefront Brewery Palm Garden where owner Russ Klisch turned on the taps. Earlier that day, a stressed Russ was trying to get his new bottling machine to behave. Even so, it still chewed up a few bottles as it went through its shakedown cruise. Sales manager Paul Moebius said things are going well at the brewery – maybe too well. “We’re running out of beer!” he said. Last year’s sales were 5,000 barrels, and this year the brewery could hit 7,000 barrels. This is better than 2 […]

Changes at the Election Commission

How Did Peggy Know?

Over Cocktails in 2001, then-A.G. Candidate Peg Lautenschlager Said Rival would be Indicted

Liz Cheney to Open Bush-Cheney Office Here

If you are over by Mayfair Monday, you can drop by the grand opening of the Bush–Cheney’04 Wisconsin Headquarters, 2222 N. Mayfair Rd., Wauwatosa.  The opening is open to the press, and Liz Cheney will be available for interviews. The event is at noon and features such other dignitaries as Rep. Leah Vukmir, Rep. Mark Honadel, Rep. Curt Gielow, and County Executive Scott Walker. If you are in the neighborhood and would like to do something other than that, then get to the corner of Hwy. 100 and W. North Avenue where Wisconsin Citizen Action hosts a “Bash Bush” event at 11:30 a.m. Gary George Law License Suspended If you never got around to hiring Gary George as a lawyer like the Warshafsky Law Firm did, you’re “temporarily” out of luck. The disgraced former state senator’s license was temporarily suspended April 1st by an order of Cornelia G. Clark the Clerk of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin, dated March 8, 2004.. Clark acted on a motion from the Office of Lawyer Regulation “seeking the temporary suspension of the license of Attorney Gary R. George to practice law in Wisconsin. … The basis for this motion is Attorney George’s January 22, 2004 guilty plea in United States District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin, to one count of conspiracy.” It is not common for lawyers to plead guilty to felony charges – they usually put up a fight, and a law license won’t be of much use where Gary’s going – namely, federal prison. For one thing, the competition would be intense. Paul Henningsen’s already got most of the business locked up by now, one would imagine. Along with George’s demise we lose another annoyance – we shall no longer see or hear Gary George advertisements for the Warshafsky Law Firm. George taped his advertisements in August, 2000, back when the century was new and George’s integrity was unblemished. (We were a simpler people then.) Back then I asked the law firm about the ads. “Are they designed to help George in his reelection campaign?” The Warshafsky spokesperson replied, “It has no connection to the campaign. He just brings us a lot of business.” Election Night Approaches We are down to the final hours in our Mayoral election, with the result said to be a tossup. Much will be dependent on voter turnout, which itself can depend on things like the weather. The primary election had the added allure of a presidential primary to possibly juice the vote. On the other hand, it is possible that the lack of a republican presidential race kept Milwaukee republicans at home in February, and that they will come out to vote Tuesday, if there are enough of them to count. Then we have the white people for Pratt, and the black people for Barrett contingency. I should imagine they exist in roughly the same, small numbers. Among them – former candidates Frank Cumberbatch and Leon Todd have endorsed Barrett. Sandy Folaron and Vince Bobot have […]

Lautenschlager’s Fast Ones – Past Speeding Tickets Raise Residency Issues

Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager exploits a legal loophole.

Lame Duck Ruffles Feathers

Breier stuck on thorny hotel plan.

On the Fundraiser Trail

David Riemer held a fundraiser and art auction to advance his bid for County Executive. Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design was the place, and over a hundred people showed up to look at the art (a Guido Brink retrospective) and to meet with the candidate March 8th. Wine was served, and the food was perhaps the finest of the larger-scale campaign events this year. The snacks included hummus and all sorts of veggie-cheesy items nicely prepared and tastefully presented. Everybody had to shut up for a brief speech by the candidate. Riemer is getting better at these, and unlike certain other candidates for president or even for mayor, he is able to adjust the message to his audience with a reasonable degree of spontaneity. The crowd at MIAD learned that Riemer has two brothers who are actors, and mom was too. In college (as an undergraduate) he studied poetry. “Art is not just an add-on. Art is essential to a metropolitan area. It is essential to its success.” No argument from the crowd on that account. Marvin Pratt showed up, and that created a mild buzz for a while. Riemer campaign guru Bill Christofferson wants us all to know that his candidate’s “Last Blast” fundraiser will be held in Turner Hall on March 23rd, 5-7 p.m. The Riemer campaign sent out a news release encouraging its supporters to cast absentee ballots. Election Day, April 6th is Passover, he reminds us. It is also a time when many of us might be out of town on Spring break. Riemer would appreciate it if we voted before fleeing this miserable weather. It is all about turnout, at this point. Molly Christofferson, Bill’s daughter, did campaign work for Sandy Folaron. She now works for Marvin Pratt. Strange bedfellows. Bob Weiss held a fundraiser for Acting Mayor Pratt March 10th, at his restaurant, Shakers, 422 S. Second St. He sent me a note: “Clueless staffers, no signage, no promo materials, NO candidate, when promised 6-8 p.m. for His fundraiser.” Weiss said the event coordinator “sat by self in back corner, left after an hour. Some big hitter clients of mine left in disgust since Marvin not there. … Overall, hardly our greatest political experience.” Weiss is planning a solstice party this week (good timing), with plenty of food and booze. Forget the politics! Unopposed and Raising Money: Musings on the Common Council Presidency It is tough to draw a crowd in an election year when you have no opponent, and it’s nice for a candidate to not have to sweat his election. “I only hold one fundraiser a year and this is it,” said Ald. Michael Murphy at Derry Hegarty’s Pub, an event that perhaps saw about 75 people. The event was Thursday, March 11th, close enough to St. Patrick’s Day, which is appropriate since Murphy claims to be of Irish heritage. Since the money wasn’t absolutely necessary, and since the candidate seemed destined to win, the fundraiser easily lurched into its secondary […]

Lautenschlager’s Mess

Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager’s drunk driving arrest last week removes her from behind the wheel of her state-owned vehicle for a year, and puts Governor Jim Doyle in the driver’s seat. The two had squabbled, privately, over terms of the Governor’s jobs bill, with Lautenschlager threatening to use her authority to see that the law comply with the state’s environmental regulations, which she intimated it did not. This sort of independent action by an attorney general is not new in Wisconsin. Doyle was the chief practitioner of it, but then again, he was a Democrat, and the Governor at the time was a Republican. The press has made note that Doyle suggests Lautenschlager forgo some of her pay as a sort of penance for her indiscretion, a matter that remains unresolved at this time. Doyle also suggested that Lautenschlager consider entering a program to treat problem drinkers. He said that he had a number of friends who had been in a similar situation and that the treatment had helped them. In fact, the public admission of guilt and responsibility (which Lautenschlager made) is usually accompanied these days with a prompt acknowledgement that a problem exists. The subject then usually promptly enters a treatment program and completes it, after which the matter is forgotten. Lautenschlager has not made that admission thus far, which leaves her in the position of either not having a “problem” or being “in denial” of it. It does leave Doyle high and dry, however, and much less likely to face interference in his plans from that peskiest of all politicians – an ambitious Attorney General. Walker at the War Memorial County Executive Scott Walker welcomed about 100 well-clad guests to a fundraiser February 26th at the War Memorial Center. The strictly upper-crust affair was a Republican-type fundraiser, which meant that hard liquor was consumed (in moderation) and beer, for the most part, was ignored. For those fans of the frothy stuff, Walker offered Miller products and Heineken. Food was by Ellen’s Prestige Catering, and included strolling waiters, another classy touch. Menu items included spinach somethings, meat and melted cheese on sandwich rounds, wrapped up little salmon tidbits, an entirely unsuccessful raspberry-brie tart, platters of some kind of 21st century sandwich product along with perfectly delicious fruit. The event was unmarred by public oratory, but was enhanced by an A-list of locals practicing up for the next time Bush is in town. Among the exalted: George Dalton, Dennis Kuester (on crutches), Michael Cudahy, mourning the recent death of Daniel Urban Kiley, creator of the $4 million Cudahy garden outside the adjacent Milwaukee Art Museum, Fred Luber, Tim Hoeksma, Carol Skornicka, John Finerty, Jim Weichmann, Joe Rice, Mary Buestrin, Corey Hoze and developer Mark Irgens. Hoze has secured speaker Dennis Hastert to appear at a $2000 fundraiser on his hopeless behalf in his upcoming congressional campaign. That’s rich. Marvin Pratt popped in and worked the crowd for about 20 minutes before his cop told him it was time to […]

My Campaign Blog

Two hundred fifty bucks or a free press pass?

Carpenter to Run For Congress

Rep. Jerry Kleczka is the son of a machinist. A Carpenter wants to replace him.

No Challenge to Hill Papers

But Halbrooks says Election Commission’s Extended Hours Helped Opponent

Krug Scores Joint Finance Seat

Rep. Shirley Krug was chosen Monday to take a seat on the influential Joint Committee on Finance