BARRETT STAFFER GETS $10,000 CAMPAIGN BONUS

Patrick Curley, the Chief of Staff to Mayor Tom Barrett, collected a $5,000 check on April 14th 2005 from The Friends of Tom Barrett. This would be improper if Curley, as a city employee, had been working on campaign matters for the mayor during that time.
Of course, everything is on the up-and-up. You see, the $5,000 is one half of a "bonus" owed to Curley for his help winning the election for Barrett.
Listed among the "Friends of Tom Barrett Incurred Obligations Excluding Loans" in the Mayor's January 2005 finance report filed with the City of Milwaukee Election Commission, we find that the kind-hearted Barrett promised Curley, who was his staff political director, a $10,000 "bonus" on April 6th 2004 -- the day Barrett was elected mayor.
According to the July, 2005 finance statement, Barrett finally paid $5,000 of the advance to Curley, and made a $5,000 loan repayment to himself more than a year later, on April 14th 2005 -- the day before income taxes are due.
This still leaves the Barrett campaign with a remaining loan balance of $5,000 (also payable to Barrett) and a remaining incurred obligation of $5,000, payable to Curley. Let's guess the check will be cut some time in 2006, for tax purposes.
Bonus-crazed Barrett also gave a $15,003.90 bonus to Shorr & Associates of Philadelphia, which he paid off in one chunk. Shorr is a political consultancy firm headed by Saul Shorr. His firm's bonus became an incurred obligation of the mayor's campaign committee on June 30, 2004 -- well after Barrett had taken office.
So, the next time the mayor hits you up for money, you might want to ask if he plans to use it to get reelected, or to spread among his cronies as "bonus money."
And, with $124,927 cash in the bank at the end of July, 2005, you wonder why Barrett didn't pay Curley the whole bonus in one shot, and repay his loan in full also. (It's must be for tax purposes, I'd gather.)
Frankly, a "bonus" does not seem like a concept that is particularly in conformity with the best practices of enlightened campaign financing, and the whole scheme is much craftier than I would have given Barrett credit for.
It does seem like a very clever way to give a crony and city employee a tax-deferred source of income.
If you know of any other candidate who has offered bonuses to his or her staff and to the companies he or she employs; or if you, as a campaign worker, have ever received a bonus from your candidate, milwaukeeworld.com would be happy to post this information so that Mayor Barrett will know he is not alone.
But for now, he is.
--Michael Horne

P.S. Barrett pays Barb Candy, his full-time political staffer $3,500 a month. You can often see her smoking cigarettes in front of the Germania Building, 135 W. Wells Street, where Barrett pays about $300 per month in rent for his campaign space.