Another one bites the dust

Former state Rep. Bonnie Ladwig is the latest former Wisconsin state legislator to be convicted of ethics charges this year. Her guilty plea comes on the heals of former state senators Burke and Chvala convictions. WisPolitics.com and the Oshkosh Northwestern have stories on the breaking news.

On deck: former state Rep. Foti and current state Rep. Jensen. Any bets? I'd put my money on a 100 percent conviction rate (5 for 5).

-Bryan

Vacation

Bain-Blog will not be updated until after Christmas. Happy Holidays!

-Bryan

All good things...

...must come to an end. This fantastic display of Christmas lights has been shut down and will be available only online!

-Bryan

Enlightening

Thank you Oshkosh Northwestern and reporters Alex Hummel and Doug Zellmer for the two-day series covering those who are struggling to make ends meet. The articles were very informative and eye-opening. I appreciate you bringing this issue to the forefront of our community. Below are links to the articles:

• Safety net weakening
• Pantry helps feed thousands in Oshkosh
• For many, it's a struggle to survive
• Making ends meet on $7,200 per year
• A good paycheck is only half the story for Heise
• Call to duty strains the family funds
• County watching, wary of federal cut plans

In this holiday season, please remember those who are less fortunate. Donate food, clothes and other supplies, money or time to your favorite local charity or human services agency.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

-Bryan

WI Legislature

From http://www.wisopinion.com/

-Bryan

Iraq

Should the Oshkosh Common Council vote to place the proposed Iraq War referendum question on the April 2006 election ballot? I've received phone calls and emails from both sides. The group that circulated the petitions included a document in our council packet for background information. The Oshkosh Northwestern ran a story and an editorial on it. It's even been debated on the Eye on Oshkosh website.

• What do you think?
• Does it make a difference that the petitioners were originally told that it didn't matter how many signature they collected because it would ultimately be up to the council, i.e., it would not qualify as direct legislation?
• Is this an appropriate topic for a local level of government?
• If approved, should it be on the April or November ballot?

-Bryan

Fifth Tuesday Forum notes

The November 30 Fifth Tuesday Forum notes are now available on my website. There will also be limited copies of the notes available at City Hall by the end of this week. Thank you to city staff for again providing responses to the items raised during the forum!

-Bryan

Riverwalk

I encourage all residents to attend the Wednesday, December 14 Riverwalk Plan Open House at the Oshkosh Senior Center, 200 N. Campbell Rd., from 4:00PM - 6:00PM. There's an informative article in today's Oshkosh Northwestern that I recommend reading.

"New North"

Check out the "New North" and the Oshkosh Northwestern article about it.

-Bryan

Hand slap

I commend the State Senate for working at warp speed to pass 'meaningful' legislation such as concealed carry and a ban on gay marriage and all civil unions! It's good to know that when the really important work of state government needs to be addressed (strengthening the base; creating more divide, distrust and disdain), we can count our elected officials. One question for the Republican leadership: when will health care, education, job growth and economy legislation show up on the radar screen?

Both pieces of legislation now move to the State Assembly, where (unfortunately) both are expected to pass. How will Representatives Underheim and Owens vote? Well, if past votes can be used to predict the future, Rep. Owens will support both and Rep. Underheim will support concealed carry but oppose the ban.

I'm one who tries to always give credit where credit is due, so I thank Rep. Underheim for opposing the ban! He's correct, a constitution is intended to protects rights, not take them away. I hope he will stand on the Assembly floor and speak out against such discriminatory legislation.

On a related note, people who know Rep. Underheim know he tends, from time to time, to take things too personally. I have one such example.

I recently sent an email to Rep. Underheim and Sen. Roessler urging them to oppose the ban on gay marriage and all civil unions. Admittedly, I used a canned email and online form provided by Action Wisconsin. Here is the text:

Dear [Decision Maker],
I am a constituent and a voter. I urge you to vote No on the proposed constitutional ban on civil unions and marriage for lesbian and gay couples.

The denial of marriage hurts loving and committed lesbian and gay couples who live in every part of Wisconsin. These couples have taken on the many responsibilities of marriage, yet they are denied the critical legal protections that marriage provides. The proposed amendment will make that denial of marriage permanent.

This amendment goes beyond banning marriage for gay couples. It will also ban civil unions and threaten any legal protections for unmarried couples.

Mainstream Christian leaders and institutions in Wisconsin, including three synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, three Presbyterian bodies, and the Wisconsin United Methodist Conference, oppose the amendment because they believe it is unjust.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]

I did not include in the email a personal note to Rep. Underheim thanking him for previously opposing the ban and encouraging him to again oppose it. He must have taken offense. Here is his email response to me:

Thank you for your recent email regarding a constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriage in Wisconsin. It is a great disappointment to me that you seem not to know that I've opposed and voted against this amendment the last time it was brought before the legislature. Since I was one of only two Republicans who did so, I thought it probable you would know this.

Normally when someone agrees with your point of view, the tendency is to thank them and encourage them to continue to support their point of view. But to answer your question directly, I intend to oppose a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage, again.

Gregg

I should have edited the email to include a thank you to Rep. Underheim for opposing the ban (and expressed disappointment in Sen. Roessler for supporting it). Regardless, condescending emails is not the way to garner appreciative constituents. After 17+ years in office, he should know that by now.

-Bryan

Local elections

It's hard to believe it was a little over a year ago this weekend that I officially began my campaign for the Oshkosh Common Council. Where did the time go?!?

Here's a link to an Oshkosh Northwestern article about the upcoming local elections (including who's up for re-election). According to the article, only incumbents Burk Tower and Paul Esslinger have taken out nomination papers for the Common Council. Nomination papers can be obtained from the City Clerk's office, County Clerk's office or the School District office, depending on the position sought for election.

Important dates for the 2006 elections:
01/03: Last day for candidates to file nomination papers
01/06: Last day to challenge nomination papers
01/10: Election officials draw candidate names for primary ballot order
02/21: Spring primary election (if necessary)
TBD: Election officials draw candidate names for general election ballot order
04/04: Spring general election

Will this year's election turn out a large number of Common Council candidates like the last, or will the absence of a mayoral election garner less attention? I hope the latter is not the case! What are your thoughts?

-Bryan

AG "public integrity" seminars

I received the following email at work and wanted to share it with the general public...

---
The Attorney General's Office is sponsoring a series of free "public integrity" seminars -- essentially tutorials on open records, open meetings and ethics laws -- at locations throughout the state. These are open to local public officials, and to members of the public and press.

The meetings will be held on the following dates:

DECEMBER 14, Eau Claire (1:00-4:00 p.m.)
Chippewa Valley Technical College http://www.cvtc.edu/
Business Education Center Auditorium (Room 103)
620 W. Clairemont Avenue

DECEMBER 15, Superior (8:30-11:30 a.m.)
Indianhead Technical College-Superior http://www.witc.edu/
Conference Center Lecture Hall
600 North 21st Street

JANUARY 25, Green Bay (1:00-4:00 p.m.)
Northeast Wisconsin Technical College http://www.nwtc.edu/
Conference Room CB213 A & B
2740 W. Mason Street

JANUARY 26, Wausau (8:30-11:30 a.m.)
Northcentral Technical College http://www.ntc.edu/
Room E101 and E102
1000 W. Campus Drive

FEBRUARY 15, Pewaukee (8:30-11:30 a.m.)
Waukesha County Technical College http://www.wctc.edu/
RTA Center
800 Main Street

FEBRUARY 22, Racine (1:00-4:00 p.m.)
Gateway Technical College http://www.gtc.edu/
Great Lakes Room #110
1001 S. Main Street

MARCH 8, Janesville (8:30-11:30 a.m.)
Blackhawk Technical College http://www.blackhawk.edu/
North Commons
6004 Prairie Road

MARCH 9, Platteville (9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.)
UW Platteville Department of Criminal Justice http://www.uwplatt.edu/
Pioneer Student Center

In addition to sending out a press release with these dates, the attorney general will also be writing an informational column on the importance of Open Meeting/Public Records that will be sent out to our media list; if this is something of interest to you, we will certainly send you a copy. If you have any additional questions about the seminars you can feel free to contact me or Kelly Kennedy.

Thanks,
John Vander Meer
(608) 266-1220

John J. Vander Meer
Communications and Public Policy Coordinator
Office of Attorney General Peggy A. Lautenschlager
Wisconsin Department of Justice
---

-Bryan

Benefit of the doubt

What Oshkosh Northwestern Executive Editor Stew Rieckman has to say about Bain-Blog:
http://everydayeditor.blogspot.com/2005/11/local-blogosphere-continues-to-grow.html

-Bryan

Christmas lights

I don't know if this is real or computer animated. Either way, it's pretty cool!!

http://media.skoopy.com/vids/vid_00873.wmv

-Bryan