The presumptions of a local government pol: This ordinance has been an attempt to require the food trucks to put some skin in the game,” [Fort Atkinson city councilmember] Lescohier said. “That skin is through a fee structure, through an appropriate place for them to operate and to control the noise. Right now if you…
Local Government
City, Local Government, Open Government
Confronting Bad News
by JOHN ADAMS •
There are always a number of accidents, crimes, or tragedies in a community. One hopes for as few as possible. The best way for government to address those misfortunes is to act quickly and openly to take whatever actions law and charity require. Along the way, however, it might be useful for big talking officials…
Local Government
The ‘Movers and Shakers’ Who Aren’t
by JOHN ADAMS •
I sometimes write about Janesville’s politics, because the more one sees how confused they are, the more one feels obliged to contend for a better way in our own politics. Just Friday, the Gazette‘s editorialist took a stand (subscription req’d) against the false hopes that a big-talking developer and smarmy politician are spreading about the…
City, Good Ideas, Local Government
Rethinking Fort Atkinson
by JOHN ADAMS •
It has often been said of ancient Israel that her excellence lay in how she differed from her less thoughtful and less civilized neighbors. Not the common and vulgar practices of others, but her own singular beliefs and practices, made her great. Nearby Fort Atkinson has, over recent years, been both an economic rival and…
Government Spending, Local Government, Marketing
Structural Limits and Wishful Thinking
by JOHN ADAMS •
If there’s a limit to a fraud (like Enron), it’s not simply because a swindler is discovered; it’s because some swindles (Ponzi schemes, for example) are impossible to sustain everlastingly. Cleverness doesn’t matter – there are structural limitations that cannot be overcome (only so many people, only so many future victims, only so much money…
Business, Local Government, New Media, Press
Three Key Insights for Local News
by JOHN ADAMS •
I grew up reading and loving newspapers. I didn’t aspire to write in that field; like so many others, I wanted to read what others carefully and insightfully wrote. Love doesn’t sustain an industry; sound perspectives and tenacity sustain an industry. The trends for newspapers are inauspicious. See, only the latest in a long string…
City, Local Government, New Whitewater, Open Government, Politics
Could the Koch Brothers Dominate Whitewater’s Politics?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Assume for a moment that Charles and David Koch decided to use their vast billions to dominate Whitewater’s local politics. They’d spend whatever they had, under this hypothetical, to put their hand-picked candidates in office, for advertising, public relations, goodwill community events, and lobbying to get their way in elections, appointments, and in pressuring local…
City, Local Government, Politics
Policy in the City
by JOHN ADAMS •
Council had a busy agenda Tuesday night, and there’s much to consider from the meeting. For today, though, here are two points not about specific policies, but about policy generally. First, Council Pres. Singer and Pres. Pro Tem Binnie were re-elected unanimously to those posts. That’s good for the city, as they’re steady in manner,…
City, Corporate Welfare, Culture, Economy, Local Government
Is this the city that you had in mind?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Consider this working definition of crony capitalism: Crony capitalism is a term describing an economy in which success in business depends on close relationships between business people and government officials. It may be exhibited by favoritism in the distribution of legal permits, government grants, special tax breaks, or other forms of state interventionism. Crony capitalism…
City, Local Government, Politics
“The Closer You Look, The Less You See”
by JOHN ADAMS •
City, Local Government, Politics
On Paul Yvarra’s False Claims to the Gazette
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s another development in the Common Council race between Lynn Binnie and Paul Yvarra. In a published story in Saturday’s Gazette entitled, Whitewater council candidate admits mistakes about opponent, Paul Yvarra acknowledges what every reasonable person in all Whitewater already knew: that Mr. Yvarra’s charge about Fairhaven Senior Services being responsible for municipal fiscal difficulties…
City, Local Government, Politics
Positive Perspectives for Local Politics
by JOHN ADAMS •
Whitewater’s now seeing what it’s like to experience a negative and deceptive campaign, but our city is better than that. To cleanse the palate, consider what politics should and can be. Respect for facts and sound reasoning. People are naturally smart and reasonable, not just a few, but many, in every part of a community.…
City, Economy, Local Government, Politics
Mr. Yvarra’s Campaign: Even More Deceptive Than Before
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve written previously about the contested race in Whitewater’s Fourth Council District, an election choice between Lynn Binnie and Paul Yvarra. See, on this topic, On Whitewater’s 4th District Council Race, and (about the Yvarra campaign) A Dodgy and Deceptive Campaign. In a statement to the Gazette, for their comprehensive election series, Paul Yvarra has…
Local Government, Open Government
The Daily Union (Rightly) Forges Ahead
by JOHN ADAMS •
In nearby Fort Atkinson, that city’s municipal manager, Evelyn Johnson, recently resigned after somewhat over a year in her role. The Daily Union submitted to the City of Fort Atkinson an open records request, to learn more about her departure from a public position. In reply, Fort Atkinson’s city attorney, Chris Rogers, wrote denying the…