Mayor Barrett tells the Common Council not to politicize the Police Chief position, yet uses him for fundraising
Statement by Alderman Tony Zielinski
Recently, Mayor Tom Barrett vetoed the Common Council’s resolution asking the state to empower the council to remove Milwaukee’s Police Chief with a two-thirds majority vote. He claimed the change would politicize the position and the operation of the police department. Mayor Barrett couldn’t be more hypocritical.
In 2009, Chief Ed Flynn headlined a $400 a person fundraiser for Mayor Barrett at the Italian Community Center. The invite read ‘Please join Mayor Tom Barrett at his Mayor’s roundtable with special guest Police Chief Edward Flynn.’ The Mayor had Chief Flynn deliver a speech on ‘Reducing Crime; Reducing Poverty,’ for his political fundraiser charging hundreds of dollars a head. Yet, he tells the council it is politicizing the position. Time to look in the mirror, Mayor.
The Mayor also appoints the Director of the Fire and Police Commission which is a conflict of interest. The Director was never appointed by the Mayor until 1988, when Mayor Norquist got the legislature to change that. Even then, the Fire and Police Commission was opposed to the change because they felt it would compromise their ability to be a neutral body.
It’s time for Mayor Barrett to be honest with the public about what politicizing a position really means, and how he’s used it for his own gain. The citizens of Milwaukee deserve no less.
This issue is a top concern, because on November 7 the Common Council will vote to override or sustain Mayor Barrett’s veto.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
Mentioned in This Press Release
Recent Press Releases by Ald. Tony Zielinski
No money for police, lead hazard issues or infrastructure, but let’s pump up the streetcar we can’t afford
Nov 1st, 2019 by Ald. Tony ZielinskiStatement of Alderman Tony Zielinski November 1, 2019
I’m glad you’ve seen the light and are opposing what you perceive as public officials’ “conflict[s] of interest.” So I’m sure you’re leading by example and returning all those contributions you accepted from strip club owners appearing before the Licenses Committee!
http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2017/04/17/deal-downtown-milwaukee-strip-club-goes-city-hearing/100567594/
The way hypocrisy works (as the alderman well knows, what with all his experience) is much the same as a fart works, in that the one bitching is the one who did it.
For if Dummy Zielinski is so perturbed by Barrett having a fundraiser 8 years ago (what a catch!) one suspects he would have been yammering on about it for years. Instead, its only when Zielinski is busted for politicizing the police department (and harming it and the city like he thinks it is his job to do) that he starts crying.
Smelt it dealt it. How about Zielinski resigns, or at least wipe up the load he just dropped in his underpants.
Mr. Chisholm makes a good point about Tony and the grotesque (and indicted!) promoters of sexual harassment that he calls his pals from the strip club “industry”. Not really what I’m writing about, but in the age of Weinstein it is nice to know that scumbags still have friends at City Hall.
This from a guy who drove our county into debt by approving a pension backdrop deal from which he benefits. Then he skips to the city for a higher salary