The politics of the veto

There was certainly no lack of passion at the Milwaukee County Board's veto override session this week, especially when it came to cutting County positions that deal with mental health, alcohol and other drug abuse issues, and other services.

The board met to vote on overriding County Executive Scott Walker's 35 vetoes, which cut $10 million off of the board's budget plan to bring it in line with Walker's annual pledge of not raising the tax levy.

The difference between Walker and the board amounted to $7.56 per $150,000 of property evaluation. Board members also were inundated with phone calls, literature and radio ads urging them to support Walker's plan. The group Citizens for Responsible Government was behind the effort.

At one point Supervisor Patricia Jursik called some literature she received concerning cutting mental health workers "race baiting."

Supervisor Peggy West gave an impassioned plea to save alcohol and other drug abuse workers, relaying a story about how her alcoholic brother ended up dying while waiting for the County to help.

"When you call and you ask for help and you're told you have to wait three to six months for help ... it's gloomy," she said.

Supervisor Marina Dimitrijevic questioned the souls of her colleagues.

"For those of you who continue to vote (for cuts), where is your conscience? This is not a vote to keep you in office," she said.

Supervisor Joe Sanfelippo, who supported the Walker cuts, retorted, "It would be easier to support these programs if there wasn't a budget full of asinine spending."

Others invoked the tragedies at Fort Hood and Virginia Tech as examples that, if there was the right support system, those incidents might not have happened.

Supervisor John Weishan suggested that cuts in programs there might be the culprit and "maybe those boards should be held as unindicted co-conspirators."

The vetoes in those areas were overridden.

Privatization of security and housekeeping caused other consternation, with many supervisors saying that Walker has never completely explained how, or what, or whom, would take over those functions.

"It's not genuine," said West. "This is getting crammed down our throats."

"We do not have the truth," added Supervisor Michael Mayo.

Another interesting veto that was not overridden was the elimination of the County Transit call center where people can call to get information on bus routes. Now there will be no humans answering the phone, instead leaving it up to an automated system, which some supervisors argued was incomplete as callers had to know the route they were on to get more information.

Supervisor Gerry Brodrick, who was quiet most of the day, called the talks that cut services to the poorest in the county, "the misguided effects of me-ism."

"It's like a psychedelic dream to even talk about that now," Jursik said regarding a proposed 25-cent bus transfer fee that Walker took out that would then mean a hit on the property tax rolls.

MPS plan emerges: The plan for a mayoral takeover of the Milwaukee Public Schools is emerging in more detail, only to find a skeptical public.

A poll released this week essentially found that 57 percent of residents in the four-county metro area oppose a takeover of MPS by the mayo -- an idea backed by Mayor Tom Barrett and Gov. Jim Doyle. Their plan was put out last week with the most substantive detail to date.

Under the Doyle proposal:

• The mayor, not the school board, would appoint the superintendent of the district.
• An elected school board would oversee budgeting and other MPS policies as well as set policies.
• Voters in a referendum would review the issue every seven years.

In a memo, Doyle says a mayor-led MPS would make the district more efficient.

"The best research available suggests that this governance change would create accountable leadership and set the stage for improved student achievement. The bottom line is that a superintendent backed by the mayor is better positioned to implement reforms," says the memo.

Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Public School Defense League, featuring such prominent members as former School Board member Leon Todd, picketed last weekend in front of state Sen. Lena Taylor's house. Taylor is proposing her own version of a mayoral takeover plan.

Doyle dumps DNR pledge: Going back on a long-time campaign pledge, but not in a surprising move, Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed a bill that would have made the secretary of the Department of Natural Resources independent from gubernatorial appointment.

Since the mid-1990s the governor, instead of the DNR board, has appointed the DNR secretary. It's been a long effort to even get a bill through the Legislature onto the governor's desk and Doyle had long supported the change.

Not any more.

State Rep. Spencer Black (D-Madison) and Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton immediately called for a veto override vote.

"Decisions about our outdoors should be based on science and what is best for our environment, not on what is best for politicians and special interest groups," Black said.