Bob Kicks Off

Monona mayoral candidate Bob Miller kicked off his campaign this past Sunday and it wasn't a squib kick. The invite-only event was held at the home of Tori and Dennis Hull, which is also the former residence of Aaron Bohrod (also known as the Otto Schroeder House). 

An Aaron Bohrod cover for Time Magazine.

To quote Stephen the mad Irishman in the movie Braveheart, this "must be a fashionable fight. It's drawn the finest people." The mix of folks in attendance definitely grabbed one's attention: Mayor Robb Kahl, former Mayor Dick Lichtfeld and wife M.A., Margaret Metcalfe, State Senator Mark Miller and wife Jo Miller, Peter McKeever, Heather Gates, Bruce and Judy McConnell, Linda Hoelzel, Harold Polzer, Tim and Karen Turino, Margaret Jankowski, Susan & Mike Fox, Steve Tinker, Kathy & Bill Thomas, Mike & Van Meulemans, Scott Munson, Diane Thompson, Wally Jankowski, Jennifer Garrett, Don Hebl (representing the Monona Coffee Gang) and me (and these are just people I can recall). Former Mayor Dean Bowles and wife Ann were also sponsors, but were out of town.

Good start.

***

Another Irish quote from Braveheart:



Stephen.



Hamish: Your island? You mean Ireland.


Stephen: Yeah. It's mine. (grinning broadly)

Hamish: You're a madman.

Stephen: I've come to the right place, then.

Will it be "Mayor Bob" or "Mayor Jeff"?

As we know, Madison's Mayor is better known as Mayor Dave than Mayor Cieslewicz. I suppose fear of failure had something to do with that in the beginning. People didn't know how to pronounce Cieslewicz and they didn't want to look like dope while they insulted the new mayor, so they took the easy way out. C'mon, how hard is it to say? Sizzle-witz, right? No, wait, Chess-ell-wich? Ok, ok, it's really chess LEV ich.

A few years into his mayoralness, I noticed several people around Monona calling our Mayor Robb. Is it really that hard to say Kahl (call)? Slavic names warrant diminutives, four-letter German ones don't. Besides, Kahl is already a nickname according to ancestry.com it's the German: nickname from Middle High German kal and means ‘bald’.

If we must have nicknames for our mayors, let's be creative and imitate contemporary sports. For example, Mayor Dave could have adopted the moniker D-Sizzle and thus anticipated the American tackle football playah, T-Sizzle of the Baltimore Ravens (aka, Terrell Suggs). No doubt D-Sizzle would have had more, well, sizzle than plain old Mayor Dave.



The black helicopter crowd would have dropped their gyroscope if this t-shirt said D-Sizzle was coming for them.

 Which brings me to my point - besides wasting time until tomorrow's kickoff - what are we going to call the next mayor of Monona? I'm not asking who's going to win, I'm asking what appellation will we hang on them? Will it be Mayor Bob or Mayor Jeff? Please, no. If we're going to use their plain old names, let's stick with Miller or Wiswell - each of which is easy to say.

Here's some help.

The world of sports is robustly rich with impactful nicknames, a veritable horn o' plenty. Bob is out of the gate and ahead of the field in this regard and he seems to be angling for the one-name renown usually reserved to Brazilian futebol players. (Remember his catchy 'BOB' yard signs from 4 years ago?) At first I thought 'Bob' was too plain to qualify for one-name status. Most Brazilian players have names with little resemblance to Bob (to my ear anyway) such as Pele, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, and Cafu, but now comes Fred. Yes, there are Brazilian football players named Fred - just Fred.

So if a Brazilian footballer can be be just Fred, then heck yeah our mayor could be just Bob (not Mayor Bob, just Bob). But lookout, there's more than one Fred in Brazilian soccer! There's also this Fred. It's the other Fred, known to his mother as Frederico Chaves Guedes, who has played for the World Cup team. Holy smokes! There's another Brazilian soccer-playing Fred and he's dead at the age of 26!

We don't have any other Bob's amongst the elected officials today, but who's to say that won't change? And the city of Monona does employ another Bob (Johnson) and he is arguably more important than the mayor because he keeps stuff in working order. No, Bob is not gonna work.

Jeff prefers a more formal approach, referring to himself as Jeffrey Wiswell, Sr. This calls to mind the harrumphing amongst conservatives when Jimmy Carter was elected President. I recall the (defunct) St. Louis Globe Democrat editorializing that having won the presidency as Jimmy from Plains, Carter should be referred to by his full names: James Earl Carter. Brazilian soccer players are known by one name, serial killers are known by three-names, but not presidents or mayors.

Did you know alder Wiswell is a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Air Force Auxiliary – Civil Air Patrol (Government Relations Officer) once a Colonel always a colonel, I say. Jeff could be The Colonel, although it sounds better if you can add a modifier, like Kentucky, before you whoop out the 'colonel'. (My tongue is so far into my cheek with this post that it's poking it out the other side, but the rank of Lieutenant Colonel is impressive.)


Your turn. Make some suggestions (and don't go there, don't suggest The Whizzinator). The obvious choice for Jeff Wiswell is "Whizzer" for Byron White, a star running back in college and later a conservative US Supreme Court Justice.



(Or maybe we should just stick with Mayor Miller or Mayor Wiswell, as the case may be.)
 
 
Here are some nicknames from the world of sport:


1. "The Splendid Splinter" (Ted Williams)


2. "The Sultan of Swat" (George Herman "Babe" Ruth)

3. Willie "Hit 'em Where They Ain't" Keeler

4. "Hammerin' " Hank Aaron

5. "The Big Unit" (Randy Johnson)

6. "The Georgia Peach" (Ty Cobb)

7. Mordecai "Three Fingers" Brown

8. "The Yankee Clipper" ("Joltin' Joe" DiMaggio)

9. Fred "Bonehead" Merkle

10. Walter "Big Train" Johnson

Honorable Mention: "Big Mac" (Mark McGwire), "The Say Hey Kid" (Willie Mays), "Double X" (Jimmy Foxx), Paul "Poison" Waner and Lloyd "Little Poison" Waner, "Dizzy" and "Daffy" Dean, "Donny Baseball" (Don Mattingly), "Rapid" Robert Feller, "The Chairman of the Board" (Whitey Ford), Willie "Pops" Stargell, "Junior" (Ken Griffey), Roger "The Rocket" Clemens, "Dr. K" (Dwight Gooden).



Baseball Hall of Fame Nicknames

Baseball Hall of Fame Nicknames- 1880-1899

Old Hoss--Charles Radbourn (1880-1891)


Bid--John McPhee (1882-1899)

The Hoosier Thunderbolt--Amos Rusie (1889-1901)

The Cyclone--Cy Young (1890-1911)

Little Napoleon--John McGraw (1891-1906)

Old Fox--Clark Griffith (1891-1914)

Wee Willie--Willie Keeler (1892-1910)

The Flying Dutchman--Honus Wagner (1897-1917)

Happy Jack--John Chesbro (1899-1909)


Baseball Hall of Fame Nicknames-1900-1909

Three Fingered--Mordecai Brown (1903-1916)

The Mighty Mite--Miller Huggins (1904-1916)

Mahatma--Branch Rickey (1905-1914)

The Georgia Peach--Ty Cobb (1905-1928)

The Big Train--Walter Johnson (1907-1927)

Home Run--Frank Baker (1908-1922)


Baseball Hall of Fame Nicknames-1910-1919

The Ole Professor--Casey Stengel(1912-1925)

Rabbit--Walter Maranville (1912-1935)

Slug--Harry Heilman (1914-1932)

The Sultan of Swat--Babe Ruth (1914-1935)

Dazzy--Clarence Vance (1915-1935)

Old Stubblebeard--Burleigh Grimes (1916-1934)

The Fordham Flash--Frankie Frisch (1919-1937)



Baseball Hall of Fame Nicknames-1920-1929

The Iron Horse--Lou Gehrig (1923-1939)

Hack--Lewis Robert Wilson (1923-1934)

The Mechanical Man--Charlie Gehringer (1924-1942)

The Beast--Jimmie Fox (1925-1945)

The Lip--Leo Durocher (1925-1945)

The Meal Ticket--Carl Hubble (1928-1943)

The Hoosier Hammer--Chuck Klein (1928-1944)


Baseball Hall of Fame Nicknames-1930-1939


Dizzy--Jay Hanna Dean (1930-1947)

Old Aches and Pains or Fumblefoot--Luke Appling (1930-1950)

Arky--Joseph Vaughn (1932-1948)

Joltin' Joe--Joe DiMaggio (1936-1951)

Country--Enos Slaughter (1938-1959)

The Splendid Splinter--Ted Williams (1939-1960)


Baseball Hall of Fame Nicknames-1940-1949

Pee Wee--Henry Reese (1940-1958)

Duke--Edwin Snider (1947-1964)
Stan the Man--Stan Musial (1941-1963)


Baseball Hall of Fame Nicknames-1950-1959

The Say Hey Kid--Willie Mays (1951-1973)

Killer--Harmon Killebrew (1954-1975)

The Vacuum Cleaner--Brooks Robinson (1955-1977)

Hoot--Bob Gibson (1959-1975)

Stretch--Willie McCovey (1959-1980)


Baseball Hall of Fame Nicknames-1960-1969

Knucksie--Phil Niekro (1964-1987)

Catfish--Jim Hunter (1965-1979)

Cakes--Jim Palmer (1965-1984)

The Ryan Express--Nolan Ryan (1966-1993)

Mr. October--Reggie Jackson (1967-1987)


Baseball Hall of Fame Nicknames-1970-1979

The Wave--Dave Winfiled (1973-1995)

The Wizard of Oz--Ozzie Smith (1978-1996)

The Ignitor--Paul Molitor (1978-1998)

Need more names? Jeezus, what are you an insomniac? Go here for roughly a jillion nicknames.

***

One last thing. About that link to http://chicago.sbnation.com/chicago-bears/2011/1/17/1939880/nfc-championship-game-chicago-bears-vs-green-bay-packers-soldier-field-of-dreams apparently the author thinks grizzly bears reside in Wisconsin:
 

The Number One Threat To Wisconsin? BEARS!: Two grizzly bears from the Brookfield Zoo feasted on a football and a Cheesehead with the Green Bay Packers logo. They were filled with meat and vegetables. The reason that the cheesehead wasn't sitting on top of a Packers fan's head at the time, is because the zoo doesn't like for the bears to have a lot of 'empty calories'.

Ok, the line about empty calories is pretty fuuny, but don't they have any black bears at the Brookfield Zoo? Maybe the black bears peed themselves and ran for cover when they saw the Cheesehead.

***

Addendum: Somehow the Deep Thinkers compiling the above lists of sports nicknames left out Stan the Man Musial! Stan Musial. I am adding him to the 1940's list of great Hall of Famer nicknames.

To see an even more complete HOF nickname list go to the Baseball Almanac.

The Favorite Indoor Sport Gets Rough in CG

While it's tempting to brush off the current hooraw out in Cottage Grove as the early signs of the Silly Season, it is just too much fun watching this train wreck - from the outside.

Check out the letters to the ed in this week's Herald. I expect Jane Curtin and Dan Ackroyd to show up anytime now and do Point-Counterpoint.

According to the Herald, the latest edition appears to center around the use of a room at the EMS building for a political meeting of four people, including current trustee and village president candidate Diane Wiedenbeck, former trustee and EMS volunteer Jack Henrich, former trustee Harvey Potter, and former Board candidate Jeff Simpson. Apparently the informal meeting was barely under way when the current President Mike Mikalsen showed up to show them the door.

Am I missing something? Wasn't this meeting a 'so what, who cares' event? What made this meeting a big enough deal for someone to call the Village President and for him to apparently rush down to the EMS building? Why are people falling over themselves to apologize for (brief and small) meeting at the EMS building? Did it violate an established policy? Did the meeting itself disrupt any EMS operations?

The meeting was characterized as a 'political meeting', but that is a dicey basis for objecting to the use of a room in a public building.

The blood seems to have gotten so bad out there that all acts are seen through that distorting prism.

It's hard to break out of that pattern of behavior - as we know here in Monona from the school referendum wars - we have the scars to prove it, but they are finally healing (although I'm sure someone will point out to me why I am mistaken in that belief).

But I'll admit it is fun to read about from the outside.

***

"Hooraw" was a term used by Festus Haggen on the Gunsmoke TV show to describe a dust up or a contretemps. It could also be used as  a verb, as in "Doc was hoorawin' around down at the Long Branch."

Festus also liked to say: "Golly Bill!" or "You ornery ole scutter."

Running for Re-Election in 2011

Here is my 2011 campaign kickoff. It is in the form of a letter to the Herald Independent, but I have now learned that they no longer publish campaign announcements in the newspaper after the deadline for filing passes. Adam has posted my announcement on their website.

I also learned over the weekend that former alder Chad Speight has decided to make another run for Monona city council so we will have contested races for city council as well as Mayor.

(I just read on the Rag that 'they' had heard that Mayor Kahl was running for school board instead of another term as mayor. 'They' need new sources unless Robb has completely taken leave of his senses.)



Dear Editor:


I am writing to announce my candidacy for re-election to the Monona city council. I believe we have accomplished quite a bit during my time on the council and in particular during the last two years.


• Despite the most challenging economic conditions of my adult lifetime, we froze the city’s 2011 property tax levy without hurting services. Mayor Robb Kahl, my council colleagues, and our city staff deserve kudos for pulling that off.

• We obtained some $300,000 in grants to make significant energy-conserving facility improvements and sustainability planning. As Chair of the Monona Sustainability Committee, I was especially pleased by this achievement.

• As a longtime staunch advocate of the library, I was thrilled when the Monona Public Library was named the 2010 Wisconsin Library of the Year by the Wisconsin Library Association.

• After years of planning and preparation, we successfully completed Phase One of the Monona Drive reconstruction.


Much of the credit for any success that we have enjoyed goes to our very fine city staff – from the hourly workers to the salaried department managers. We are fortunate to have some truly top notch people working for us.


We aspire to making Monona the best little city in Wisconsin. Before we can begin to achieve that goal, we need to reinvigorate Monona Drive by creating conditions that will help our existing businesses thrive and also attract new businesses.

We also need to integrate Monona into a regional transit service that makes sense for us and serves our needs. Monona’s strategic location next door to the state capital and second-largest city in Wisconsin offers huge advantages to Monona as a place to live, work, and play. Our limited transit services prevent us from maximizing our location. I want to work with the regional transit authority to find solutions that work for Monona.

I want the city to make big strides to improve communications with city residents. We have made some headway, but we can do better. This past year, I began working with key city staff to identify necessary software and hardware and then successfully proposed several targeted budget amendments for key technology acquisitions that give our staff the tools they need.

I thank the voters for their past support and look forward to an interesting campaign.

Regards,



Doug Wood
Monona Alder

Point - Counterpoint?

The Herald Independent ran an exchange of letters between Monona alders Scott Munson and Mike Veserat in the December 9 and December 23 issues.


Here is Scott's letter:


Dear Editor:
 Each year, three of the six seats on the city council are up for grabs. The alders that are running for re-election this year are Jim Busse, Doug Wood, and Mike Veserat. According to Monona’s City Clerk, Joan Andrusz, the only candidates that have submitted papers to run for these seats are the incumbents (as of 12/7). All three of these men are outstanding public servants and I am honored to sit on the council with them. However, a democracy thrives only when its elections are actually meaningful. Unchallenged candidates are unlikely to knock on doors, talk with their constituents, and explain their positions on the issues affecting our city. Monona’s voters deserve to be able to cast consequential ballots.


I would encourage Monona's civic-minded residents to consider becoming candidates for our common council. Our city enjoys a reputation as an active democracy with extremely high voter turnout, but we need a contested election to make that turnout meaningful. The deadline to submit papers for the spring election is 5 p.m. on Tuesday January 4, 2011. Election Day is April 5, 2011.




Here is Mike riposte:

Dear Editor:

December 9th's paper had an interesting call to civics by none other than Monona’s very own Alderman Scott Munson. This letter stated that uncontested aldermanic seats leads, to among other things, a lack of meaning. I believe this means something else. I believe that there are many qualified future council members, many of whom are worried about keeping their own lights on, let alone the city’s. The biggest omission in this letter, however, is for over a decade, we have had an uncontested race for mayor.  I hope he doesn’t consider this position meaningless.

Mike Veserat
Monona Alderman


My reaction: What the...?

I think Alder Munson was simply observing that elections only have meaning if they are contested. He did not say that uncontested elections make the elected position meaningless. Alder Munson did not address the why some people choose not to run, so he did not discuss specific reasons why some people, who might otherwise be inclined to run for public office, don't run due to their personal circumstances.

Alder Munson didn't mention the mayoral election, but I would infer that he also favors a contested mayoral contest. Now that Bob Miller and Jeff Wiswell have announced their intention to run for mayor, we are having a contested mayoral election for the first time since 1993 when then-alder Kathy Thomas and Tom Metcalfe squared off for the open mayoral position. Mayor Metcalfe held the position without another challenge until Robb Kahl won in an uncontested race in 2003. Mayor Kahl faced no opponent in any of the succeeding elections either.

(At least that is my recollection; there may have been others that I am forgetting.)

Miller Tweets

Monona mayoral aspirant Bob Miller has started tweeting - he calls it mononabob (I really think I should get a share of the royalties). 

Put in mind of the old E.F. Hutton commercials. "When Bob Miller Tweets, people listen."

Bob Miller Announces His Candidacy

Here is Bob Miller's press release:

Bob Miller announces his candidacy for Monona Mayor.


In announcing his candidacy, long time resident and businessman Bob Miller said, “Monona is a wonderful community I have been proud to call home for the past 21 years. This is an exciting time for our city with substantial new commercial development underway, a safer and revitalized Monona Drive and continued efforts to welcome new families to Monona. I am proud to have participated in many of these initiatives and by serving as Mayor, I will work hard to preserve and enhance those qualities that make us want to live, work and invest in Monona’s future.

It is important to capitalize now on these successes, but to also work to revitalize those areas of the community that require attention. We need to retain and improve our family-friendly qualities like our parks, lakefront and community services. As mayor, I would work in a positive way to foster open communication between the city and its residents, maintain the city’s fiscal strength and essential services like police and fire protection and help Monona move towards a more sustainable future.”

Miller is owner of Compound Profit Wisconsin, a business financial services company in Monona. He previously served one term as a Monona alder. Currently, he is chair of the Community Development Authority. Miller also serves on the Monona Drive Advisory Committee and the Sustainability Committee. Previously, he served on Personnel and Finance Committee, Broadband Telecommunications Advisory Board, Ad Hoc Marketing Committee and the Mass Transit Authority.

Involved in many civic and community service organizations, Miller serves on the Yahara Lakes Association Board, The Natural Step Monona Board and The Sewing Machine Project Advisory Board. He served on the boards of the University of Wisconsin Journalism School Board of Visitors, the Urban League of Greater Madison, the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, CTM Madison Family Theatre Company and the Madison Boychoir. Miller recently assisted in the successful “Booked for Life” fundraising campaign for the Monona library and headed up fundraising for the original library expansion. An active volunteer in the Monona Grove schools, which his two children attended, Miller teamed to help create the high school vocal department’s parent volunteer group - MG SINGS.

Miller is an active member of the Monona Optimists, the Monona Chamber of Commerce and the Monona Grove Businessmen’s Association. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin Journalism School, Miller previously managed WKOW-TV and Discover Mediaworks.

Miller resides at 5907 Winnequah Rd. with his wife, Pam and has two grown children, Wyatt and Rebecca.

For more information contact:

Bob Miller

bobmiller@tds.net

(608) 222-1922

Bob Miller is All In

Shortly after getting the news that Mayor Robb Kahl was not running for reelection as Monona's mayor, I got a call from former alder Bob Miller that he does plan to seek election as Monona's new mayor in 2011.

He promised a written statement later, which I will pass along.

Mayor Kahl Decides to Bow Out

The city council received an email from Mayor Robb Kahl earlier today with the news that he has decided not to seek a fifth term as mayor of Monona. Here's his message:

Gentlemen:



I made Pat and other department heads aware yesterday that it is not my intent to seek a fifth term as Mayor. I have truly enjoyed the experience and am humbled by the confidence the electorate has placed in me but it is simply time to move on. I know many will speculate that this move has something to do with me joining Scott Walker's administration. While I acknowledge I have been approached and I have met with them, as of today I have not accepted any offers for employment with them. This decision is independent of that appointment process but rather based simply on the fact that I have been in elective office 10 years now and I have four children age 6 and under and I can run for and serve in elective office anytime I want but I can only be a part of their childhood once.


I look forward to serving out my term and wrapping up some pressing items to make sure my successor has a smooth transition. I wanted to call each of you but with family commitments last night and this weekend I am not sure I can accomplish that and I wanted each of you to hear this news from me first. Thank you and Happy Holidays to you and your families.



Robb Kahl


Mayor


City of Monona

Monona Council Report - October 19, 2010 Meeting

The Monona city council continued its review of the city budget last evening. The council has now completed the Committee of the Whole work sessions on the budget. The budget will be on the council's November 1 agenda.

For links to the budget docs you can go to my previous post or visit the city's website.

Before reviewing the budget the council also a 'regular' meeting. The council approved participation in DaneCom II (or Little DaneCom) Alternative Emergency Radio System Proposal. The appproval is subject to the council's review of the final cost-sharing. Monona's share is projected to be $9,000 to about $10,000. And before you ask, no this system will not displace, change, eliminate or mess up our current local dispatch.


The council discussed, but deferred a decision to consolidate Election Polling Locations Into One Location (City Clerk). My feeling is that the current two-poll system works well with little waiting even in Presidential years. It's not broke.

Another - Brawwkkk! - Theory

As I was driving to Milwaukee today - to watch the Brewers get pounded by the Cardinals as it turned out - it dawned on me that we had all missed the obvious explanation for the surprising election victory of Scott Munson. To paraphrase Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign refrain, "It's the Chickens, Stupid."

OK, this theory has no facts to back it up - thank goodness we don't have exit polling to spoil the fun - but it does have a certain surface plausibility. Scott Munson was a visible and vocal supporter of amending our city code to clarify the status of chicken-keeping. His campaign treasurer, Ben Redding, wrote a really smart analysis of the controversy (A New Take on Chickens).

OTOH, Alder Thomas opposed changing the law and proposed instead a municipal version of "don't ask, don't tell" with regard to chicken keeping. 

Munson wins, Thomas loses, chickens come home to roost.

Res ipsa loquitur ! Eh, literally accurate ("the thing itself speaks."), but lawyers don't use it literally.

Q.E.D. (By which I mean good old quod erat demonstrandum and not the Urban dictionary version that you find here.)

Hey, makes more sense than the "Speight Lost" theories that attempt to assign significant meaning to what was essentially a statistical tie and whose progenitors thereby get Lost in Speight. (Feel free to groan.)

Monona Votes - and Votes and Votes

I've seen some speculation about why our turnout in Monona was so high this past Tuesday - 36.53% - with some fairly detailed theories usually relating to Maywood School or the school budget in general. 
 
One problem with this theorizing; turnout was not high this year. Between 2009 and 2010, the spring election turnout in Monona actually dropped from 39.96% to 36.53%. Moreover, that percentage drop actually understates the decline. The voter rolls get purged every four years of people who haven't voted in the last four years. The purge, which happened after the 2009 election and before the election this year, reduced the number of registered voters in Monona by 570 (from 6259 to 5689). Votes cast dropped from 2501 to 2078.


The underlying reality remains unchanged: Monona really like to vote. Give us a contested race and we beat the pants off other communities, but there was nothing special about this year.

Year   Turnout
2010   34.63%
2009   39.96%
2008   36.53%


You want turnout? Try the 2006 spring election when we had the MG school referendum on the ballot. Turnout was an estimated 54%.

***

Some folks also love to explain why an election turned out the way it did. In the absence of exit polling, such speculation is great sport as it requires no facts and a fertile, not to say febrile, imagination. My favorite explanations are those that attempt to divine why Chad Speight lost in 2009. People say  "it was because of sidewalks" or it was because of "his ties to Doug Wood" or his Ivy League ties and they say it with such certitude. Chad lost by one vote, a margin that simply requires no explanation. You might as well roll a pair of dice fifty times and then try to "explain" the results.

This season the question is to explain why Kathy Thomas lost (or why Scott Munson won). She lost by 36 votes and was only 114 votes out of first place, not a random outcome, but not a margin that supports any clear-cut explanations. Thomas had experienced a number of close calls through the years as well as some easy wins. To me, a more surprising outcome happened in 2007 when Jeff Wiswell Sr. lost to Dale Suslick (by 5 votes) after finishing first in 2003 and 2005.

A couple things suggest themselves. The people who vote in the spring in Monona are just very evenly divided. Munson got 1022 and Dennis Kugle got 1028 this year. Mike Veserat got 1256 and Speight got 1255 in 2009.

(The people who vote in Monona in the Fall are not divided - they vote about 65-75% for Democrats and liberal Democrats. The difference is that a lot fewer people vote in the Spring and fewer voters means more conservative voters. Years ago Monona was actually considered a swing area (I'm talking about the 1980's; Reagan even carried Monona at least once), but it has become more liberal over the years.)

The other thing I've observed over the years is that the candidates who campaign the hardest usually do better in elections than candidates who don't put in that much effort. That seems like an extremely obvious cause of election outcomes, but it gets overlooked, perhaps because it is boring.

Given a candidate with some minimum level of competence and acceptability, hard work will give them at least a fighting chance to win. I'm talking about hitting the streets, knocking on doors, getting key endorsements, making phone calls, etc. I guarantee that was the only reason I won in 1989 during my first tour on the council. I was young, new to the community (about 4 years), and totally unknown. Heck, I was so naive I even talked about being a Cardinals fan from lllinois (Southern Illinois, I still hasten to add)!

What does this mean for the 2010 election? We had five good candidates - all well above the level of mere competence. No clowns (and we really did have a clown run for city council at least once; that was his job). My impression is that Munson outworked everybody else in the race. Kathy hasn't done much if any campaigning in years, although she did have yard signs and literature out there this year.(I think she felt like people had made up their minds about her and would either vote for her or not. )

That seems like a reasonable assumption, but that's because when you're on the council or involved in local politics, you begin to think everyone knows who you are or what the council is up to. Wrong! Never overestimate how closely people follow local politics. At least part of the time, most people expect the city leaders to take care of stuff so they don't have to worry about it.

(Just as a for instance, I think the only time the poll workers have ever recognized me when I handed over my little piece of paper was when Marianne Lichtfeld was working the S-Z table and that wasn't necessarily a positive experience! I jest. I think M.A. and I may have finally buried the hatchet. The feud is over. Maybe.)

The Official Results

From Monona City Clerk Jona Andrusz, the official "unofficial" Spring 2010 election results (Monona only). Click for a readable size.

Monona Chooses

In yet another extraordinarily close election, Monona voters returned incumbent alders Jeff Wiswell, Sr. and Dennis Kugle to office, but chose political newcomer Scott Munson over long-standing alder Kathryn Thomas.

The spread between leading vote-getter Wiswell and fifth-place finisher Matt Aro was just 155 votes.

The tally:

Wiswell 1100
Kugle 1028
Munson 1022
Thomas 986
Aro 945


Long-time political observers were mildly surprised by the city council change. Conventional wisdom had the city council incumbents all winning, but CW figured Aro was more likely to break through than Munson. Observers speculated that Munson's lifelong ties to Monona provided the slight edge he needed to pull off the upset.

According to Monona in the Making, History of the City of Pride, 1938-1975 , Kathy Thomas was first elected to the city council in 1979 and served until she ran for mayor and lost to Tom Metcalfe in 1993. The voters returned her to the council in 1994 and she won reelection seven more times. That streak ended tonight. Kathy has served on the city council for a total of 30 years. Her last city council meeting will be April 19, 2010.

I supported Scott (and Matt), but nonetheless Kathy's defeat leaves me feeling a bit melancholy. Sudden endings and decisive outcomes are inherent in elections. No matter how close the vote tally, if you finish out of the money, you are out of office - and you are 100% out. The message is a bit stark. Everyone is expendable, nothing is guaranteed, and long service does not entitle any one to hold an elected office.  

If you see her around town, tell Kathy Thomas "thanks". She earned it.

***

Don't misunderstand, I'm really excited about working with Scott Munson. He's got the smarts, he's new to the political scene, and he's got a fresh perspective - all things that we really need in our city government. He's got a lot of work to do to get up to speed, but he will do what it takes. 

But tonight, for me anyway, reflection is in order.

......And maybe this is just a sign that I am well on the way to being an official old fart.

***

School Board incumbents Susan Manning and Peter Sobol won reelection as did County Board Supervisor Robin Schmidt.

Point-Counterpoint

Chad Speight's letter to the Herald 

The time has come to embrace new ideas and forward-looking candidates for the Monona City Council. Having served with the three incumbents on the Council and on various city committees, I can say that we need change in Monona. We need the energy and new ideas that Scott Munson and Matt Aro will bring to the Council.

All three incumbents have voted for budgets which reduce funding for city services, leading Monona’s race to the bottom. Many city employees are paid near the bottom of the pay scale compared to surrounding communities, and this hurts our ability to retain quality staff. While we have managed to attract a few outstanding people, and others are great at what they do for us; at the end of the day, either our city employees are underpaid, or we are stuck with people who are not as talented as we need them to be.

Consider the park shelter fiasco. All three incumbents were on the council leading up to this. The city engineer and other city staff were not capable of assuring that the building was built properly. And the city did not hire competent managers to assure that things were done properly. These conservatives claim to be saving the taxpayer money, but in the end, we are getting a bad deal. They are wasting our tax dollars.

The bicycle lanes at the south end of Winnequah are another example of political meddling which squandered our tax dollars without improving our city. Their leadership gave us a poorly designed street that is unsafe for cyclist who commute, and dangerous for families on bikes or on foot. Rather than improve the street, and creating safe, well-defined paths for pedestrians, cars, and cyclists, we created a unique hazard.

An online bicycle website refers to it as the “goofy bike lanes “in Monona. Monona deserves and needs leaders who understand that great ideas and solutions already exist in other communities, and we need to embrace positive change for the good of our community.

Let’s be honest about the problem: Maywood would not be in danger of closing if Monona would address pedestrian safety seriously. Every year, fewer and fewer parents are willing to move to a city with no sidewalks leading to schools and no sidewalks on our busiest streets. 

Too many families have moved away to safer communities; too many families will not consider a city that refuses to change. The city council does not run our school district, but their inaction has led to our current crisis. We need alders who hear the pleas of young families in our city, who are willing to consider small, consistent steps to make our city a better place to live. The time has come for new leadership in Monona.

Alders Kugle, Thomas, and Wiswell are happy with these “accomplishments” and they have promised more of the same. But Monona does not have to tolerate such low standards and lack of vision. We can choose to elect Scott Munson and Matt Aro, so that Monona has a fighting chance to improve our city, before the last school closes. Support Matt Aro and Scott Munson for city council.

Chad Speight, Former Alderperson

Alders Wiswell Kugle Response:

First, in an effort to highlight his disagreements with some alders he wrote “All three incumbents voted for budgets which reduce funding for city services, leading Monona’s race to the bottom.” This is completely misleading, and flat wrong.

What really caused us concern though was when Mr. Speight wrote “While we have managed to attract a few outstanding people and others are great at what they do for us; at the end of the day, either our city employees are underpaid, or we are stuck with people who are not as talented as we need them to be.”   

This is demeaning to our hard working highly dedicated city employees.It is the job of the city council, like any legislature, to make decisions and set policies, and it is up to the executive branch of government to implement those decisions to the best of their ability. 

When a project might not go well, or a contractor or their workers might not perform correctly it is not the fault of the legislative branch of government.

Third, he complains about the bicycle lanes along the South end of Winnequah.  I voted against those “goofy” chokers extending into the roadway, and Alder Kugle wasn’t even on the council at that time.

Fourth, and finally his letter completely misses the mark on neighborhood schools, when he writes that “Maywood would not be in danger of closing if Monona would address pedestrian safety seriously.”

When grade level adjustments were made at Winnequah school Alderman Kugle joined me in sponsoring a series of traffic safety improvements in the area adjacent to the school. These included: adding new stop signs, painting cross walks, and striping walk lines on streets, as recommended by citizens and law enforcement.

Thank you for allowing us to set the record straight.

Jeff Wiswell and Dennis Kugle, Monona Aldermen

Monona Community Cable to Sponsor Two Candidate Forums

The forums are TOMORROW, Sunday, March 21. 

From Andrew Hagen, our Cable Guy Extraordnaire, comes the following important news:


Monona School and Community Cable (Channels 98 and 990) will sponsor two Candidate Forums on March 21st before the April 6th Election.


The first forum, for the Monona City Council, will be held from 4:00 to 6:00 on March 21st in the Community Media Room of the Monona Public Library. Questions for the candidates may be written at the forum, or called in during the live broadcast, to (608) 442-6601.


The second forum, for the Monona Grove School Board, will be held from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm in the Monona Grove High School I.M.C. Questions for the candidates will also be accepted at the forum or by phone. However, questions for the School Board must be phoned in between 12:00 and 3:00 pm on March 21st to (608) 221-7666 extension 3133. Staff will not be able to answer the phone during the taping.


The League of Women Voters will provide an impartial moderator for each event, and both forums will be rebroadcast on Monona Community Cable Channel. Copies will also be available for viewing at the Monona Public Library, and on www.mononatv.com a few days after each taping.

Aro for Monona Council- Meet & Greet - March 18

From Matt Aro:

Aro for Monona Council- Meet & Greet

Location:        Monona Community Center- Lounge,  1011 Nichols Road

Date:             Thursday March 18   6:00pm-9:00pm

Aro for Monona Council is sponsoring a meet and greet event at the Monona Community Center this coming Thursday.  Here's an opportunity to meet city council candidate Matt Aro and share your ideas and concerns about the future of Monona.  This event is casual and informal.  I look forward to meeting you Thursday.

Campaign web site: www.mattaro.com

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Not sure who to vote for?

Check out the Herald's coverage:

2010 Spring Election Center Click on each candidate's name for their survey and guest column:

Monona Grove School Board: Susan Manning | Peter Sobol | Jennifer Pickel

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Monona City Council: Kathy Thomas | Jeffrey Wiswell, Sr. | Dennis Kugle | Matt Aro | Scott Munson

Robin Schmidt's State Journal Answers

Go to Robin Schmidt's blog to find her answers to the State Journal's campaign questions.

Matt Aro's Monona City Council Campaign Web Site is Up

Matt Aro's Monona city council campaign web site is up (actually it has been for a couple weeks).Visit Matt Aro's web site here. Matt's campaign is also on Facebook. From his page:

Matt Aro is a candidate for City Council in Monona.  Matt and Melissa have two small children, and they have lived in Monona since July 2004.  His mom also lives in Monona.  An architect with extensive experience in design and development of residential and commercial buildings and places, Matt brings timely experience and an understanding of complex urban development and redevelopment issues just as our community is set to revitalize Monona Drive– our front  door.

Matt is a small business owner with Aro Eberle Architects and has ownership in a small retail business. Matt has played significant roles in projects such as the new St. Mary's Hospital expansion, the Majestic Theater remodeling in downtown Madison, The Rock Agency, the new Wildwood Family Clinic in Cottage Grove, unique retail shops such as David Bacco Chocolats and Vom Fass, and numerous restaurants. Sushi Muramoto, designed by Matt at Hilldale, won the top design award in the state of Wisconsin granted by the American Institute of Architects in 2009. 

Matt has Monona committee experience serving as a member of the transit commission and board of review as an alternate.

***

Scott Munson also has a city council campaign web site. Visit Scott's web site here.

As far as I know none of the other Monona city candidates have campaign web sites.

Campaign Event for Scott Munson - January 31

From Scott Munson's web site:

Please stop by our Chad Speight's and Sue Carr's house on Sunday, January 31 between 1-4 to meet

 

Monona City Council candidate Scott Munson! 

 

Scott is a young, independent candidate that hopes to bring a fresh perspective to the council. 

Raised in Monona, he is a product of the Monona Grove school system from nursery school through high school.  

He moved back to Monona to raise his children because he knows this is a supportive community that places a high priority on education and quality of life.  The Munsons live near Scott’s parents, and they are expecting their second child in April.

Scott believes that this is an exciting time to live in Monona, and he is adamant that we must maintain and develop the attributes that make us attractive to young families.  He is passionate about securing Monona's future by encouraging sustainable living, practicing fiscal responsibility, protecting our lake, and maintaining our parks.

We would love to see you for some food and drink, chatting with friends, and meeting Scott. And of course, any contributions to his campaign will be graciously accepted. 

We are thrilled to be supporting a progressive candidate this spring. We hope you will join us on January 31st and support Scott at the polls on April 6th.  

Sue Carr and Chad Speight

4209 Winnequah Road

Donations may also be sent to:

Scott Munson for Monona

c/o Ben Redding, Treasurer

6019 Queens Way

Monona, WI  53716