The "Scoop" on Washington County Elections

From Owen Robinson "Boots and Sabers":

"The filing deadline for local elections was yesterday. Here’re my quick takes on my local governments:

City of West Bend

All of the odd numbered districts are up this year. Districts 1, 3, and 5 have incumbents running unopposed. District 1 is conservative Tony Turner. District 3 is conservative Ed Duquaine. District 5 is moderate/liberal Alan Carter.

District 7’s incumbent was a liberal and she chose not to run for reelection. Running for the seat is a single candidate, Adam Williquette. Adam is a conservative.

So… the West Bend Common Council was a majority liberal/moderate board a few years ago with a liberalish mayor. Now 6 of the 8 seats and the mayor’s seat will be held by staunch conservatives. Not bad… not bad…

West Bend School Board

This slate is pretty disappointing. There are two seats up for election. One is currently held by a conservative, Tim Stepanski. The other is held by a liberal, Kris Beaver. Stepanski has chosen not to run for reelection. Beaver is.

Besides Beaver, three other candidates have filed to run. Carl Knepel is a younger guy who professes conservatism, but doesn’t have any track record. Therese Sizer is a staff attorney at West Bend Mutual and former teacher. I don’t know much about her except that she doesn’t travel in local conservative circles. The final candidate is Vinney Pheng. He ran last year and lost in the primary. He’s a solid conservative.

So what does it mean?"

READ THE REST OF THE SYNOPSIS HERE

Conservatives Response to the RECALL Drive

Cursty: Boots and Sabers

Words worth heeding. Conservatives, do your part.

As I’m sure you are aware, the attempt by liberals to recall Governor Walker begins tomorrow. It is an utterly misguided effort. Read my column tomorrow for some more thoughts on that. But as a conservative guy in Wisconsin who supports Scott Walker and the direction he is leading this state, here’s what I plan to do and suggest y’all might consider doing it too.

1) Record and report.

A recall drive is a public activity and participants are generally working in a public setting. I will take pictures, record conversations, take videos, and publicize it all. I hope that the folks are on their best behavior, because a lot of us will be watching. In fact, the Republican Party has set up a website to collect all of these reports. You can find it at Recall Integrity Center.

2) Power of the purse.

Just like the recall employees/volunteers, everyone who signs a recall petition is signing a public document. I’ll be looking at those names and making them public - especially for people in my neck of the woods. If you sign the petition and happen to own or run a local business, you can expect me to publicize that fact and decline to spend any more of my hard earned dollars with your establishment. After all, if you get your way I will need those dollars to pay my taxes.

3) Explain yourself.

As a close follower of the issues, I am well-equipped to debate the recall effort, the motivations, and the consequences. If you come to my door or approach me in public, you can expect a lengthy debate. I don’t really care if I convince you the error of your ways, but the longer you are talking to me, the less time you are spending collecting signatures. If you get frustrated and storm off in a huff, I’ll enjoy posting the video/audio. Heck, even if you don’t, it will be fun to highlight your lame arguments.

4) Show ID.

Every recall petition must be signed by the person circulating it. As such, anyone signing it has a responsibility to verify the identity of the circulator to make sure it’s on the up and up. If you ask me to sign it, I will ask for ID, record your information, and use that information as I see fit. If you are from out of state, you can expect to see your name in lights. If you refuse to show me an ID, I’ll be forced to take a picture and ask my readers if they know who you are. I will also ask if you are being compensated and, if so, by whom.

5) Send the cash.

During this period, there are no campaign finance limits on donating to Governor Walker. If you support Scott Walker. If you oppose returning to the days of Doyle and Democrat rule. If you support representative government where politicians serve the terms for which they were elected. Send a check. Do it now. Before you forget. If you have a lot of money, send a big check. If you don’t, then send a little one. It all adds up and there’s no better way to show that you support Scott Walker’s Wisconsin than by sending a check and casting your vote.

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I will not physically threaten or curse anyone collecting signatures. Nor will I do so to anyone who signs the petitions. I will be polite, friendly, and engaged. But I will make every personal effort to ensure that the entire process is legal, lengthy, and unpleasant for all concerned.

Just one man’s response…

Charter School Gets Community Support

Excellent column by Owen today:

Charter school worth exploring in West Bend


    There is a proposal before the West Bend School Board to create a charter school in the district. It’s a proposal worthy of serious consideration.

    Charter schools are not new to Wisconsin. There are over 220 charter schools in the state. Charter schools are simply schools that are chartered – i.e. contracted – by a chartering authority to provide education with taxpayer dollars but are absolved of having to comply to many of the regulations that burden traditional public schools.

    Charter schools also, because they are not shackled by as many stringent state regulations, offer school districts the opportunity to be innovative. Charter schools in Wisconsin specialize in technology, arts, the environment, math, science, at-risk, direct instruction, virtual and any number of other specializations while still offering the core curriculum required for all public school kids. 


.....


Second, the financials of a charter school may prove to be a net benefit to the district. The way school funding works, the money follows the student. For each student that enters the district, the district receives about $9,100 of funding. The proposed charter school is estimating a cost of about $8,000 to educate each student. In other words, for each net new student added to the district, the district would receive a net “profit” of about $1,100 to be added to the general budget


.....


Crossroads Academy seems to offer everything for which the district is striving. Educational flexibility. Relief from state mandates. Freedom from the confines of a unionized work force. Financial security. There are a few more details to gather, but all signs are that the School Board would provide an excellent service to the citizens of the district by exploring this opportunity. 

West Bend School District figures REVEALED

Tonight at 7PM the Regular Board of Education Meeting hosted by Silverbrook Middle School, 120 N. Silverbrook Drive.  Meeting will be held in the gymnasium.


PUBLIC INPUT WILL BE ALLOWED.

The teachers union has requested all of the teachers to attend this and the remaining school board meetings.  They were embarrassed with being outnumbered at the tax levy vote a couple of weeks ago. 

(It appears there is a scheduled walk-out at the high school today for the students.  They are protesting combining the two high schools to one.  It seems that if a student does not want one school, they will walk out.  However, if a student walks out they will have some type of discipline placed onto their permanent record and they will not be allowed to go to the Homecoming dance this Saturday night.)  

The TEACHERS UNION is holding the teacher's close.  

KEEP IN MIND:  The teachers stand NOTHING TO LOSE with the tax levy we are being targeted for.  While West Bend School District taxpayers are being asked to foot the bill for a tax levy (the school board is going to propose 9% tonight), TEACHERS WILL RECEIVE ANNUAL PAY INCREASES. 

The recent letter from the School District states the government funding has decreased over the years.  NOT TRUE.  LIES ARE BEING TOLD.  FACTS TO BACK IT UP.  Read it here:

http://www.bootsandsabers.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/west_bend_school_board_meets_tonight/

Curtsy Boots & Sabers (nice work):

Check out full commentary HERE.

12% tax hike coming to West Bend - Show up Monday night and VOTE NO

Here is what is not being said.  YOU CAN VOTE on this issue.  Monday night, school board meeting, BADGER MIDDLE SCHOOL GYM AT 6:30 (note - the meeting was moved).

Waning state aid and the increased cost of doing business have been cited as reasons why the West Bend School District will present a 12.1 percent increase to its 2009-2010 tax levy during its annual meeting Monday.
The district’s overall proposed budget is up 3.7 percent, from $64.2 million in 2008-09 to $66.6 million. That increase will bring the equalized mill rate up 8.7 percent to $7.36, adding 59 cents per $1,000 of equalized valuation to last year’s property tax bills.

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“After a 4.8 percent levy increase last year and a $27.4 million referendum passed earlier this year, the people of the district should aggressively scrutinize any spending and tax increases, especially with unemployment over 13 percent in West Bend,” said West Bend resident Owen Robinson, a blogger who publishes at www.bootsandsabers.com and writes a column for the Daily News.