YE OLDE PAPER TRAIL: Officials Don't Take Advantage of E-Filing

Since 2004 candidates for office in the city of Milwaukee have been allowed to file their campaign finance reports electronically. These documents are easily retrievable from the city's website.
http://cfp.milwaukee.gov/campaign_finance/performreportsinquiry.asp

But, very few elected officials submit their reports electronically, and those who do should be singled out for praise.

For the election cycle of 2005 they are: Mayor Tom Barrett, Alderman Michael D'Amato, Alderman Robert Bauman, Alderman Robert Donovan and School Board member Peter Blewett.

That's it.

For the election cycle of 2004, of those listed above, Donovan did not file electronically, but Willie Hines, now the council president, did file electronically. For whatever reason, he did not file electronically in 2005, although I recollect he promised to do so.

Others who keep their finance reports locked up in City Hall where you have to go to view them include all other aldermen; City Attorney Grant Langley; Comptroller W. Martin "Wally" Morics, C.P.A.; and Treasurer Wayne Whittow, who might be excused since he may not be aware that computers exist.

Not one of the three municipal judges who rule the city's court system filed electronically, either.

So much for transparency in campaign financing. The fat cats can keep doling out the big bucks to politicos, and the public will never know until I haul my butt down to city hall and look up the facts on paper. That is so 20th century!

Congratulations to Mayor Barrett, Ald. D'Amato, Ald. Bauman and Ald. Donovan for filing your reports electronically.
Shame on all the others. You are making my job much harder.

And, President Hines -- I've seen your paper report. You have nothing to hide. Why don't you file electronically, like you used to? It will look better when you decide to run for mayor.
--Michael Horne


BARNEY FRANK IS COMING TO TOWN!
How Gay is That?

Rep. Barney Frank (D.-Mass) is coming to town! What could be gayer than that? Well, for starters, how about Senator Tim Carpenter's Green and Gold Football Party scheduled for Sunday October 23 at Champp's Americana, 5030 S. 74th St. in Greenfield.
Frank will be in a significantly more august location Saturday October 29 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. when he will be the Special Guest at a luncheon honoring Congresswoman Gwen Moore. That will be held at the Milwaukee Club, 706 N. Jefferson St. $500 makes you a host, $200 makes you a guest. Membership in the Milwaukee Club: Priceless.
Still not gay enough? Tammy Baldwin has invited Al Franken to be her special guest at the Club Majestic in Madison on December 5th.

Heterosexual politicians are also raising money these days. Bob Bauman invites his supporters to an evening in the Ambassador Hotel, 2308 W. Wisconsin Ave. on Thursday, October 27th at 5 p.m., Scott Walker will be at Steven's Steakhouse in West Allis Monday, October 24th, and Ald. Ashanti Hamilton will hang at the Lady Bug Club, 618 N. Water Street on Tuesday, October 25th at 5 p.m.
Atty. Gen. Peg Lautenschlager has collared Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to be her guest at the Madison Concourse Hotel on Wednesday November 2nd at noon, and Wednesday November 9th will be a joyous event in Mequon when Mayor Christine Nuernberg will hold a gig at 5 p.m. at the Highland House. Don't try to take the bus -- you'll have to drive there, since the Mayor forbids bus traffic on her precious Port Washington Road, where the Highland House is located just south of Columbia St. Mary's Hospital, Ozaukee County's only hospital and employer of hundreds of black people in white uniforms.

RICHARDS SINGLED OUT -- Marriage Not Mentioned In Official Bio

Representative Jon Richards married Andrea Rowe of the Department of City Development this summer, and Andrea promptly incorporated his surname into hers. She is now styled as Ms. Andrea Rowe Richards.
Her husband kept his name -- and also kept his wife out of his website, which lists the Assistant Democratic Assembly Leader as being single.
For shame, Rep. Richards! All defenders of the noble institution of marriage should rise up as one and demand that your biography indicate your true marital status.
Imagine the hordes of designing women, unaware of your true uxorious state, who might pursue you innocently imagining that you were single, you handsome devil!
Change the website now!

http://www.legis.state.wi.us/assembly/asm19/a19bio.html

Update: October 25th, 2005 -- The Richards website now correctly lists the legislator's marital status. -- Michael Horne

--Michael Horne

LAWYERS WANT LICENSES BACK and A TOUR OF THE DIPLOMATIC RECEPTION ROOMS

Dear Reader,
Mark Sostarich wants his law license back, after his conviction for sending kickbacks to former Sen. Gary George. Alan Eisenberg tried hard to get his back, and it does not look like his chances are too good, judging from the report sent by the referee to the Supreme Court. If Paul Henningsen wants his license back, he'll have to apply to do so, also. Below you will find an update on the situations of these once noble practicioners of the bar.

Also, we take a tour of the Diplomatic Reception Rooms of the State Department in Washington, D.C., and tell you why a famous Milwaukee furniture collector refused to donate any items to this important collection. We also hear from the Milwaukee Public Schools about plans to raze the former Boys' Tech school building.

Thanks for reading, and do let me hear from you,
Michael Horne
Editor / Publisher
horne@milwaukeeworld.com
1 414 978-8039
Also, subscribe using that little button off to the right. Tell me if you have any problems getting through; you should receive my postings automatically.
Horne

SOSTARICH WANTS LAW LICENSE BACK

Better get your holiday shopping done early, since you'll want to set aside December 21st 2005 to attend a public hearing when Mark A. Sostarich will petition for reinstatement of his license to practice law.
Sostarich's license was suspended by the Wisconsin Supreme Court for 18 months, effective May 18, 2004, upon his conviction of one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, a federal crime. A former leader of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, Sostarich offered kickbacks of certain legal fees to then-Sen. Gary A. George, who is currently in prison. The kickbacks were from legal work Sostarich did for the now-defunct Opportunities Industrialization Commission (OIC).
For those of you with a law library, a detailed description of Sostarich's misconduct can be found in Disciplinary Proceedings Against Sostarich 2005 WI 97, 698 N.W.2d (2005).
Any interested person may appear at the hearing and be heard in support of, or in opposition to, the petition for reinstatement.
Certainly there must be a few Republicans in this city who might care to participate in this exercise in democracy which will be held at the law offices of Halling & Cayo, 320 East Buffalo St. #700 at 9 a.m. before Referee Kim Peterson. - Michael Horne

HENNINGSEN COULD GET LICENSE BY MARCH

Former Alderman Paul Henningsen attended the Friday opening of the Milwaukee Public Market Friday, October 14th in the company of his wife, Margaret Henningsen of Legacy Bank. Henningsen was trim, with a neat beard and was wearing a conservative suit of good cut. He was not bejeweled, as he had been at times during his aldermanic career, which ended behind bars in a Federal Prison on four counts of mail fraud. Yes, the glittering ear stud is no more.
Henningsen's license to practice law was suspended by the Wisconsin Supreme Court on August 24, 2004 for a period of two years, retroactive to March 2, 2004.
If he would like to regain his license, he may petition the Supreme Court beginning December 3rd 2005. He must then go through a process involving a referee and a public hearing. The referee will make a decision in the case, should Henningsen pursue reinstatement. The decision is not binding upon the Supreme Court, which makes the final decision. - Michael Horne

PROSPECTS DIM FOR EISENBERG REINSTATEMENT

Last July hearings were held in Milwaukee before Referee Richard M. Esenberg in the matter of the Petition for Reinstatement of Alan D. Eisenberg to practice law.
On September 6th 2005, Esenberg filed a 36-page report with the Clerk of the Supreme Court recommending denial of Eisenberg's petition.
He recommended in the event the Supreme Court were to reinstate the license of the oft-disciplined Milwaukeean, that Eisenberg should contribute monies to a fund for client protection (against lawyers like Eisenberg), and that he turn $11,000 to a State Trust Account.
The referee's decision is not final; it is an advisory that goes to the Supreme Court, which can take its good-natured time making a decision in the matter. Eisenberg has filed a response with the court in opposition to Esenberg's findings, according to Bill Weigel, Litigation Counsel for the Office of Lawyer Regulation. - Michael Horne

THE DIPLOMATIC RECEPTION ROOMS

Last Tuesday, October 11th 2005, I was among 12 people to take the 10:30 a.m. tour of the Diplomatic Reception Rooms on the eighth floor of the United States Department of State. The rooms, named for Secretaries of State who became President, along with a room named for Benjamin Franklin, considered the "Father of the American Foreign Service," contain museum quality pieces culled from a variety of sources since its conception in 1961.
Virtually all of the items in the collection date to the period of 1750 - 1825, and were made in America.
For the most part, the collection was built with the tax-deductible donations of furniture and cash from public citizens, foundations and corporations all of which succumbed to the genteel arm twisting of Clement Conger, who went on to curate the White House collection of furniture, which is somewhat less distinguished, thank you.
Antiquarians will recognize the names of the makers of some of the furniture and decorative arts pieces- Goddard-Townsend, Paul Revere, Gilbert Stuart, Jean-Antoine Houdon, Simon Willard, and others.
During this period American furniture reached its apex, freed, like the country itself, from the restraints of Georgian England. The diplomatic reception room holds a Frothingham Bombe chest dating to 1753, the first example of that swollen-fronted, French-inspired style to be made in the United States.
A Thomas Harland tall case clock from Norwich, Connecticut, 1776 is cherry - not mahogany, as a British clock of the era might be - and is in absolute perfect working order.
A Goddard-Townsend Newport shell and block chest of drawers is particularly sublime, and one would find its equal in only a few museums in the world -- including the Milwaukee Art Museum, F.Y.I.
A copy of the Treaty of Paris rests upon the actual desk upon which it was signed; a Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington looks on, benignly.
Rembrandt Peale is represented with matching paintings of George and Martha Washington. In a cabinet not far away is a wine cooler that George Washington gave to Timothy Pickering. Items from George and Martha's personal china collection are in the room, along with several pieces of the famous Society of the Cincinnati china. (Milwaukee has a plate from that collection, too.)
Thomas Jefferson's china is in the room, and a clock with Benjamin Franklin's likeness adorns a table top. The clock is likely French, but the omnipresent guards would not let me get close enough to tell. A breakfront has drawer pulls with stamped eagles and the words "peace" on them. This is quite a rarity, since most brass furniture pulls of the era were imported from England, and were not known for their patriotic American motifs.

As the brochure to the collection states, "The Diplomatic Reception Rooms are among the most beautiful rooms in the world used for official entertaining," and it was with some surprise that I discovered they were open to the public.
Interestingly, the great museums of Washington D.C., including the National Galleryof Art and the Smithsonian Institution are quite sparse in their holdings of 18th century American Decorative Arts, although there are a number of excellent private collections in the area open to the public operated by outfits like the Colonial Dames and the Daughters of the American Revolution, so this collection is a special treat.

As readers of milwaukeeworld.com know, Milwaukee is home to a superlative collection of 18th century American Decorative Arts in the Chipstone Foundation, which has graciously deigned to allow a few scraps from its accumulation to be piled up in an exhibition space in the basement of the Milwaukee Art Museum that hasn't changed since the jumble was dumped there in 2001. We are to be grateful to the trustees of the foundation for sharing some of the pieces they have decided not to sell for a million dollars apiece as they did four times already this year as if they need the money. Grrrr!
Collection founder Stanley Stone was no fan of the Diplomatic Reception Rooms of the Department of State, or of the public in general, as the actions of his trustees have shown.

At a February, 1980 dinner party in Williamsburg, Virginia, Stone said, "I don't like the idea of gathering all those priceless things together where they might be damaged by the public. … I can't bear to think of somebody putting down a lighted cigarette on a priceless antique chest."
Stone refused to give anything to the State Department collection, although he condescended to give an item to the White House collection. (At last check, it is in storage. Ha! Ha!)

Although the State Department suggests making arrangements for tours of the collection four weeks to three months in advance, I got in on about a week's notice. My mother, who also was recently in Washington, D.C. called last Thursday and visited yesterday.
Put the State Department tour on your next itinerary to Washington, and visit what you can find of the Chipstone Collection here in Milwaukee any time you feel, before the trustees sell the whole thing off, a million bucks at a time. -Michael Horne



READERS' CORNER

[Stephen F. Thiel, a regular reader of milwaukeeworld, had some questions about the impending demolition of the old Tech High School. He thinks it could be repurposed. Instead, it is to be demolished.
Milwaukeeworld shared Mr. Thiel's concerns with Roseann St. Aubin, the director of communications of the Milwaukee Public School System, and she gave the district's reasoning behind the plans for demolition. -Ed.]

Dear Mr. Horne,
I can not believe the institutional insanity present in our government leaders. Only they would look on the pending demolition of the old Tech High School with eagerness. This building, built in 1912, has been the alma mater to thousands of graduates, has been the door to the middle-class for thousands through its emphasis on the skilled trades, symbolizes the entire timeline of the 20th Century Milwaukee Industrial Revolution, is still structurally sound, and can be recreated as useful/productive space.
Look at the Kenilworth Building, the Kunzelmann-Esser building, the Ambassador Hotel, the Schuster's store on 12th and Vliet, the Teweles Seed building, and others for adaptive redevelopment. This building is being torn down for what? A playfield! There are literally hundreds of thousands of square feet in this building and it is a crying shame that we can not find the collective creativity/intelligence to re-use this building. There will never be any cheaper square footage than in this building. At a time when the Barrett administration is creatively working to establish business parks at Wood, the Menomonee River valley, RiverWorks, among others, it is inexplicable why they would not save this building.
This building represents Milwaukee as the"Machine Shop to the World", can be a youthful/hip business incubator and entrepreneurial center, can anchor the redelopment of the Fifth Ward, and a huge foundation for the remarkable urban renaissance in Milwaukee.
If Weas Development can succeed with the Kenilworth Building, if Gorman Development can succeed with the Kunzelmann-Esser Building, if Weigand Enterprises can succeed with the Ambassador Hotel, surely a massive redevelopment of the old Boy's Tech High School can succeed. Let's use this grand building to help build a new Milwaukee Industrial Revolution. It is not that hard. Surely the Boy's Tech building is more significant than 100 E. Seeboth or the Peck Row Houses, buildings that received protection from the wrecking ball.
Sure Mrs. Pettit would find it ironic that the very facility that produced thousands of skilled workers for her family's business would now be facing its very own destruction. No one could have foreseen the rapid redevelopment of these neighborhoods. This act of demolition is not unlike the "urban renewal" activities of the 1950's and 1960's and I know we will regret our ill-advised actions.
I just thought you would like to know.
Your loyal reader,
Stephen F. Thiel

A Reply from Roseann St. Aubin
Mr. Horne -

Thank you for bringing your reader's question to our attention.
The decision for demolition of the former Boys' Technical High School was made by three entities. These entities are the Bradley Tech Commission, the School Board and the City of Milwaukee. The Commission itself is made up of representatives of labor, business, the community, parents, MPS, MATC and UWM. There was a great deal of discussion prior to the decision being made.
Currently, the new Bradley Tech has no athletic space. The cost of transporting student athletes to other facilities for practice/play is estimated by the Bradley Tech principal at approximately $180,000 a year. Once the athletic field/green space is completed, which is projected for September of 2006, the space will be used not only by Bradley Tech, but also by MPS' Vieau School, a bilingual K-8 that is located just a couple of blocks away.
Roseann St. Aubin
Director, Communications and Public Affairs
Milwaukee Public Schools
P.O. Box 2181
Milwaukee, WI 53201-2181
Office 414.475.8237
Fax 414.475.8430
staubir@mail.milwaukee.k12.wi.us

COUNTY-CITY to be WEB ROOMIES

Dear Reader --
I spent Saturday roasting a $27 leg of lamb on my $3 estate sale rotisserie which gave me enough energy Sunday to help a friend install a beginnning of a rock garden which you can see on the east side of N. Marshall Street just south of Brady. Then, as the sun set Sunday, I took a last look at "The Compound," which had been my home and garden for about five years. I was able to salvage a number of the plants I had been growing there, although the bulldozer beat me to my favorite rose. By this morning, the little red cottage and the large ugly mustard colored building had been leveled there on E. Kane Place, and construction will begin on housing there along the Milwaukee River. The crummy trees have been removed from the site, and the forester was kind enough to retain the chokecherries and viburnums that I had planted on the steep bluff. I grabbed a final few tributes to the old place, including the address and my old mailbox. I had long since stripped it of its hardware. The maple floor of my old apartment is now on Brady Street, where it will be trod upon by the well-shod feet of Ms. Groove Intimate's customers. It really was a lovely floor.
This has left me little time for actually getting my own house in order, and then there is that business of work, a little bit of which I share with you below, including one of my favorites -- the police chief's wish list for her drug asset forfeiture money. But first, read this about the city and county sharing space. Talk about the Odd Couple!
Give me a call or leave me a message. You've got the number -- 1 414 978-8039 or email me at horne@milwaukeeworld.com Also subscribe to this thing, and you should get it automatically.
Horne

COUNTY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY to CITY BUILDING
By Michael Horne
Computer equipment has been downsized over the past decade and has “situated the City with extra space in its secured data center facility rooms in the Information and Technology Management Division located at 809 N. Broadway, according to a city report recommending the county move its Information Management Services Division to the city’s location.
The “Intergovernmental Cooperation and License Agreement Between Milwaukee County and the City of Milwaukee for Shared Information Technology Services and Space,” to be considered Tuesday, October 18th by the Milwaukee Common Council tells us the city could share excess space and could share equipment “without adversely impacting the operations of either organization.”
[In a publicly-traded corporation the above would be considered a “forward-looking statement.]
The document also whereases that “both the City and the County can share expertise in their unique areas of Information and Technology Service delivery,” which we have all been subjected to since the city and county joined in the www.milwaukee.gov portal. The jury is still out on that adventure. But somehow, the bandwidth after the marriage was narrower than before the merger. If you have had any difficulties with the city and / or county websites since that odd marriage, do write me. Or don’t - my mailbox is already full.
The city will license space in the building for “the purpose and placement and operation of certain information technology equipment” owned by the county. The county will make the equipment available for the joint use of the city and county.
The equipment will be that needed to run the joint computer center, “such as a power distribution unit and uninterruptible power supply,” according to Randolf A. Gschwind, the city’s Chief Information Officer.
According to the terms, “the agreed upon value to the city of its use of the equipment provided by the county is $65,000 (approximately one-half of the value of the equipment).
That value would be applied against the annual license fee for the space, which will be set at $22,632 in 2006 plus a special one-time $4,000 relocation cost. Any balance would be carried over to the next year.” The term of the agreement is five years.

CHIEF’S DRUG MONEY WISH LIST

Chief Nannette H. Hegerty has sent her wish list to the Common Council, which annually authorizes the Milwaukee Police Department to “accept and expend asset forfeiture sharing contributions on behalf of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Drug Enforcement Group.”
This year’s list includes the following:
1.) Vehicle Expenses -- $16,500.These expenses are incurred to maintain the vehicles used by the task force. They include parking, repairs and fuel.
2.) Training Expenses --$ 2,000. These funds will be used to provide task force members with training approved by the executive committee.
3.) Office Supplies -- $ 600. These funds will be used to purchase toner and other office supply expenses.
4.) Miscellaneous Services -- $1,300. These funds will be used to provide storage and alarm service for the task force’s records.
5.) Overtime Reimbursement -- $108,000. As part of the operation of the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Group operations, the West Allis Police Department, the South Milwaukee Police Department, the Milwaukee County Sheriff and the Milwaukee Police Department are reimbursed for overtime worked on the task force. Monthly billings are submitted by the agencies involved.
6.) Asset Forfeiture Proceeds Distributions (amounts to be determined). “The MMDEG executive committee approves the sharing of a portion of asset forfeiture receipts among the members of the task force. The percentage distribution is governed by the MMDEG memorandums of understanding between members of the task force.”

Let’s hope that Chief Hegerty will fill in the public with the “amounts to be determined,” which could be substantial, and could be used to generate yet another wish list. - Michael Horne

PAPERLESS COMMITTEE HEARING
Ald. Michael D’Amato chaired the Judiciary and Legislation Committee last week in the first such meeting in which members were not burdened with binders. Instead, the committee performed its tasks with laptop computers. Ordinarily each committee member would have a binder with as many as 300 pages of paper in it. The new policy could save much paper and a considerable amount of staff time, and give a whole new fresh look to the Channel 25 news set. -Michael Horne

THE PUBLIC MARKET

The Milwaukee Public Market opened to a crush of people over the weekend. The place, at times, was impassible and the business spilled out into the neighborhood. Across the street, people waited as long as two hours to get a table at the Wicked Hop. Inside, the market was a bit like visiting an art gallery on Gallery Night - great for people watching, but hard to get a handle on the display.
The long-awaited project rushed to completion over the last few days of its construction. Simie Fein said he supplied about 90 per cent of the equipment for the market, so the walls at Fein Bros. must have been bulging with fish coolers, pizza ovens, refrigerators, ranges and other implements.
A few of the booths have yet to be completed, but there is an array of marketers. The crush of humanity prevented me from buying anything, but there did seem to be a number of Wisconsin specialties. Whether the market will be able to find products from Wisconsin purveyors year round will be for us to find out. There is an automatic teller machine on the first floor. Next to it is a machine marked “Depository.” I noted that the keys were in the depository, and informed management that it would be best to remove the keys from the safe during business hours. Details, details, details!
The booth-style of indoor shopping may prove to be inconvenient, since you apparently have to ask an attendant for each and every thing you want to buy, and to pay for your purchases on the spot.
This is not the sort of place where you can fill a market basket with goodies and proceed to a central checkout, which will doubtless add to the time required to select and purchase your food.
Perhaps some (all) of the merchants might consider installing “take a number, please” machines like you see at Sciortino’s Bakery or Usinger’s Sausage to expedite service. Also, the food selection will probably have to undergo some changes. Frankly, certain Milwaukee trademarks seem unrepresented in this venue.
I believe that with the exception of Benji’s and Jake’s, it is the only place in the metropolitan area that does not serve hot ham and rolls on Sunday mornings.
Michael Horne

LOBBY LAW AMENDED

Just months into its implementation, the City of Milwaukee's lobbying regulation ordinance is being amended. The first provision benefits large lobbying firms, since only the first four principals registered bt the same lobbyist in a calendar year would be subject to the $125 licensing fee. The "fifth and all subsequent principals registered by the same lobbyist in a calendar year may be registered without further charge."
Among other changes, a provision was removed that would have required that "sworn statements, which have been filed alleging violations of the lobbying ordinance, are not required to remain confidential." The measures are expected to be approved by the Common Council on Tuesday, October 18th.