Democrats honor three; 'November is our turn'

Diane Lange receives Phyllis Dresen Spirit of Democracy Award

from Doug Dresen, and Phyllis' granddaughter

Racine County's Democratic Party held its annual banquet Sunday night, honoring three long-time members and declaring, in the words of keynote speaker Rep. Cory Mason, "November is our turn."

The dinner was a combination pep rally, campaign meeting and celebration, as some 200 Democrats heard brief speeches from a number of candidates while honoring County Board Supervisor Diane Lange with the first annual Phyllis Dresen Sprit of Democracy Award, for making a positive impact supporting democratic principles; Michael Corona with the James Arena Award for long and continuing contributions to the county party; and Judy Van Koningsveld with the Democrat of the Year Award for Party-building activities during the past year.

Some of those who spoke included:

Ken Lumpkin, county board supervisor also running for city council, noted: "It's exciting having two sharp candidates on the ticket, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama."

Lisa Neubauer, running for a full term on the Appeals Court to which Gov. Jim Doyle appointed her in December, noted that hers has turned into "the most overtly political race," especially unfortunate since judges are non-partisan. "What people are looking for," she said "is someone who is hard-working, competent and has integrity.'

Doug Dresen, who with his son, Scott, and two granddaughters, honored Diane Lange with an award named after his late wife, pointed out "how pleased she'd be" to see the award go to "such a force for positive activism, someone who does what's right even when the cause is unpopular."

For her part, Lange noted, "a woman is like a teabag; she never knows how strong she'll be until she's in hot water." She said, "Politics is serious work; it matters, it affects the whole world... and the world is ready to welcome us back."

Racine Mayor Gary Becker said, "Lord knows, this country needs the Democrats to take control."

Paulette Garin, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, said "every issue can be tied to the economy...we need fair trade over free trade." She also noted, "we are so past due in creating universal health care."

One of her opponents, Marge Krupp, said, "We have a real chance at taking this seat back. Tax breaks for big oil does not work to create jobs here."

Rep. Bob Turner agreed with both of them, hoping "we can remove that old rubber stamp Ryan from Congress." Turner also pointed out that the state is just a few votes shy of having a Democratic-controlled Assembly, "and it's a big difference being part of the majority. We need it to bring the bacon home." He noted that the Assembly has spent $24 million so far this session, but met only 23 days -- far fewer than in previous years.

Mason, a freshman legislator with just 15 months in the Assembly, said "a freshman legislator in the minority party is humbled pretty quickly." The situation is "unreal," he said, noting hours of debate for such no-brainer questions as "should children under five who are deaf get hearing aids, or should autistic kids get health insurance?"

"These are the things we spend our time on; universal health care? Not so much."

But "the long political winter of our discontent" is nearly over, he said hopefully. "We say this every two years, that 'this is the most important election ever.' But this year it's true."

Ray DeHahn gives Michael Corona the James Arena Award;
at right, his wife Carol

Democrat of the year Judy Van Koningsveld,
given her award by Brent Nance

Michael Shields, Jeff and Lisa Neubauer, Bob Turner

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A new look at City Hall

There's a new look at City Hall. No, not the Extreme Makeover kind, but rather the not-shaving, let's-see-what-develops kind of new look.

When I stopped in to see Mayor Gary Becker last week, I thought he'd just put down the razor for a few days. Hey, in the dead of winter, who hasn't done that for a week or so, until the wife's nagging gets to us?

But when I saw Hizzoner this morning, wearing a Packers sweater, it was clear that he has a purpose in mind ... although, unlike David Letterman and Conan O'Brien, he's not growing a beard in support of the striking writers.

"Just keeping 'em guessing," the mayor said, in response to a direct question. Last year, with no opposition in the election, he lost 30 pounds. This year, he says he's getting into shape by playing in city league basketball (he insists the refs cut him no slack) and hopes to lose another 5-10 pounds.

I thought he looked pretty good ... but, hey, some of us remember when he had a ponytail!

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Racine, Mount Pleasant officials discuss border deal

UPDATE: The JT followed our tip and is on the story. They interviewed Becker and Mount Pleasant President Carolyn Milkie and found that the communities want to "straighten out" their borders. As our commenters have pointed out, the issue is more likely centered around high-crime neighborhoods that the village doesn't want to deal with any more. But at what price will Racine take on these resource-intensive areas? Perhaps the former Case plant?

Original post:

Racine Mayor Gary Becker and Mount Pleasant officials are meeting to discuss changes to the communities' borders.

Preliminary talks would "straighten out" the borders between the communities and possibly result in the city receiving more land in exchange for taking on high-crime areas that are currently in the village.

The discussions are preliminary and no decisions have been made on the borders. City Council members have been asked not to discuss the matter with the media.

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Great Lakes mayors warn: Don't mess with our water

Mayors Miller, Daley and Becker

Ten Great Lakes mayors had a clear message for the rest of the country today: Don't mess with our water.

They issued challenges to presidential candidates, Congress, state legislatures and Canadian Federal governments to protect the lakes, approve regional compacts and recognize the importance of "one of the largest surface freshwater supplies in the world."

And they made clear they want cities to have a seat at the table whenever Great Lakes issues are to be decided. Said Mayor Denis Lapointe of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, "When we talk about the Great Lakes, we're talking about economies and qualities of life. Cities are the level of government that invests the most money."

In response to a question, at the mayors' wrap-up press conference, about whether protecting the lakes would hamper the development of businesses that require water, Racine Mayor Gary Becker said, "We love industry. That's what cities were built around. But if it's done, we want it done right."

Becker, acting as host of the midyear meeting of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative Board of Directors, said Congress must "move forward and pass legislation to implement the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy. Local governments are doing their fair share. Federal and state governments must step up and take some responsibility."


He noted that the Great Lakes water compact is still not before the Wisconsin legislature, despite having already been passed by Illinois and Minnesota. (It was signed by the eight governors two years ago this week.) The mayors specifically urged the state legislatures of Indiana, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to implement the compact; without passage in all states it cannot become law.

Becker laid out the key thrust very simply: "If you take water beyond the edge of the basin, you must return it. And in the same quality."

Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago said the group urges all presidential candidates to support the compact, through which Great Lakes states and Canadian provinces cooperatively manage lake waters. "Today, we call upon elected officials and candidates for office to publicly commit to concrete policy positions regarding the preservation and management of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence."

After the primaries, each presidential candidate will be sent a questionnaire seeking their positions "on a number of critical issues currently facing the Great Lakes region," Daley said. He noted that the eight Great Lakes states have 25% of the electoral votes. "Just one of our states could decide the election," Daley said. "This should be one of their agendas."

Mayor David Miller of Toronto -- after noting that "Racine is the leader in making sure beaches are swimmable and clean." -- said, "We're at a crossroads. Years ago, our agenda was leading edge.But now we must renegotiate the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, which was last negotiated in 1987."

It's necessary to open it up, he said, because new issues -- like climate change, which has dramatically reduced lake levels -- have come to the fore.Mayor Ellen Anderson of the Town of the Blue Mountains agreed: "It costs $5 million to move a water intake pipe as lake levels recede."

Becker said he felt good as the meeting wrapped up at Wingspread, citing success in "elevating the issues." He noted that when Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico said, "The Great Lakes are awash in water," the mayors pounced and got the presidential candidate to rethink his position. "Trying to reshape Mother Nature will bite you," Becker noted wryly.

A light moment, when best laid communications plans went awry

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Racine's solar array is just the beginning

"So," I said to Racine Mayor Gary Becker, "when did you become Al Gore?"

"Not Al Gore," he replied. "I blame this on Mayor Richard Daley."

To understand our exchange, go back a week ago, when the City Council, at Becker's urging, piled the best of intentions on a foundation of mostly taxpayer dollars to construct a solar array in the City Hall Annex parking lot. At a cost, if anyone's counting, of $341,934.

Did I mention: mostly taxpayer dollars?

Money collected but ... ahem ... otherwise not really needed, is how the storyline goes. See, $135,000 had been allocated to repave the 50-space parking lot. But "nobody parks there," the mayor said, since there's another lot nearby. And bids on an unrelated City Hall remodeling project came in $71,928 less than budgeted -- so (Of course!) -- that money also was burning a hole in the city's pocket, in a manner of speaking. We all should have such problems.

Nobody suggested giving it back to the taxpayers. Instead, Public Works director Rick Jones and Becker came up with the idea (each credits the other) of a 37-kilowatt solar-powered electrical generating system. Big solar panels mounted on poles, filling the parking lot. How California can you get?

There's no sex appeal in parking lot repaving, or City Hall remodeling, but mention the word "solar" and money falls from the sky: We Energies is giving the city a $99,975 grant for the project. And the Wisconsin Focus on Energy is giving another $35,000. Voila!

As a taxpayer, it's easy to be cynical about this project. Until you talk to Becker. His enthusiasm and clear-headed explanation turned my head around. I'm still uneasy about how the $200,000 pile of city money was accumulated, but the project itself actually may make sense, in a Mayor Moonbeam sort of way.

"Am I going to sit here and tell you this is the greatest investment the city has ever made?" Becker asks rhetorically. "No. But strictly from a dollars and cents perspective, it's close." In other words, given the price of electricity, it will pay for itself in about 15 years, providing about 10 per cent of the annex's electrical needs. "It'll break even at current energy prices, although nobody in his right mind would expect those to stay the same. With energy prices rising, buildings are the low-hanging fruit."

But for Becker, this solar project is not a dollars and cents issue. "I'm a believer in leading by example," he says. "Climate change is real out there. And buildings, not cars, are the biggest producers of CO2. Absolutely."

The mayor says he became an environmentalist after meeting Chicago Mayor Richard Daley (Daley fils, not Daley pere: Richard M, the current mayor, not his father, Richard J.). They met at Becker's first meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Now Becker chairs the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence Cities Initiative. And the Mayor's Climate Control Agreement, which more than 700 mayors have signed. "We can do Kyoto," he says.

Kyoto? The 1997 U.N. agreement that 173 countries and the European Union have signed to reduce greenhouse gases to at or below 1990 levels? The so-called 2005 Kyoto Protocol which the U.S. refuses to sign?

Yes, that one. "We're practically there already," Becker says. "Racine is probably well below the 1990's."

But he's just getting warmed up. "I'm working on an Urban Environmental Agenda," he says, differentiating between the kind of environmental activities that city dwellers might need and appreciate and the ones you more often hear about. "Saving the Spotted Owl doesn't cut it in the 'hood," he says. Rather, he means lead paint abatement, rivers clean enough for fishermen who eat their catch, recreation, "green" jobs.

The matron in Wind Point has different concerns than the man on the street wanting a job, to put it delicately.

"Is this project going to save the planet? No," Becker asks, and answers. "But reforestation, lake and river cleanup, they're all pieces of the puzzle. There's no silver bullet.

"As we try to reposition and recreate the city, these are the kinds of things that show that this is a forward-thinking community.

"Next year, I'm going to put windmills on City Hall."

Yes, I knew he was kidding about that. Right? "Daley Center has a couple of wind turbines," he said. A little too wistfully, I thought.

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City Council answers School Board's tough questions

Kutz, Van Atta, McKenna query aldermen in otherwise empty chamber

The Racine Unified School Board met with the big kids at the Racine City Council Tuesday night.

And while they weren't given all the answers to the test (though they asked for them), neither were they given wedgies. They weren't even rapped across the knuckles with a ruler (although that was suggested by a councilman, but in a slightly different context.)

It was billed as a Community Listening and Linking Session by the school board, which initiated the meeting in council chambers. School board members William Van Atta, Sue Kutz and Julie McKenna met with more than a dozen aldermen and asked them the really tough questions.

Here's some of the Q and A:

Q: Would you support building new elementary schools to allow grade reconfiguration at the high schools? (i.e., from 10-12 rather than 9-12):

Thomas Friedel, District 10: We could do a better job with smaller high schools. But before you do any of that, you've got to wrestle with the redistricting problem; it's been on the table for years. Until you solve that, you won't pass a referendum.

Jim Kaplan, District 4: I only support new schools in high density areas.

Mayor Gary Becker: I sense the school board isn't willing to make the tough decisions. No matter what, people will be upset; that comes with the big bucks you get.

Raymond DeHahn, District 7: The high schools were not built for grades 9-12, they were built for 10-12.

Q: Should we renovate or build new?

Becker: Whatever makes sense. We don't want a ring (of schools) built around the city. We want kids able to walk to school.

Friedel: You've got a school built in the 1850's (Winslow, 1856); you've got to wonder whether it makes sense to keep putting money into it.

Q: Would you support building schools west of Route 31?

Becker: If you're waiting for the perfect plan -- it's not going to come. City neighborhoods have to be taken into account. Of course, that's easy to say: It has to work for the community, for Mount Pleasant, for Sturtevant, for the city.

Q: What do we need to get referendum support?

Sandy Weidner, District 6: Bring more people into the schools.

DeHahn: Have a community open house.

Jeff Coe, District 1: Unified has to regain credibility, get trust back. Stop saying one thing and doing another. (The name Hicks was mentioned.)

Pete Karas, District 9: Hold exit interviews with kids, so staff and administrators can learn. Create more opportunities for recent grads to come back and work with kids. Engage young people; invest in the future.

David Maack, District 5: The school district doesn't do a good enough job of tooting its own horn about the good things, not just the dropout rate. You need to be able to show some success stories.

Kaplan: (Quoting a study showing why kids drop out) The kids found school too boring. I found it boring too ... and got a ruler across the back of my hand.... (amid laughter) I know you can't do that now.

Becker: Keep the process as open as possible. We're representatives of the community, but we're not the community. Find your critics first, if you're going for a referendum, and talk to them

Coe: Create a junior school board; we don't listen to our kids enough.

Robert Mozol, District 15: Indecision is worst.

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Gov's veto gives Racine spending room

Local governments will have more money to work - if they want it - after a last-minute change to the state budget.

Racine could boost its budget at least $400,000 following Gov. Jim Doyle's line-item veto that raised municipal levy limits to 3.86 percent. The initial rate was 2 percent.

The late change means more money for the Racine city government, if the City Council and mayor want to pass along a greater levy hike to the taxpayers. Becker initially proposed a 2 percent increase in the amount the city raises in property taxes, cutting it back from 4 percent after the Legislature passed its state budget.

Doyle's veto could allow Becker to revert back to his initial plan. That could mean retaining the police officer and three firefighters cut from Becker's plan. It could also save the job of a community center director that Becker proposed for elimination.

One alderman said its likely the police officer position will be saved (it would have been cut through attrition, not a layoff). As for the rest, that's likely up the City Council, which will debate the budget over the coming month.

Becker said Monday that any additions to the budget will be up to the City Council. "Any additions will come from them, but I do have a few ideas I hope they look at," he said without elaborating.

The Milwaukee J-S is a bit behind on the story with news this morning that Becker had to cut $580,000 from his budget to accommodate the 2 percent levy limit.

But the story did have a nice detail on the budget. The mayor's plan includes $50,000 for hand-held parking ticket machines for city police cars. That'll make it easier for officers to hand out parking tickets at the new fee of $13 per offense. Lovely.

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Listen Up: Becker, Snow to meet with residents at community centers

Mayor Gary Becker will hold listening sessions at all five community centers between Oct. 29 and Nov. 19.

Becker and Parks and Recreation Director Donnie Snow will meet with residents a few weeks after the mayor was roundly criticized at the John Bryant Community Center for failing to clearly communicate his plans for the city's community centers.

Rumors got out that Becker wanted to close the centers. Becker, instead, said he wanted to partner with outside nonprofits to provide more programming in the centers.

"The existing community centers are a critically important part of the quality of life that we enjoy in Racine," Becker said last week in a press release put out by City Administrator Ben Hughes. "I care deeply about the programs and facilities that we offer to our citizens. As such I have proposed an additional $40,000 in programming funds for the community centers in my 2008 budget. Director Snow and I believe that it is important that we visit all five community centers to listen to the thoughts of those citizens who use the centers."

Here is the schedule for the listening sessions. They all start at 6 pm.

• Monday, October 29th – Bryant Community Center, 601 21st St.
• Tuesday, October 30th – Tyler-Domer Community Center, 2301 Twelfth Street
• Monday, November 12th – Dr. Martin Luther King Community Center, 1134 Dr. MLK Dr.
• Tuesday, November 13th – Humble Park Community Center, 2200 Blaine Ave.
• Monday, November 19th – Cesar Chavez Community Center, 2221 Douglas Ave.

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Becker: Outsource and privatize MIS department

Racine Mayor Gary Becker's budget contains another surprise: he proposes to outsource the city's Management Information Systems department to Velocity Partners Inc. of Brookfield.

The department normally includes five employees and a director, but the top spot has been vacant since July when Dennis John left to join Milwaukee County's MIS department. His position paid about $100,000 a year in salary and benefits, and the entire department is budgeted to spend $1.1 to $1.2 million this year.

Privatizing would save the city at least $100,000 annually, the mayor believes.

The deal with Velocity Partners, if approved by the City Council, would include jobs for all of the affected employees at equivalent pay and benefits.

The department's staff heard the news from new City Administrator Ben Hughes, who said the mayor spoke highly of their efforts, especially since John left. "He values what the MIS deparment has been doing, but there are projects we haven't been able to get to."

Hughes likened the role of the MIS department to "the spine amongst the body" of the other 12 city departments; it's the only one that doesn't deal with constituencies outside city governement, but the whole of city government relies upon it.

Besides the five employees in the MIS department, the city has used outside contractors, paid $18 to $35 an hour, to provide "as-needed services," which Velocity can do more efficiently.

"MIS changes so rapidly, that government doesn't have the flexibility to keep up with it," Hughes said.

The mayor's proposal would keep two positions on the city payroll, a director and a clerical/administrative person. Salary and benefits for the director would be about $100,000; for the second person, $59,000.

The affected MIS employees would benefit from joining a company where they could receive advanced training.

Outsourcing is the trend in MIS, Hughes said, noting that Racine County privatized its MIS department to Velocity Partners a few years ago. Other Velocity clients include M&I Bank and Harley-Davidson.

The budget was finalized Thursday night and sent to the printer, for delivery to the City Council on Monday.

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Shhh, here's a budget preview!

Mayor Gary Becker sends his proposed 2008 budget to the City Council on Oct. 22, but here's a not-so-small bit of inside information.

The Capital Improvement Plan -- the amount of money budgeted for bricks and mortar infrastructure projects -- in the mayor's budget is $7.6 million.

Where'd we get that number? From His Honor himself. While we were interviewing new city administrator Ben Hughes, Becker came in and announced it to Hughes (and to our listening ears). Becker seemed pretty pleased with the number, too. It's flat to this year's $7.56 million, (setting a good example for department heads).

We tried a follow-up question or two -- for instance, will the budget be so tight that we'll have to lose a dozen police officers, as has been bandied about -- but Becker only smiled, shook his head "no," and said, "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." We think he was kidding.

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Mayor's appointments to city committees

The City Council approved the following appointments to city committees and commissions, made by Mayor Gary Becker, on Tuesday:

Waterworks Commission:
Reappoint Alderman Ron Hart for a one-year term ending in October 2008.
Reappoint Alderman Tom Friedel for a one-year term ending in October 2008.
Appoint Jeff Pellogrom, 555 Main Street, for a four-year term ending in October 2011.

Wastewater Commission:
Reappoint Alderman Ron Hart for a one-year term ending in October 2008.
Reappoint Alderman Tom Friedel for a one-year term ending in October 2008.
Reappoint Jeff Pellogrom, 555 Main Street, for a four-year term ending in October 2011.
Reappoint Roberto Garza, 1909 N. Wisconsin Street, as an alternate for a one-year term ending in October 2008.

Business Improvement District - West Racine:
Reappoint Alderman Aron Wisneski for a one-year term ending in December 2008.
Reappoint Jim Spangenberg, 3219 Washington Avenue for a three-year term (property owner representative) ending in December 2010.

Business Improvement District - Uptown:
Appoint Guy Singer, 1514 Junction Avenue.
Appoint Marie Oliver, 1330 Washington Avenue.
Appoint Andy Hay, 1642 Washington Avenue.
Appoint Dr. Richard Kemper, 1509 Washington Avenue.
Appoint Peter Walquist, 1413 Thirteenth Street.
Appoint Aldrenna Smith, 1407 Memorial Drive.
Appoint Lou Larsen, 1426 Washington Avenue.
Appoint Christopher Eperjesy, 1328 Racine Street.
Appoint Alderman Michael Shields for a one-year term.

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Mayor to introduce 2008 city budget on Oct. 22

Mayor Gary Becker will send his proposed 2008 budget to the City Council on Oct. 22. Likely issues in next year's spending plan include cuts to the police and fire departments, funding for the city's community centers and plans to hire a city grant writer at $90,000 per year.

Becker referenced the police and fire cuts during a recent meeting on programming at the city's Bryant and Tyler-Domer community centers.

The grant writer may be a budget-neutral position, because a grant writer can usually bring in more money than their salary to benefit the city.

A wild card in the budget is whether the state Legislature passes its budget. Without a finalized state spending plan, local governments like Racine don't know how much state aid to expect - a major source of revenue in the city budget.

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Mayor grilled at Bryant Center

(See video of the Listening Session at the bottom of this post. Photos/Ken Lumpkin)

Mayor Gary Becker got an earful Tuesday night when he faced 250 people at the Dr. John Bryant Community Center over plans to change programming at the center.

Becker wants the city to partner with community organizations, like the YWCA and YMCA, to offer additional programming at the Bryant and Tyler-Domer community centers. The mayor told the crowd he feels the centers are underused during the day.

Despite promises from Becker that the centers aren't closing or being privatized, the largely African-American crowd opposed the plan. Audience members made it clear through speeches, questions and applause that it didn't want the mayor interfering with the community centers, some going so far as to say they needed to fight to protect the Bryant Center. People noted that they marched to create the center, and said it was an important part of its neighborhood.

The opposition came down to trust. Speakers simply did not believe Becker when he said he intended to add more programs that would be more useful to the neighborhoods surrounding the community centers. The mayor also said the directors of the community centers would remain in charge of programming, even if outside groups are brought in.

Becker didn't help himself when he was unable to respond to James Oates' question about what specific programs would be added. The mayor mentioned a few vague ideas, but couldn't tell the crowd what he meant by additional "programming." He simply wants more use out the community centers.

The sizable attendance seemed to surprise Becker, who was ridiculed and cajoled throughout the evening. At one point, the mayor said more people turned out than he expected - a point made evident by the single speaker and microphone hooked up for the listening session. The small sound system made it difficult to hear in the gym.

Where Becker's proposal goes from here is unclear. Parks and Recreation Director Donnie Snow, who attended the session, supports the mayor's plans, as long as the city remains in control of the centers. Everything Becker said Tuesday night indicated that would be the case. The mayor added that the centers would remain free and open to the public, and that funding for children's programs may actually go up in 2008. If true, it would be one of the few area's in city government to see a boost next year.

Armintta Franklin, of Racine, wasn't buying the mayor's words. "I don't feel the mayor has any interest in the African American community," she said. "The African American community doesn't trust the mayor."

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Where are you, Pointe Blue?

What's the latest on the $200 million Pointe Blue development in Downtown Racine? I wish I knew. While waiting on call backs from the city and the developer, let's recap where things stand.

On March 28, The Journal Times reported:

Financing for Pointe Blue, which will be this city's largest development project ever, is now in place. Tuesday's announcement by the developer means the project will soon begin construction...

Over the weekend, the financing package for both site acquisition and construction fell into place, the developer, Scott Fergus of KeyBridge Development Group, said Tuesday.

"They have agreed to finance the project," Fergus said of the national capital group which wants to remain unnamed until the closing. Fergus said that should happen on or before April 11.

The financing announcement erases the perception of uncertainty that some observers had when the complex deal took longer than expected to be knitted together.

Fergus, president of Milwaukee-based KeyBridge, said he heard the doubts, but never shared them.

"In reality, no, I never doubted it was going to happen," said the former Racinian and state legislator.

Mayor Gary Becker said he heard the doubts also, but remained confident during the process.

"The thing about it was: Although there were potholes, it always kept moving forward," Becker said.

Fergus said he expects construction to start about April 16. Despite delays, he said the project is still on schedule...

Here's what the site of the largest development in Racine history currently looks like ...



It doesn't look like they've hit those April deadlines. In fact, they haven't moved dirt on this project, and nobody seems to be saying why. Hopefully we'll find out this week. -d

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