Results from the Wisconsin Spring Primary are, mostly, now in. In Whitewater. I’ve commented on this race in email and online. The unofficial results (Binnie 152, Yvarra 30, Meyer 26) in the top-two primary show a marked gap between the incumbent and his challengers. In a primary that awarded the race to a candidate…
Local Government
City, Elections, Local Government
On Whitewater’s 4th District Council Race
by JOHN ADAMS •
One part of the city has an election in the spring primary today, for the city’s fourth council district. Incumbent Lynn Binnie is running for another term against challengers Greg Meyer and Paul Yvarra. It wouldn’t have been my inclination to presume to endorse in the race, but more than a few readers have emailed,…
City, Local Government
Blueberries, Raspberries, Rat Poison
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s more than one way to see the differences of policy and politics in Whitewater. By one way of thinking, these differences are merely of taste, like a preference for blueberries over raspberries. Although one cannot be certain, this is probably how most officials see the decisions before government: a choice between simple preferences. And…
Innovation Center/Tech Park, Local Government
If someone thinks that the Innovation Center is one of a ‘few good things’…
by JOHN ADAMS •
Local Government
You’ll Find the Local Dignitaries Next to the Orange Unicorns
by JOHN ADAMS •
Fort Atkinson’s trying to decide what to do with its city manager, and needless to say, local officials are busy insisting that they didn’t make any mistakes in selecting Evelyn (Evie) Johnson: She was among 45 candidates who expressed interest in the Fort Atkinson position in 2012. At the time, [Fort Atkinson Council President Davin]…
Local Government, Politics
For Diligence on Policy, There Is No ‘Above and Beyond’
by JOHN ADAMS •
I read an interview yesterday, of a Whitewater political candidate, touting his years of experience. He declared that, among those who were aware of his work, most “would likely say that I almost never miss a meeting and I come well prepared, often having gone above and beyond in researching a matter.” It’s important to attend…
Local Government
‘Young’ Doesn’t Always Work
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over at the Daily Union, following concern in Fort Atkinson for some months, one reads that No decision [has been] reached on Fort city manager’s employment status: ….At the meeting Friday, the council met in closed session to “consider employment, promotion, compensation or performance evaluation data of any public employee over which the government body…
City, Government Spending, Local Government, Waste Digesters
The New, Old Idea
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over these last few weeks, I’ve received messages from readers asking my view of a new digester proposal first mentioned at Council on December 3rd (but discussed, I know, among officials well before that). Like others, I’ve quietly watched the progression of this second digester plan. (I have posted occasionally at FW about a prior…
City, Local Government, Politics
Dr. Kissinger’s Services Not Required
by JOHN ADAMS •
Yesterday, I wrote about an obvious lack of diligence from members of Whitewater’s Police and Fire Commission. Their meetings are an exercise in lack of preparation, sloppiness, and plodding along unenthusiastically. (See, Lack of Diligence, Front and Center.) Someone asked me, in reply to that post, if I thought that Whitewater’s commissioners, on the PFC or…
City, Local Government, Police
Lack of Diligence, Front and Center
by JOHN ADAMS •
In the fall, during the 11.6.13 Whitewater’s Police and Fire Commission meeting, the PFC’s chairperson introduced a draft code of ethics and drafts of procedures for complaints and interviewing candidates for employment or promotion. I wrote about that meeting afterward, because the drafts were poorly written, and in the case of the procedures for…
City, Corporate Welfare, Development, Local Government, Poverty
Three Motivations for Local Government Intervention (and One That’s Sadly Missing)
by JOHN ADAMS •
In Whitewater, we’ve had any number of local projects, some involving millions, in a town of only thousands. Broadly, one may assume three motivations for local intervention: (1) genuine if mistaken efforts at community betterment, (2) the vanity or economic interest of parties to a project, or (3) a desire to prevent demographic and…
CDA, City, Development, Government Spending, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Local Government
About that iButtonLink Announcement…
by JOHN ADAMS •
An aspiring musician tells his friends that he performed to a standing-room-only crowd at Carnegie Hall. Needless to say, they’re impressed. “It’s great that your songs drew such attendance,” they observe. “Why, yes,” the musician replies, “it must have been my music, although I suppose the free tickets and fifty-dollar gift packages might have…
Federal Government, Freedom of Speech, Liberty, Local Government, New Media, Open Government, Politics, State Government, Writing
Steps for Blogging on a Policy or Proposal
by JOHN ADAMS •
For bloggers who cover politics, policymaking, etc., just as would have been true of essayists and pamphleteers in an earlier time, it helps to have a method to one’s writing. In the paragraphs below, I’ll list steps one should take when approaching a topic. The steps are in a rough order, but in any method,…
City, Local Government, Press
An Enduring Value of Local News
by JOHN ADAMS •
One of the pleasures of reading local press accounts of a meeting in Whitewater is that through those stories one sees how local insiders want to be portrayed. It’s as close to an official’s Dear Diary entry as one is likely to find. Readers will discover clues to the concerns, preoccupations, and worries of…