CITY CELEBRATES CLXIVth BIRTHDAY

CITY BIRTHDAY PARTY AT CALATRAVA

DRAWS CROWD ON WINTER'S NIGHT

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Expect Hines to Run for Mayor -- 

-- Whether or not Barrett Becomes Governor

Council President Willie Hines, Jr. 

Will Become Acting Mayor if Barrett Becomes Governor

Plans to Run for Mayor Even if Barrett's Quest Fails

Special to the Readers of Milwaukeeworld

By Michael Horne

And The Milwaukee World Hound Dog Team 

A smattering of the city's elite and quite a number of newspaper journalists gathered at the Milwaukee Art Museum yesterday, Dies Martis xxvi Ianuarius MMX, to celebrate Milwaukee's CLXIVth birthday. The annual event, sponsored by the Milwaukee Press Club, which itself is celebrating its CXXVth birthday this year, was attended by over CCCXX people.
They gathered in the soaring Windhover Hall of the Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavillion, where they trod the white marble floors that have shown more age in the last X years of their installation than in all the previous eons of their existence.
It is a space truly to be seen and not heard, as the challenging acoustics attested during the ceremony's brief program and a fun quiz by historian John Gurda.
Among the attendees was Mayor Tom Barrett, fresh from Madison where he attended a fundraiser for his run as governor held before current governor Jim Doyle's State of the State address, which we all were pleased to miss. He was among the last to arrive, and did so after the evening's program. His place was competently filled by Chief of Staff Pat Curley who said he does not involve himself in political matters like fundraisers.
Beating Barrett to the event were city officials including Alds. Bob Bauman, Joe Dudzik, Michael Murphy, Terry Witkowski and Common Council President Willie Hines. Their colleagues Nik Kovac and Ashanti Hamilton pretty near made it a quorum of the full council by the time of their late arrival, delayed by their attendance at a typical marathon hearing of the council's Licenses Committee.

COUNT ON HINES TO RUN

It was easy to get the impression that President Hines plans to run for mayor whether or not the current mayor wins his race for governor. I told that to Mayor Barrett, and received his less-than heartfelt thanks for my observation. Hines only smiled when I quizzed him about the matter.

AMONG THE ATTENDEES


Administration officials in the room included Elections chief Sue Edman and Department of City Development Commissioner Rocky Marcoux. Marcoux said he'd sure like to see the Pizza Man site redeveloped, and added the location has sufficient density that a future developer ought not face a mandate to burden  it with parking spaces.
Missing in action were City Attorney Grant Langley, (who never seemed an essential element to any party anyway) Comptroller W. Martin "Wally" Morics (probably off reading Shakespeare somewhere) and Treasurer Wayne Whittow (past his bedtime).
Members of the press included Jim Nelson, president of the club, fellow club potentate Marilyn Krause, reporter Joel Dresang, and editor Marty Kaiser (who violated the sanctity of the coat check department and bypassed its tip basket by retrieving his own raiments), all of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The coat check was run by a band of volunteers, including this reporter, but especially by  a group of civic-minded college students, many serving internships in the mayor's office.
Bruce Murphy, Mary Van De Kamp Nohl and Kuirt Chandler of Milwaukee Magazine also made their appearances, on a day when it was announced their publication's parent company, Quad Graphics, was to become publicly traded by the end of the year. The magazine's on-line offerings have expanded considerably recently in a process that is expected to continue. 
Jon Anne Willow of TCD also mingled among the crowd, as did Sonya Jongsma Knauss of milwaukeemoms, rubbing shoulders with party co-sponsor H. Carl Mueller, Evan Zeppos and Curt Gielow, who is soon to be the next mayor of the city of Mequon, running unopposed, as they tend to do things in Ozaukee County's great Cauldron of Democracy. He was accompanied by his wife Mary Gielow, who dreads having to conduct policy in the aisles of Sendik's grocery in Mequon as part of her uxorial duties as future first lady of Wisconsin's fourth-largest (by area) city. 
Guests feasted on a variety of local foods, including sausages and C% veal hot dogs from Usinger's, an "authentic" macaroni and cheese just like mom never made (with goat cheese and chicken) and abundant free candies from Quality Candy (is this why they went bankrupt?).
Beverages included free root beer floats from Sprecher (which has launched a new brand of regular beers under the Chameleon label) and free beers from Milwaukee Brewing Company.
Water was available at $II  a bottle, which tells you something about the value of that resource, especially considering the price of beer.
Party favors were pint glasses emblazoned with the Press Club's anniversary logo.