ELROY MAYOR WILL NOT WITHDRAW FROM RACE DESPITE THOMPSON THREAT

 KNUTH PROMISES "GOOD RACE" 

IF FORMER GOVERNOR RUNS FOR TOP ELROY SEAT

Carpetbagger Thompson's Lack of City of Elroy Residency,

Spotty State Voting Record

Could Work Against Him

 Special to the Readers of Milwaukeeworld


By Michael Horne


And The Milwaukee World Hound Dog Team 


"I'm looking at it. I'm looking at governor, I'm looking at senator and I'm looking at mayor of Elroy. One of the three."
                   -Former Wisconsin Governor Tommy G. Thompson, of Madison and Alexandria, Virginia, chatting up his plans for the future in an interview in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November 17th, 2009.

THOMPSON'S RIVAL SPEAKS!

SHARON KNUTH, MAYOR OF ELROY, WISCONSIN

Declares She is in the Race

Prepared to Take on Mighty Thompson Machine

Talk of a Thompson campaign for the chief executive office of the City of Elroy (pop. 1541) will not deter Sharon Knuth, mayor since 2002, from taking out her nomination papers on December 1st, 2009, she tells Milwaukeeworld in an exclusive interview.

Mayor Knuth, owner of Country Favorites on Main Street in downtown Elroy says she's "heard the Thompsons built a new home lately out on Highway P. But I don't know if they've moved into it yet."

She added, "I don't know if they're coming back here, and if he's going to run, but if he does it will be a good race."

Thompson would be a "good mayor," Knuth says, adding, "I wish him luck in whatever he does."

Knuth described Thompson's talk of a mayoral run as "cute."

THOMPSON'S NEW HOME ON COUNTY "P" NOT IN CITY LIMITS

Could Seek Annexation from Legislature

The new Thompson home is likely on the outskirts of Elroy City proper, as seen by the official map. That's Highway P in the upper left corner, outside the city limits in far-northeast quadrant of the Elroy Metroplex.

As Mayor and sovereign of Elroy, Thompson is required by Wisconsin State Statutes to reside in the city when he assumes office. That means he'll have to order the legislature to get his property out on Highway P annexed to the city by April, 2010 or he'll have to leave Sue Ann at home (she's used to it) and find a place to bunk within the city limits. [There's a foreclosure listed on Academy Street in downtown Elroy for $69,000. It's within walking distance of City Hall, too, and right where Main Street and 2nd Main Street diverge.--Ed.]

THOMPSON'S SKETCHY VOTING RECORD

Missed Key Votes on Hunting Referendum, Supreme Court, Senate, Governor, Attorney General, Senate Races

Tommy G. Thompson

[Pencil Drawing from the sketchbook of Michael Horne, 2009

Commissioned Exclusively for the Readers of Milwaukeeworld]

I'm not sure how much time Tommy Thompson spends at his Madison home as he "criscrosses the country" talking about healthcare, but the former Governor and cabinet secretary does make it back to his legal address of 1313 Manassas Trail pret' near every time an election comes around lately, including the lightly attended 2009 spring elections.

It appears the only elections Citizen Thompson has blown off since November, 2002 were those of February 18th, 2003; April 1st, 2003; February 15th, 2005; April 5th, 2005; April 4th, 2006; January 7th, 2007 and September 9th, 2008. That's only seven!

Stick it to the Hunters and Fisherfolk
Thompson did not care enough about Wisconsin's hunters to participate in an April 2003 vote on a constitutional amendment granting citizens the right to fishing, hunting, trapping and the taking of game in this state. He never explained if his refusal to vote was passive support for the unnecessary amendment or active opposition to the interests of Wisconsin sportsmen. And women. [The measure passed, despite Thompson's inaction, by a vote of 668,459 to 146,182.]

Van Hollen's Lonely Crusade
Other elections Thompson ignored -- or snubbed -- included such close ones as the November 7th, 2006 squeaker in which Republican J. B. Van Hollen was chosen  as Attorney General with 50.15% of the vote against Kathleen Falk, Thompson's Democratic Dane County Executive. Thompson likewise did not vote in that election for Mark Green for governor or Jack Voight for State Treasurer.

Thompson's Contempt for the Courts, Education
Thompson missed three Supreme Court elections, a State Superintendent of Education race and numerous small time races for such boring things as county clerks, judges -- and even for Mayor of Madison in Spring, 2003.
Yet Thompson thinks he has a right to assume the reigns of power from Elroy's Mayor Knuth with such a spotty record of civic involvement.
 --Michael Horne

TOMMY'S MADISON HOUSE

It is interesting to note that Thompson's legal address is in the Richmond Hill subdivision of Madison, containing streets with names like "Leesburg," "Manassas," "Alexandria," "Fairfax," "McLean," "Fredericksburg," "Lynchburg," and "Langley." These are all Northern Virginia locales in the vicinity of which Thompson made a number of real estate transactions while cabinet secretary, and where he probably sleeps more often than he does in Madison. It is quite odd in the north to find communities named after Confederate battlefields, especially a community with a former Governor living there. Thompson's home, assessed at $469,800 is 2,520 square feet and was built in 2000. Taxes, which were paid in full, amounted to $9,107 for 2008, although Thompson did not claim the Lottery Property Tax Relief Credit that he invented. Thompson and his wife Sue Ann, purchased the home in March 2001 for $353,900 from Encore Construction Co., which had purchased the land from Hovde Realty. Developer Don Hovde, like Thompson, had some cabinet experience, serving as an undersecretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1981 - 1983 in the Reagan administration. This may help explain the Virginia theme.)
--Michael Horne

FUN FACT

Interestingly, Thompson voted from his Madison address (either in person or by absentee ballot) in April and September 2006, but registered in December 2006 as a presidential candidate listing his address as Alexandria, Virginia. [See Milwaukeeworld post here.] But by the February 20th, 2007 spring primary, Tommy was voting in Madison as a Wisconsinite.
-- Michael Horne

AS JANUARY DEADLINE LOOMS, FORMER GOVERNOR, CABINET SECRETARY WOULD NEED 50 SIGNATURES OF CITY OF ELROY VOTERS TO RUN

Tommy Thompson would have until 5 p.m. on the first Tuesday of January, 2010, to file his nomination papers. Thompson would be required to submit more than 50 and no more than 100 qualified signatures of City of Elroy electors to secure the opportunity to run against Knuth.

--Michael Horne

TOMMY G. THOMPSON VOTING HISTORY, 2002 - 2009
There are Known Communists with Better Voting Records than Former Governor
Will They Run for Elroy Mayor Next? 

9/10/2002 9/10/2002 ELECTION
11/5/2002 11/5/2002 ELECTION
2/17/2004 2/17/2004 ELECTION
4/6/2004 4/6/2004 ELECTION
9/14/2004 9/14/2004 ELECTION
11/2/2004 11/2/2004 ELECTION
9/12/2006 2006 PARTISAN PRIMARY Absentee Not Applicable
2/20/2007 2007 SPRING PRIMARY At Polls Not Applicable
4/3/2007 2007 SPRING ELECTION Absentee Not Applicable
4/1/2008 2008 SPRING ELECTION Absentee Not Applicable
2/19/2008 2008 PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE AND SPRING PRIMARY Absentee Not Applicable
11/4/2008 2008 PRESIDENTIAL AND GENERAL ELECTION At Polls Not Applicable
2/17/2009 2009 SPRING PRIMARY At Polls Not Applicable
4/7/2009 2009 SPRING ELECTION