It’s an oft-repeated truism that the future writes the history of the present. That’s true in Whitewater as much as anywhere. It is a truth (like the most important truths) apart from both independent present-day commentary and contrasting, mendacious marketing and press-flacking. All the marketing in the world cannot shield against this simple question from…
Politics
Business, CDA, City, Corporate Welfare, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Local Government, Politics, University
Local Crony Capitalism via the WEDC (and similar schemes)
by JOHN ADAMS •
Whitewater’s had a decades-long problem of a few town insiders manipulating government and public resources for their own private ends. That time is drawing to a close, but there are yet some years ahead in which aging, mediocre town figures will push their self-promoting lies. As their chief motivation is personal vanity and pride, they’ll…
Politics, State Government
State Sen. Kedzie Rushes the Exits
by JOHN ADAMS •
Sen. Neal Kedzie, R-Elkhorn, abruptly announced Monday that he was resigning to pursue a “new opportunity,” just about a month after announcing he would retire at the end of the year. He said he would leave office at the end of the day. “A new opportunity has come before me, however in order to pursue…
Local Government, Politics
‘Movers and Shakers’ Get It Wrong, Again
by JOHN ADAMS •
Across Wisconsin, a majority of counties are now issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. (As of Tuesday afternoon, the number was at 50 of 72 Wisconsin counties, or about seventy-percent of them. By Wednesday in my area, Rock, Jefferson, and Walworth County were issuing licenses to gay couples.) (See, from Craig Gilbert of the Journal…
Politics
Grouping Arguments
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a form of debate called policy debating, common in many high schools, and some colleges. One style of policy debating is called spread debating, in which a debater speaks very quickly (up to several hundred words per minute), so that he or she can make as many points as possible in the time allotted. …
Local Government, Politics
Why Don’t Politicians and Bureaucrats Get Any Better?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Someone wrote and asked me why I thought that politicians and bureaucrats don’t seem to learn from past mistakes. When controversies arise, why don’t officials seem to improve, responsively, over time? Why do they seem to have learned almost nothing? Well, many do learn and improve, but those who don’t are conspicuous. I’ll suggest a…
Elections, Politics
Nass Runs for 11th Senate District
by JOHN ADAMS •
Of course he’s running: Longtime GOP state Rep. Steve Nass will run for the open 11th Senate District, an aide tells WisPolitics.com. Nass is jumping into the race for the 11th SD after Sen. Neal Kedzie, R-Elkhorn, announced yesterday he would not seek re-election to the heavily GOP seat in southern Wisconsin. A reminder to…
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…
Elections, Politics, State Government
Low Comedy in 3, 2, 1…
by JOHN ADAMS •
Democrats have three choices for the 15th District Senate Primary: Evansville’s Assembly Rep. Janis Ringhand, Janesville-native Austin Scieszinski, or former Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan. One sometimes encounters a politician who simply refuses to remain a former politician, and when one encounters such a person, that discovery probably sounds like Mike Sheridan. (He’s reportedly walking about,…
Politics
He Should Have Filed on April 1st
by JOHN ADAMS •
Via the Gazette: Mike Sheridan files for candidacy for Senate seat. Sheridan said earlier this week he planned to publicaly [sic] announce his candidacy early next week. He filed paperwork to run for the 15th Senate District seat Friday, according to the state Government Accountability Board’s website…. Sheridan was elected to the 44th District of…
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,…
Animals, Cats, Politics
Be The Middle Cat
by JOHN ADAMS •
City, Local Government, Politics
“The Closer You Look, The Less You See”
by JOHN ADAMS •
City, Elections, Politics
On the Spring General Election 2014
by JOHN ADAMS •
A few observations on yesterday’s election — The 4th District Council Race. Despite experiencing the most negative campaign in recent memory, Lynn Binnie won reelection handily over Paul Yvarra. Of the two-candidate vote (excluding write-in votes), Mr. Binnie received 283 to Mr. Yvarra’s 111. By percentage, that’s a winning share of 71.8% of the…