Richfield Candidate Forum Rallies Over 150 Attendees - Watch Video

The Richfield Elementary School was filled with citizens who wanted to hear the viewpoints of four Village Trustee candidates.

Over 150 were in attendance at this somewhat heated forum.

Video will be up soon. Check back later.

Richfield 2011 Village Board Forum from Randy Melchert on Vimeo.

Eagle Forum to Host Richfield Village Trustee Candidate Forum

Richfield: Eagle Forum of Wisconsin-Washington County will host a candidate forum for Richfield Village Trustees on Thursday, March 31, at 7:00 p.m.

The event will be held at Richfield Elementary School, 3117 State Hwy. 167.

The format will include an introductory statement by each candidate. Candidates will take turns answering questions and will be allowed conclusion time.

Trustee candidates for the village of Richfield are Rock Brandner (I), Bill Collins (I), Reid Snedaker, and Sandy Voss.

The moderator will be State Representative Don Pridemore. Pridemore is a 1977 graduate of Marquette University, a former electronics researcher and engineer, and an amateur chili judge. A veteran from the Vietnam Era, he served in the Air Force from 1965-1969. He is a former president of the Hartford Area Taxpayer Association, a member of the Hartford Lions, and Greater Hartford Optimists, as well as the American Legion, VFW, and the NRA. In the past he has served as assistant scout master for Boy Scout Troop 741, and state director for Wisconsin Citizens for Legal Reform, and a member of the Erin Park Board since 1995. In 2004, he was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly, and has been unopposed for the last two elections.

Eagle Forum is offering this event as a community service to the greater Washington County area. The forum will be videotaped and shared via the Eagle Forum website at www.eagleforumwc.blogspot.com for later viewing.

No direct debate will be permitted, and no questions will be taken from the floor.

The event is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Washington County chapter president Ginny Maziarka via email at eagleforumwc@gmail.com.

VOTE EARLY!

Early voting is the key to assurance that, should an unforeseen event take place on April 5, your vote will COUNT!

Vote at your convenience all next week!


Simply stop in at the West Bend City Hall, 1115 S. Main Street (back side of Police Department). Go to the second floor and ask for a ballot! Hours: 8-4:30


If you live in the Town of West Bend, early voting is available as well. Vote at the Town of West Bend Hall at 6355 Hwy. Z. Hours are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday: 8-3; Fridays 8-10:30. (Unfortunately, makes it impossible for the average working person to vote early.)


For information on polling places, your voting history, registration and a sample ballot, visit VOTER PUBLIC ACCESS.

Unions Boycott KWIK TRIP - time to FIGHT BACK

The Unions have decided to target an innocent bystander. The KWIK TRIP chain of gas stations is the newest victim on their hit list.

***

READ HERE

or

LISTEN to Mark Belling PODCAST HERE (Hr 1 Pt 2 3-17-11)

***

SUGGESTION:

Print out business cards or, heck, just print on paper and cut with a scissors if you have to:

_____________________________________________

Dear Kwik Trip Manager:

I support Gov. Walker, and I support KWIK TRIP!

Thank you, and stand strong. We are behind you!

_____________________________________________

Frequent a KWIK TRIP as often as you can for your gasoline and store purchases. Give the manager, or one of his/her personnel, one of these business cards each time you do. Make extra and give them to your friends. Ask them to do the same!

We cannot allow the unions to bully our area businesses.

To locate a KWIK TRIP near you, go HERE.

Liberal WB School Board Candidate Asked to Withdraw From Race

Bart Williams, conservative school board member candidate for the West Bend School District, called out Mark Maley for his conflict of interest in today's West Bend News. (See article below.)

Maley, himself, has been a POLITICAL PIMPLE for those who insist on reasonable taxation and social/fiscal conservative representation on this school board.

In the past, liberal Maley has:

Appeared to "bully" conservative school board members at previous meetings.

Said that the community/school district has been "hosed by conservatives" in the past.

Framed his family members and ideals (comment 22) as: "PS - 2 of my daughters are gay, and I contribute to a friend of theirs organization in Madison too.Both are terrific human beings

So I’m pro death penalty,Pro choice ,pro lesbian ,pro daughter, pro school district,pro sermon on the mount and I can read a balance sheet better than anyone I know.."

According to his own words HERE under "comment 13" (also printed below), Maley believes:

MALEY: meals with taxpayers $- a wise man saids someplace on this board -“Grow up”

INTERPRETATION: It's okay to eat out on the taxpayer dime.

MALEY: -being a school board member is taking on a 20 hour per week job at 10cents an hour. If sandwiches for the group allows them to spend an additional 5 hours in meeting that might save the taxpayers 10 Million $ over a number of years-Lets call the paper and stop that this instant.
Muckracking involves real- honest to god muck

INTERPRETATION: "Not only is eating out on the taxpayer dime perfectly acceptable, keep the meals coming! " I will admit, I've always thought it would (in a perfect world) be very nice if a citizen's "care" group would form and supply easy dinners as a courtesy for the school board members. Let's face it, the city council brown-bags it, so the reality is -if the money isn't there, we just can't/don't do it.

MALEY: But for the record- I’ll be happy to sponsor any more feeding frenzies on taxpayer time. The check is in the mail

INTERPRETATION: " I will be paying for further dinner extravaganzas." Just curious, did Mark ever follow through with this?

MALEY: -we have more kids coming than we can handle- period.
denying it doesn"t make it untrue.

COMMENT: Mark is out of touch with the district's statistics. We have more opting out than opting in. We do not have more coming in than "we can handle," we just need to be good stewards of what we have. This has not happened in the past, leading to facility disrepair, an over-emphasis on "Gifted and Talented," a warped administration-to-teacher ratio, and other bad moves.

MALEY: The referendum passed because thinking folks usually can eventually tell the difference

INTERPRETATION: Maley obviously is stating that people who were against the referendum are "stupid" or "non-thinking" and "unintelligent."

________________________________

Today's article...

A West Bend School Board candidate is calling for a fellow campaigner to withdraw from the race.

Bart Williams, one of five candidates seeking three positions on the West Bend School Board in April, has raised concerns that one of his opponents — Mark Maley — would have a conflict of interest if elected to the board.

“Mark Maley is a district employee and has been for 13 years,” Williams said. “Being a district employee and now trying to be on the very board that is supposed to oversee district employees is inherently incompatible with school board service.”

Maley, who is the West Bend High School girls basketball coach, earns a salary of $5,000 a year.

“How that puts me in conflict with anyone at the high school or middle schools is beyond me,” Maley said.

Maley said he consulted with the school district’s attorney before entering the race.

“She said that I would need to be recused from the actual physical staff salary negotiations and the one school issue,” Maley said.

That issue is the conversion of the twin high schools into one school.

......

Maley proposed an alternative.

“Let the community decide if being off of the direct negotiation and one school vote disqualifies me from being an active board member,” Maley said.

KUDOS to Williams for a courageous move to ask Maley to do the right thing.

Shame on Maley for putting his own personal interests in the way of the very school district he claims to support. It seems Maley wants to be his own boss, at taxpayer expense.

The Government want to dictate your LIGHTBULB purchases?

I realize this isn't brand spankin- new news....but it had me laughing right out loud! What a great testimony by Rep. Ted Poe of Texas!

Sensenbrenner Town Hall Meeting *WEST BEND* TOMORROW

Residents of West Bend are invited to join Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner for a Town Hall Meeting this Saturday, March 12^th at 9:00am at the West Bend City Hall to discuss the issues on your mind.

Location: 1115 S. Main Street, West Bend. The meeting will be held in the Common Council Chambers on the 2^nd Floor. Parking is available and an elevator to the 2^nd floor is accessible from the rear of the building.

The Cost of Collective Bargaining

The Cost of Collective Bargaining

Example #1 – The $150,000 Bus Driver

In 2009, the City of Madison’s highest paid employee was a bus driver who earned $159,258, including $109,892 in overtime, guaranteed by a collective bargaining agreement. In total, seven City of Madison bus drivers made more than $100,000 per year in 2009.

"That's the (drivers') contract," said Transit and Parking Commission Chairman Gary Poulson.

Source: Wisconsin State Journal, 2/7/10

Example #2 – $800,000 for “Free” Viagra

Milwaukee Public Schools attempted to drop from its health insurance plan coverage of Viagra, saving $786,000 per year, enough to pay up to a dozen teachers. The teachers union sued the district to regain coverage.

Source: ABC News, 8/12/10

Example #3 – A Year’s Worth of Pay for 30 Days of Work

Under the Green Bay School District’s collectively bargained Emeritus Program, teaches can retire and receive a year’s worth of salary for working only 30 days over a three year period. This is paid in addition to their already guaranteed pension and health care payouts.

Source: WLUK-TV, 3/3/11

Example #4 – $150,000 Correctional Officers

Correctional Officer collective bargaining agreements allow officers a practice known as “sick leave stacking.” Officers can call in sick for a shift, receiving 8 hours of sick pay, and then are allowed to work the very next shift, earning time-and-a-half for overtime. This results in the officer receiving 2.5 times his or her rate of pay, while still only working 8 hours.

In part because of these practices, 13 correctional officers made more than $100,000 in 2009, despite earning base wages of less than $60,000 per year. The officers received an average of $66,000 in overtime pay for an average annual salary of more than $123,000 with the highest paid receiving $151,181.

Source: Department of Corrections

Example #5 – ‘Outstanding First Year Teacher’ Laid Off

Milwaukee Public Schools teacher Megan Sampson was laid off less than one week after being named Outstanding First Year Teacher by the Wisconsin Council of English Teachers. She lost her job because the collective bargaining agreement requires layoffs to be made based on seniority rather than merit.

Informed that her union had rejected a lower-cost health care plan, that still would have required zero contribution from teachers, Sampson said, “Given the opportunity, of course I would switch to a different plan to save my job, or the jobs of 10 other teachers.

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 6/14/10

Example #6 – Taxpayers Pay $68 Million for Union Health Insurance Monopoly

An updated review of a 2005 WPRI study concluded that school districts could save $68 million by switching from their expensive WEA Trust insurance plans to the state health insurance plan. Switching to a competitively priced private sector plan would save more money still. Collective bargaining agreements effectively give the teachers union a veto over any effort to change providers, however. As a result, WEA Trust insures about two-thirds of Wisconsin’s school districts.

Source: WPRI, WASB, ETF, DPI, WEA Trust

Example #7 – Arbitrator Reinstates Porn-Watching Teacher

A Cedarburg school teacher was reinstated by an arbitrator after being fired for viewing pornography on a school computer. The school district ultimately succeeded in terminating the teacher only after taking the case to the Wisconsin Supreme Court at great cost to the taxpayers.

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 8/23/08

Example #8 – Taxpayers Pay 800 Government Employees to Conduct Union Business

In 2010, the state allowed paid time off for 805 employees to conduct union business. Total cost to the taxpayers was $433,333.

Source: Office of State Employment Relations

Example #9 – Union Opposes Cost-Saving Lawn Mowing Program

As a cost cutting measure, Racine County began using county inmates to cut the grass in medians and right-of-ways at no cost to the taxpayers. A county employee union filed a grievance indicating it was the right of government workers to cut the grass, even though it would cost the taxpayers dramatically more.

Source: Racine Journal Times, 5/12/10

Example #10 – $6,000 Extra for Carrying a Pager

Some state employees, due to the nature of their positions, are required to carry pagers during off-duty hours in order to respond to emergency situations. Due to the collective bargaining agreements, these employees are compensated an extra five hours of pay each week, whether they are paged or not.

For an employee earning an average salary of $50,000 per year, this requirement can cost more than $6,000 in additional compensation.

Source: 2008-09 Agreement between the State of Wisconsin and AFSCME Council 24

Example #11 – No Volunteer Crossing Guards Allowed

A Wausau public employee union filed a grievance to prohibit a local volunteer from serving as a school crossing guard. The 86-year-old lives just two blocks away and serves everyday free of charge.

Principal Steve Miller says, "He said, you know, this gives me a reason to get up in the morning to come and help these kids in the neighborhood."

But for a local union that represents crossing guards, it isn't that simple. Representatives didn't want to go on camera but say if a crossing guard is needed, then one should be officially hired by the city.

Source: WAOW-TV, 1/27/10

Walker's Faith Makes Him a Dangerous Man

Heh. This is not your average lefty. This is what I would call a lefty with a handicap. If there is anything that Walker has done well, it's been follow through with integrity. Wonder where he gets that from? Hmmmm....could it be........JESUS?????

Curtsy Marsha S., Brookfield -

From Diana Butler Bass via the Huffington Post:

As the stand off between workers and Governor Scott Walker continues in Wisconsin, religious leaders have weighed in on the dispute. Roman Catholic bishops came out on the side of the unions, urging the governor to protect worker's rights. Many mainline pastors, including Lutherans, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Congregationalists, and American Baptists have written letters, issued statements, and preached sermons supporting labor, unions, and collective bargaining. In Madison, interfaith prayers and proclamations have upheld and encouraged the teachers, police, firefighters, and other public employees in their resistance to the governor's plan to break their union.

This is an impressive religious group by any standards--particularly so in Wisconsin where traditional faith still plays an important role in the life of a large number of its citizens. Wisconsin is almost evenly split between the three largest American religious groups: 29% are Roman Catholics; 24% are evangelical Protestants; and 23% are mainline Protestants.

Yet none of these prayers or sermons has swayed Scott Walker. He has steadfastly stayed on his original course, unfazed by the full weight of Roman Catholic authority or the mainline social justice tradition pressing upon him and urging him toward compromise and change.
Scott Walker is neither Roman Catholic nor a mainline churchgoer. The son of a Baptist pastor, born in Colorado Springs, the heartland of the Religious Right, Walker is a member of Meadowbrook Church in Wauwatosa, a non-denominational evangelical church. Meadowbrook's statement of faith, a fairly typical boilerplate of conservative evangelical theology, includes beliefs in biblical inerrancy, sin, exclusive salvation through Christ, and eternal damnation.

In other words, Scott Walker does not give a rip about pronouncements by the Roman Catholic Church, any Lutheran, Episcopal, or Methodist bishop, or the Protestant social justice pastors. These religious authorities, steeped in centuries of theology and Christian ethics mean absolutely nothing in Scott Walker's world. His spiritual universe is that of 20th century fundamentalism, in its softer evangelical form, a vision that emphasizes "me and Jesus" and personal salvation.

Before he was elected governor, Walker shared his testimony with a group of Christian businessmen. In it, he said that his religious life was expressed in the words of an old hymn, "Trust and Obey." From childhood onward, Walker recounted how God specifically directed his life, how he had learned to trust that direction, and how he sought to obey Christ in all things and at all times. He related the biblical story of the apostle Peter in a boat, whom Jesus directed to walk on the water. At first, Peter followed Jesus and did, indeed, walk upon water. But Peter became fearful and sank. According to Walker, this is a parable of the whole Christian life. If you "fail to trust and obey," Walker said, "You sink." Doubt is not allowed. Only obedience.

This is the same sort of evangelical spirituality that shaped George W. Bush--and led to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Once you know God's direction, no change is allowed. Doubt opens the door to failure. Obeying Christ's plan is the only option. In this theological universe, hard-headedness is a virtue, compromise is the work of the Devil, and anything that works to accomplish God's plan is considered ethically justifiable.

In other words, the Catholic bishops and mainline pastors--as well as the Quakers, Jews, Buddhists, and others--who have been trying to convince the governor to shift course are pretty well preaching in the wind. Other than David Koch (fake or otherwise), Walker is listening to One Person and One Person only: Jesus speaking directly to him. God, evidently, has directed him on his current path. Scott's just trusting and obeying. He bears no responsibility other than that.

Unlike the Roman Catholics and traditional Protestants who have spoken on behalf of the laborers, Walker has no spiritual "check" on him, no authority other than the ones he hears in his own head, and no moral culpability in this situation. He's the good Christian soldier, just following God's lead.

And this is why Scott Walker's religion is actually dangerous in the public square. Because it lacks the ability to compromise, it is profoundly anti-democratic. Many faith traditions actually possess deep spiritual resources that allow them to participate in pluralistic, democratic, and creative political change. But those sort of traditions tend emphasize the love of God and neighbor over strict obedience to an unyielding Father God. Despite anything Scott Walker might say, the confident dictum of the old hymn, "Trust and Obey" is not the best way to govern a state.

Read more: http://blog.beliefnet.com/christianityfortherestofus/#ixzz1F0NKlm6K

Teachers Unions explained

Waukesha County, now Richfield - Support Walker's Bill - PASS IT ON

The silent majority was heard the first time when they voted Walker in. Time to reinforce what we already said. Pass it on. Tell your community leaders to FOLLOW SUIT.

Kudos to our neighbors in Richfield!

RICHFIELD — The Village Board will take up a resolution Monday to support Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill.

“The village of Richfield has acted as a model for fiscal restraint in Washington County for many years,” said Richfield Administrator Joshua Schoemann. “In light of the state’s $3.6 billion budget deficit, the Village Board understands the need for immediate measures to be taken to permanently fix this shortfall.”

Richfield would be the first community in Washington County to take a stand one way or the other publicly on the controversial budget repair bill...

......

“Richfield taxpayers are very fiscally conservative on financial matters,” Richfield Village President John Jeffords said. “They voted for Gov. Walker in overwhelming numbers. The resolution is a way for the board to convey the Richfield taxpayers’ support to the governor.”

More HERE

Senator Grothman Assaulted at Capitol

This is disrespectful, and the protesters are now putting a label on themselves - BULLIES.