Election 2008 Comments - March 4, 2008
3rd District Aldermanic candidate Jack Shaw sent this email [typos corrected]:
From:
Brookfield [mailto:jshawbrookfield@wi.rr.com]
Sent: Monday, March
03, 2008 10:19 AM
To: Berg, Scott
Subject: Slight
correction on your site
On your "Election2008" page you have tabbed me as "status quo" with which I have
a difference of opinion. I would consider myself "neutral" as you have described
the three choices you offer. Quite honestly, I think a better description would
be "waiting to see what happens" for me.
Thanks,
Jack Shaw
I stand by my opinion based on my personal observation during Jack's time on the Council. It's up to the voters to sort it out.
February 19, 2008 Primary Comments
District 1
The vote count by ward was:
| Ward 1 | Ward 2 | Ward 3 | Total | |
| Dan Sutton (i) | 233 | 207 | 237 | 677 |
| Dick Brunner | 206 | 229 | 209 | 644 |
| Jon "Chip" Schneider | 108 | 128 | 174 | 410 |
| Votes cast in ward | 547 | 564 | 620 | 1,731 |
There is an old saying that a candidate should win his own neighborhood (voting ward) where people know him best.
- Ald. Sutton lives in ward 3 and won it by 28 votes.
- Disk Brunner lives in ward 1 and won in ward 2 where none of the candidates live.
- Jon Schneider lives in ward 3 and had his best showing there.
I have not had a chance to speak to Ald. Sutton about the results, but it was clear by his behavior upon hearing the news that he was shocked to have come in first by only 33 votes out of 1,681 (less than a 2% margin over Brunner) and only 39% overall. Having worked with Ald. Sutton for the past four years and knowing of his close connection to Cindy Kilkenny, my personal opinion is that you should expect a tough, nasty campaign from Sutton.
Ald. Sutton has claimed that Mr. Brunner issued an inaccurate campaign brochure (Brookfield News - February 19, 2008 - Sutton accuses opponent of misleading voters). I have not seen the brochure so I can't comment directly on it. I will say that I got to know Dick Brunner very well when working with him on the Council for six years. I don't believe for an instant that Dick intentionally mislead anyone about anything. If there was an error, I am certain that Dick will own up to it.
District 2
The vote count by ward was:
| Ward 4 | Ward 5 | Ward 6 | Total | |
| Rick Owen (i) | 224 | 234 | 178 | 636 |
| Terry Halmstad | 139 | 180 | 187 | 506 |
| Jennifer Donze | 137 | 145 | 183 | 465 |
| Votes cast in ward | 500 | 559 | 548 | 1,607 |
There is an old saying that a candidate should win his own neighborhood (voting ward) where people know him best.
- Ald. Owen lives in ward 5 and had his strongest showing there.
- Terry Halmstad lives in ward 6 and had his strongest showing there.
- Jennifer Donze lives in ward 6 and had her best showing there.
I spoke briefly to Ald. Owen about the results and he was grateful for the support. He was also clear that he is taking the race seriously and will continue to campaign.
If it is true that "there’s no difference in these two" then it is reasonable to believe that most of Donze's supporters will go with Owen. Based on this primary that would be a 2 to 1 advantage for Owen.
News Stories
Brookfield News - Voter's Guide
MJS - January 3, 2008 - Election 2008: Candidates for local races in Waukesha County
MJS - January 3, 2008 - Political vets run again
Brookfield News - January 9, 2008 - Primaries in two districts
Brookfield News - January
30, 2008 - Opponents have fiscal focus
Brookfield News
Brookfield News - February 7, 2008 - Voters Guides: Aldermanic Districts 1 and 2
Waukesha Freeman - February 15, 2008 -
Three
candidates vie for Brookfield District 2 seat, Candidates eye development and
lower tax rates
The Waukesha Freeman of Friday, February 15, 2008 included profiles of the candidates running in the Brookfield 1st and 2nd district primaries on Tuesday. Unfortunately, the Freeman has no free online version of this article. Note 2nd District candidate Terry Halmstad stated [emphasis added].
"Halmstad has lived in Brookfield for the last 32 years. He is semi-retired, working part time as a consultant in the metal finishing field and as a driver for Precision Services and Parts.
Halmstad is running because he is dissatisfied with Owens’ performance, he said. Tax rates need to be controlled and need to stop going up, Halmstad said, which is also another reason he is running.
One of the reasons Halmstad and his family moved to Brookfield was it had one of the lowest tax rates in the area.
“I don’t think we should be the lowest in the area. But because you can tax doesn’t mean you should,” he said.
Halmstad said the city doesn’t have enough businesses supporting the tax base, which would help to moderate any increases. There are too many residential complexes going into the city, he said."
What the article did not say is that former Ald. Cindy Kilkenny has sent out an email to her long time supporters taking credit for Halmstad's candidacy. She also plans to endorse Halmstad formally on Monday, if not sooner. I tried to post to Kilkenny's web site with the following message. It was NOT posted i.e. censored:
So, you keep hearing about "Mayor Speaker's cronies" and how bad that is for the city. Why do you want "Kilkenny's Cronies"? After all, Mrs. Kilkenny is not elected, appointed or even accountable.
From:
Cindy Kilkenny [mailto:cindykilkenny@wi.rr.com]
Sent: Friday, February 15, 2008 6:10 PM
To: 'Scott Berg'
Subject: Terry Halmstad
Mrs. Kilkenny did endorse Mr. Halmstad in her blog entry of February 17, 2008. Perfectly permissible, of course, but I thought all you voters should know who's behind who.
MJS - February 19, 2008 Primary Results - District 1
MJS - February 19, 2008 Primary Results - District 2
Brookfield News - February 19, 2008 Incumbents top primary voting
Brookfield News - February 19, 2008 - Sutton accuses opponent of misleading voters
The 2008 election continues the traditional campaign themes of:
-
Status Quo - Things are going well. No sudden, sweeping changes are needed.
-
Neutral - Some things are good, others can be improved. It's a case by case evaluation made in a thoughtful deliberative manner.
-
Reformer - The city's going down the tubes! Reverse everything NOW!
The following table shows my classification of all candidates and other elected officials. An explanation for the ratings is at the bottom of the page. I suspect a few candidates will dispute my label, but then, it is my opinion.
2008 Spring Elections - Post February 19 Primary
|
District |
Reformer |
Neutral |
Name |
Status Quo |
|
1 |
X |
|
Daniel Sutton (inc) 14900 Woodland Place (262) 373-0173 |
|
|
|
|
X |
Dick Brunner 2940 Princeton Road (262) 782-4099 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
Terry Halmstad 3485 Tall Oaks Drive (262) 781-1041 |
|
|
|
|
|
Rick Owen (inc) 17700 Lisa Lane (262) 790-9888 |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
|
X |
Ron Balzer (inc) 16425 Luella Drive (262) 782-1177 |
|
|
|
|
|
Jack Shaw 2700 Clearwater Drive (262) 784-2212 |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
Steven V. Ponto (inc) 19755 Kilkee Court (262) 789-9877 |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
5 |
|
X |
Scott A. Berg (inc) 18115 Whippletree Lane (262) 797-8772 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6 |
X |
|
Christopher Blackburn 1225 Apache Trail (262) 821-5262 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
7 |
|
X |
Thomas J. Schellinger 240 Leanore Lane (262) 782-4496 |
|
|
|
X |
|
Renee Lowerr 17075 Elizabeth Drive (262) 797-9656 |
|
2008 Spring Elections
|
|
Reformer |
Neutral |
Name |
Status Quo |
|
|
|
X |
Richard J. Steinberg (inc)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jeffrey Warchol 14260 Radiant Court (262) 784-2580 |
|
|
District |
Reformer |
Neutral |
Name |
Status Quo |
| Mayor |
Jeff Speaker
(inc) |
X | ||
|
1 |
X |
|
Bill Carnell (inc)
|
|
|
2 |
|
X |
Bob Reddin (inc)
(262) 781-4029 |
|
|
3 |
|
|
Jim Garvens (inc)
|
X |
|
4 |
|
X |
Mark Nelson (inc)
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
Gary Mahkorn (inc)
|
X |
|
6 |
X |
|
Jerry Mellone (inc)
|
|
|
7 |
X |
|
Lisa Mellone (inc)
|
|
Reasons for the Labels
|
Name |
Reason for Classification |
|
Daniel Sutton (inc) |
|
|
Dick Brunner |
|
|
Terry Halmstad |
|
|
Rick Owen (inc) |
|
|
Ron Balzer (inc) |
|
|
Jack Shaw |
|
|
Steven V. Ponto (inc) |
|
|
Scott A. Berg (inc) |
I won't recount every vote here. Read through this web site (lots of updates coming!) and decide for yourself. You see, I provide the detailed documentation to back up my views. |
|
Christopher Blackburn |
|
|
Thomas J. Schellinger |
|
|
Renee Lowerr |
|
|
Richard J. Steinberg (inc) |
Here are two excerpts from Brookfield Now! blog entries that are clearly endorsements. And, in typical fashion, a prediction that's wrong followed by a barb.
"MONDAY, July 23, 2007, 9:18 a.m. By Cindy Kilkenny <deleted> And while he's very competent, Judge Steinberg may be nearing retirement. "
"Wednesday, Jan 9 2008, 07:31 PM By Cindy Kilkenny <deleted> I completely endorse Judge Steinberg's bid for re-election. All of that "inaction" that he's being blamed for is the mayor's fault, not his. He only adjudicates what is brought before him. I.E., if the city won't ticket for it, he'll never see the case. " |
|
Jeffrey Warchol |
|
|
Bill Carnell (inc) |
|
|
Bob Reddin (inc) |
|
|
Jim Garvens (inc) |
|
|
Mark Nelson (inc) |
|
|
Gary Mahkorn (inc) |
|
|
Jerry Mellone (inc) |
|
|
Lisa Mellone (inc) |
|
But why take my word for it? The following is a blog entry from former Ald. Cindy Kilkenny with her views on the subject. The blog is no longer available from the MJS web site, so I have no choice but to quote it here in its entirety. Surely Cindy would know who the reformers are!
Direct quote (spelling and all) from Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Brookfield Now! blog of January 11, 2007
CENSORED!Mrs. Kilkenny, the fully acknowledged author of the BrookfieldNow! blog formerly appearing here, sent this email. In the interests of speeding her recovery from chronic blogging, I deleted the entry. All of you, the citizens of Brookfield, are subject to her censorship. I wonder what Mayor Kilkenny would have done when she encountered a critical comment? By the way, I claim the blog: a) failed to include fair notice of copyright, b) was quoted here in the permitted context of a critical review, c) was not available in its original form, and d) was of modest historic value but no monetary value. To summarize (without the legally permissible quotation), and translating into the terminology of this page, Mrs. Kilkenny's blog made the following classifications:
Status quo: Mahkorn, Garvens, Nelson, Owen, Reddin, Ponto, Speaker Neutral: Franz, Berg, Balzer, L. Mellone Reformer: G. Mellone, Blackburn, Sutton, Carnell
From: Cindy Kilkenny [mailto:cindykilkenny@wi.rr.com]
You will find a .jpg capture of the content below. Please take one of the following actions immediately:
I expect a response within 5 days to this issue.
Thank you for your immediate action on this matter. Cindy Kilkenny I would include the attached JPG of this original page, but I'm afraid Kilkenny would claim THAT was copyrighted too! In my opinion, the real reason the image was attached was not to clarify the quote in question, but rather to intimidate me because now I know that Mrs. Kilkenny is recording everything. It's not like that was anything new! See: Copyright or Copy Wrong |