Before the polls close, a few questions of note about the spring election for the City of Whitewater, Walworth County, and Wisconsin. City of Whitewater What’s Whitewater’s turnout today? Assuming that JoAnnne Kloppenburg carries Whitewater, by what margin will she do so? (If she can’t carry places like the City of Whitewater, she’s likely in…
City
City, Police
The Telling Requirement
by JOHN ADAMS •
There is no more powerful sign during a long-tenured leader’s departure than that, as he leaves, he is asked to sign an agreement that includes a promise that he never seek or return to his old job again. All those many years, all those many grandiose claims of excellence, achievement, and greatness — all of…
City
Whitewater-Area League of Women Voters April 2011 Newsletter
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Whitewater-Area League of Women Voters’ April 2011 Newsletter is out, and it includes articles and a calendar of upcoming LWV events. The latest copy of the LWV newsletter is available as a link on my blogroll, and is embedded below, with coding through Google. Here’s a sampling of upcoming events for the Whitewater-Area League —…
City, Government Spending
Veronique de Rugy Discusses the “Truth About Nuclear Power” on Bloomberg Television
by JOHN ADAMS •
Veronique de Rugy, of George Mason University’s Mercatus Institute, debunks claims about inexpensive energy from nuclear power. It’s expensive, and often relies on state subsidies. Disclosure: It’s true that, in 2008, I advocated building a nuclear reactor on the site of our current municipal building. See, Go Nuclear! and Update: Go Nuclear! I will concede…
Beautiful Whitewater, City, Freedom of Speech, Liberty
What Democracy Looks Like
by JOHN ADAMS •
Last Friday, there was a protest rally in Whitewater, along Main Street, and over one-hundred fifty people attended. See, Scenes from a Whitewater Rally, 3.18.11. That’s a large number for Whitewater — especially on a Friday evening as work was ending — and larger in ways worthy of mention. First, the pro-union gathering was one…
City, Government Spending, Walworth County
Walworth County’s David Bretl on Public Spending
by JOHN ADAMS •
Walworth County Administrator David Bretl writes a column at Walworth County Today. His latest offers this observation on municipal spending — The public has become desensitized in recent years regarding the true meanings of the words freeze and cuts. Tax rates for counties, for example, have been “frozen” for many years at 1992 levels. While that…
City
Whitewater-Area League of Women Voters Candidates’ Forum
by JOHN ADAMS •
City, Police
Whitewater’s Search for a New Police Chief (Update 2)
by JOHN ADAMS •
At last night’s Police Commission meeting, the Commission unanimously chose a non-resident as interim chief. For an earlier post on the topic, see Simple and Reasonable Compliance with the Law. Simple’s not always so simple, but then years of the wrong direction work a powerful distortion and departure from simple and reasonable.
City, Police
Whitewater’s Search for a New Police Chief (Update)
by JOHN ADAMS •
City, Law, Police
Simple and Reasonable Compliance with the Law
by JOHN ADAMS •
To enforce the law, one must observe the law. Conversely, one cannot credibly enforce the law by ignoring portions one does not like. This principle is so simple and clear that stating as much states the obvious. Whitewater has a lawful requirement that senior city leaders live within the city limits, among them nearly a…
City, Police
Whitewater’s Search for a New Police Chief
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a story over at the Gazette that mentions the departure of Whitewater’s Chief Coan, an amount of money that he may owe Whitewater under contract, and the selection of a new police chief. (That process begins, but only begins, tonight.) I’d be surprised if he doesn’t request to keep the ten thousand; there will…
City, Wisconsin
Consensus, Compromise, and Opposition
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here, in America’s Dairyland, a place of astonishing beauty, one finds a political preference for consensus, leading to frequent and sensible compromises, but occasionally requiring opposition. That’s true in Whitewater, too. Consensus. Of all America, I know of no place that favors consensus more than Wisconsin does. There’s speculation of how she has come to…
City
More than a Crock-Pot
by JOHN ADAMS •
Whitewater, Wisconsin, population 14,454, is many things. A Crock-Pot is not one of them. When a bureaucrat sees a community, but no individuals other than a few town fathers, he makes himself a cook, and actual people mere ingredients in a slowly-cooked stew. Chop up this, mash up that, throw in the spices of self-promotion…
City
Of Hurricanes
by JOHN ADAMS •
Even the most destructive hurricanes, those of the greatest power, finally dissipate. The damage they leave behind after they fade may take months, sometimes years to remedy, if at all. A storm lasting for decades — if any should be so unfortunate to live during those conditions — would be more destructive still. Although the…