KREUSER MOVE LEADS TO JOCKEYING IN KENOSHA

SCRAMBLE FOR KREUSER SEAT; IN ASSEMBLY FOR HIS LEADERSHIP POST

Also: The Butler Did It! and, Chief Flynn -- Don't Forget to Vote This Time!

Special to the Readers of www.milwaukeeworld.com

By Michael Horne

Rep. Jon Richards endorsed Rep. Pedro Colon in his quest for Milwaukee City Attorney on Tuesday, March 25^th, 2008. The Richards endorsement came the same day Minority Leader Jim Kreuser announced his plans to run for Kenosha County Executive in a special election to replace resigned incumbent Allan Kehl, who has been indicted for accepting cash contributions from businessman Dennis Troha.

Kreuser’s announcement led to a flurry of speculation about who might succeed him in the assembly should he win the executive race, with former Somers Town Chair Carol Fischer and Supervisor Jim Huff mulling bids. (They have until July to make up their minds, in case Kreuser loses the exec race and runs for assembly again.) That's an awful lot of jockeying from the town that brought us Jockey shorts!
County Clerk Edna Highland says if a primary were to be held, it would be on Tuesday, May 13^th, 2008, with a general election scheduled for Tuesday, June 10^th, 2008, which happens to be the Feast Day of St. Ephrem the Syrian, Deacon of Edessa. According to no less an authority than Pope Benedict XV, writing in 1920, Ephrem in his youth “was hot tempered, easily angered, quarrelsome, and unrestrained in mind and language.” That sounds like Kreuser before he took the veil!

Kreuser’s decision to run for the executive seat should not be seen as a sign he feels the Democrats are unlikely to win the majority in the assembly in the upcoming election, friends say. [Kreuser’s office did not respond to a request for comment.—Ed.] Such a victory would almost certainly have propelled him into the Speaker’s chair during the next session of the assembly. Nor will he resign his leadership position while he stakes his claim to be the next County Executive of Kenosha, which might cause some grumbling among his heirs apparent.

So why is he running? “Maybe” it is economics, suggests a friend. Perhaps so. The salary of a Representative to the Assembly is $45,569, while that of the Kenosha County Executive is $87,588. The Speaker of the Assembly gets an additional stipend of $25 a month (unchanged since 1929) but even that sum, as you can see, is not enough to match the Kenosha emolument.

If Kreuser wins, somebody will have to become the minority leader, so it is reasonable to infer from Richards’ sudden yet belated endorsement of Colon, that he might have his eye on that prize, and next session, the speakership, if his party wins.After all, Richards could have endorsed his colleague months ago, as have Reps. Jason Fields, Barbara Toles, Josh Zepnick, Sheldon Wasserman, David Cullen, Tamara Grigsby,Thomas Nelson, Gary Sherman, Christine Sinicki, Tony Staskunas, Robert Turner, Annette “Polly” Williams and Leon Young, so it is fair to look at his timing. [Richards didn’t call me back either.—Ed.] In the event Colon does not win the attorney’s race Tuesday, he can always repay Richards’ endorsement by supporting his leadership bid in the likely event of a Kreuser victory.(Tony Staskunas might be a good choice for leadership, but it looks like he’s way too busy with his law firm these days to handle the load.) On the other hand,Atty. Richards has only one open case – that between Paige Graff and her longtime partner Julia LaLoggia, of Red Room, Barossa and Stonefly. That should be a doozy, though. Richards plans a fundraiser Monday, March 31st, 2008 at the Palm Garden of the Milwaukee Public Market, 400 N. Water St. where we can sort this all out.

THE BUTLER DID IT: LOUIE PACKS ICC

Hundreds of supporters packed the Italian Community Center, 631 E. Chicago St., Wednesday, March 26^th, 2008 to support Justice Louis Butler in his bid for re-election, in one of the tastier fundraisers of recent memory. As the guests sipped on vintage wines and everyday beers, courtesy of the candidate, others mingled and supped on superlative ICC banquet fare including various cured meats, fresh fruit, sliced cheeses, and succulent smoked fish. Among the distinguished guests were such worthies as Ulice Payne, Lena Taylor (who did double duty, campaigning at another event in the building), Franklyn Gimbel, former Gov. Martin Schreiber, former alderman Don Richards, (sans Dee, whose mother died at 96 just the day before), Milwaukee Professional Firefighters Local 215 leader Bobbie Webber, his Milwaukee Police Association brother Tom Fischer, Rep. Pedro Colon, Michael Guerin, U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, Mayor Tom Barrett, and U.S. Senator Herbert H. Kohl, who never bothers with these things unless he really likes the candidate.

Attorneys Robert Friebert and John Finerty, Sr.also were present, and dismissed criticism leveled against their firm for allegedly providing Butler with free office space and clerical assistance during his campaigns, in violation of the law prohibiting corporations from contributing to political candidates. Robert Dohnal alleged as much in a complaint filed that day with the Government Accountability Board, saying that Friebert Finerty & St. John violated the law by providing these services to Butler over a period of years without billing him until 2008. The lawyers say this is hogwash, and a distraction created by the opposition.

Joanne Anton was in the room, which made it ever so much the more so radiant, but since Sen. Kohl was there too, that meant she was working. Herb says Joanne is the “very best there is” in her specialized field as a legislative assistant, but he is not afraid to give her up for a few weeks each year so she can draw a salary from the Senate Special Committee on Aging. But she always comes back, except when she goes to work for the senator’s campaign. (Speaking of which, is there anybody out there who can comprehend Journal Sentinel columnist Mike Nichols's item from March 22^nd, 2008 about our “contract” with Herb?) Anyway, Herb has always been considered one of the best bosses on Capitol Hill, and he shows his gratitude to Joanne by giving each of her children $10,000 on Christmas. The children of staffer Paul S. Bock, on the other hand, only get $7,500 apiece.
--Michael Horne

REMINDER TO CHIEF FLYNN – YOUR BOSS IS UP FOR RE-ELECTION – VOTE TUESDAY, APRIL 1^st, 2008. YOU MAY REGISTER AT THE POLLS

[A public service from www.milwaukeeworld.com]

The Spring primary election came and went but Milwaukee Police Department Chief Edward A. Flynn did not cast a ballot on Tuesday, February 19^th, 2008. Just because the chief distanced himself from an anonymous department report that questioned the advisability of same-day voter registration does not mean he should fail to avail himself of the convenience. In fact he has no other choice if he wants to cast a ballot in the general election, since it’s too late for him to register by mail. But chief – you’ve got to vote, even if you haven’t bought a house yet. Just find the polling place closest to where you’re bunking and cast your vote. After all, your boss, Tom Barrett, is on the ballot and in the electoral fight of his life (that is, considering he usually runs unopposed).

-- Michael Horne