PEDRO'S PARTY

State Rep. Pedro Colon held his birthday party Thursday, April 6th 2006 at Tres Hermanos Restaurant, 1100 W. National Avenue. The Milwaukee Democrat, who is also the chair of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District Commission, celebrated his 38th birthday with such fellow legislators as Rep. Josh Zepnick, Rep. Barbara Toles and colleagues at MMSD including Wallace White, Dennis Grzezinski, and Michael McCabe.
Mayor Tom Barrett popped in toward the end of the event, which was scheduled to run from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The mayor had earlier spoken at the 4th Street Forum at Historic Turner Hall on the subject of "Who Owns Your Government?" It appears he did not eat at that lunchtime event, but he made up for it just as soon as he got in the door of the restaurant, where he helped himself to a heaping platter of goodies from a buffet that included chicken, beef, beans, rice, tortillas, and other chow.
It must have been a long day for the mayor and his staff; his police guard seemed as starved as Barrett himself, and supped as plentifully.
Among other notables at the event were such significant figures as Patricia Martinez, the radio station owner who introduced Colon to the crowd, Atty. Mark Thomsen, lobbyist Moira Fitzgerald and Atty. John Finerty.
Guests signed name tags and filled envelopes with campaign contributions. Interestingly, many of the contributions were in cash form, which is not the norm around here. I'm certain the Colon campaign's bank deposit slips shall reflect this greenback largesse on the part of his supporters.
Colon kept his remarks brief, since everybody knew him anyway, and he needed no introduction.
One of the attendees noted that "birthday parties are all the rage" among candidates, adding that Zepnick had held one not long ago for his birthday, March 21st.
As if to underscore the popularity of birthdays for politicians, Zepnick carried with him a birthday book. If you looked up April 7th, you'd learn that those who share that birthdate with Pedro have big plans, and like to do things their way.
As the evening went on, a number of neighborhood children peered through the windows of the restaurant as they enjoyed a little evening sunlight, a rarity around here.
Colon stepped outside the restaurant and had some words with the loiterers. He told them to come in and to have a bite to eat, so as not to waste any of the delicious food that had been prepared in such abundance. What a classy touch! The youngsters gleefully took him up on his offer, and chowed down even more heavily than the mayor. Now that's one way to grow future voters!
-- Michael Horne