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6/14/2007
This is the real America
Small town America, hands on politics. This is the real thing. Folks gather the first Friday of every month in the basement of Citizens Bank, Kaukauna, for “Meet Your Legislator.” What could be better? Coffee, juice, bananas, good Wisconsin milk, and donuts provided. The Heart of the Valley Chamber brings together a different set of governing types every month. One month it’s area Congressmen and U.S. Senators. (Rep. Petri most always shows up, oft times the others send representatives.) The next month it’s state representatives; the next it’s county folks and the next, it’s village administrators and a city mayor. Guys that are in the thick of it. Governing just doesn’t get any better than this.
A week or so ago, it was state representatives. Rep. Tom Nelson (D-Kaukauna) usually begins with something folksy. This month it was a reference to the Cheese Festival, sharing that he swore he wouldn’t ever enter the cheese curd eating contest again! – “but I just got a call….” This guy works his district upside and down.
Rep. Steve Wieckert (R-Appleton) is usually pretty diplomatic and purposely stays away from the arcane and complex. Rep. Frank Lasee (R-Bellevue) often begins his 6 minutes with “I’m from the government and I’m here to help” - and always gets the same chuckle from the captivated crowd. Lasee though, is dead serious – chock full of spending and tax data – capably letting folks know why and where our state spends so much more than this state or that state.
F. Lasee and his distant cousin, Senator Al Lasee (R-Rockland) offered specific spending reduction ideas (a question each was asked ahead of time). A. Lasee mentioned 4-year-old kindergarten as clearly a program the government needn’t be paying for. Kaukauna Superintendent Lloyd McCabe, sitting in the audience, gently hailed the program’s benefits. A citizen countered with frustration and controlled anger, railing against rising education expenses for the community and the state.
One audience member expressed his dismay at the Doyle budget and the state’s fiscal position. He asked “Tom” (Rep. Nelson) to “grab Doyle by the ..uh… neck, and tell him this can’t happen!” I asked Nelson if he thought he might follow through, to which he responded, real smooth-like, that he didn’t want to go to jail, but if he does, I’ll be the first to know. (He and I spar a lot…good-naturedly and constructively, of course.)
When it’s the municipal CEO’s turn in the hot seat, once again, it’s just great theatre – and great democracy.
Lat month, Kaukauna mayor Gene Rosin shared that “Mrs. Blanche Schmidt left the city $10,000 five or six years ago…” He let folks know “we found dollars in the budget to do a complete Crooks Avenue overlay, as citizens are complaining steady about it.” Other subjects amongst the panelists included recycling costs, conversion of an old Kmart, annexations, industrial developments, more street surfacing, a statewide smoking ban, thoughts about the Cable Competition Bill (all worried about its impact on municipalities), the Fox River locks – and lots more.
It may be standing room only (next one is August 3), but all are welcome. (Call 920-766-1616 to register your attendance - just to be sure there’ll be plenty of coffee.) Every Chamber ought to do it. Regular.
COMMENTS
Per your article, "Rep. Steve Wieckert (R-Appleton) is usually pretty diplomatic and purposely stays away from the arcane and complex." (snort) Yes I've heard him in debate with Penny Schaber who is going for a second attempt to unseat him. I don't exactly know how 'diplomatic' relates to knowledge on the issues-- arcane or otherwise.
Lon Ponschock (Thu Jun 14 14:02:51 2007)
As a constituent of Rep. Nelson's district I am not charmed by his side step. He has failed to answer communications from me on more than a few occasions. I am very direct in my comments and this demands a direct response, not the Rep.'s forte`. He seems to have studied the "sidestep", a Democratic dance favorite at Arthur Murray's.
He charmed his way into office with no credentials to speak of, no family or homeowner obligations, and no experience in the workforce, certainly not in the world of business ownership. If the latter had been the case he might have learned to dance to a different beat.
Sadly, most members of both parties cannot profess to glide across the leadership ball.
Richard Parins (Thu Jun 14 15:38:01 2007)
Lon, Steve is a knowledgeable man.
Mark A Framness (Thu Jun 14 16:06:03 2007)
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