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Perhaps he's overwhelmed or depressed by the onset of winter, but Rhinelander attorney Sam Gold insists Barack Obama's campaign has violated state law against misrepresentations in political ads. As a result, he wants the Democratic presidential nominee charged with crimes.
Gold cites an obscure state law that prohibits false ads. Of course, false ads and politics have been in bed together since the advent of advertising -- take the recent decision by the state elections board that Supreme Court Justice Mike Gableman lied in his ads about former Justice Louis Butler. But, we can all be selective in what we believe -- like Gold.
Maybe it's just a coincidence that Gold was a staffer for former GOP Congressman Scott Klug and once ran a campaign for John Sharpless, whose camp was known for attacking current Dem Congressperson Tammy Baldwin's sexual preference and trying to toss out a few false allegations of its own during Baldwin's first and successful run for the House in 2000.
Gold touts that Sharpless came within one percentage point of winning, but the way the campaign was run left a bad impression on many observers. Nonetheless, Gold claims no connections to Republicans running with the McCain gang now.
"I was watching (TV) this past Saturday night and saw an ad several times from the Obama campaign accusing John McCain of ruining America's health care system," Gold states. "I thought is was a new low for Obama to run an ad playing on the fears of the most vulnerable in our society.
"While in my legal opinion, the law is probably an unconstitutional restriction on free speech, it is on the books as good law unless a judge says otherwise."
Gold called the Oneida County Sheriff's office and asked it to file charges. He says he got the idea after hearing news reports that Obama's campaign was attempting something similar in Missouri.
If convicted, violators of the law can face up to six months in prison and a $1,000 fine.
Gold is licensed to practice law in Naples, Fla., where he regularly represented a citizens group that opposed city projects such as a sewer expansion and a park cleanup.
Bean Counting Bingo: City of Milwaukee Comptroller Wally Morics recently faced a panel of concerned aldermen who wanted to make sure Milwaukee wasn't sliding down the slope of other area municipalities or school districts.
Milwaukee aldermen wanted to make sure that isn't going to happen in our fair city. Morics assured them it wouldn't.
"We have a lot of people trying to sell us snake oil and stuff," Morics replied during a budget hearing.
Aldermen pointed out to Morics that the city Housing Authority hasn't filed financial statements in a timely fashion for the past four years. Morics warned aldermen that this could ultimately affect the city's bond rating, a point backed up by a deputy comptroller, who said a financial firm had inquired as to why the financials were delayed.
"I have letters on my desk ready to go asking (the Housing Authority) to respond," Morics said.
"We would like some response other than what we got last year," responded Ald. Michael Murphy "At the end of the day the mayor's got ... to get it done."
The Housing Authority's board of directors is a seven-member body appointed by the mayor. Common Council President Willie Hines is the chairman.
The city attorney's office said last year that it would write up an agreement to get the Housing Authority to get its financials out within six months of the end of the year. Morics said this year's financials weren't complete even 11 months after the end of the fiscal year for the Authority.
"The idea that you require timely financial data is not controversial in my mind," he said.
Morics also made headlines last week by suggesting that the city could come out ahead by leasing the city's Water Works to a private operator.
Lowering The Bridge Bridles More Furor: The state Department of Transportation's proposal to remove the Hoan Bridge continues to create logjams of protest from politicians on the South Side. Milwaukee County Supervisor Patricia Jursik is a leader in that effort. Her latest missive involves a recent study that predicts there is $5 billion worth of developable land underneath that bridge.
"Developer's news flash: Land around sewerage treatment plant worth billions -- that's billions with a ‘b'. If you believe this, the Department of Transportation has a bridge to sell: the Hoan Bridge," Jursik states.
"As County Supervisor, I am concerned about our other county assets like the War Memorial -- this land must be worth even more billions."
Jursik is calling for a new study focusing on South Side development, preferably paid for by state DOT money. "We ask Transportation Secretary (Frank) Busalacchi to spend another $175,000 to fund this study, the same amount he paid for the bridge-for-sale ad. "
She says she's also asking the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission -- which loves to advocate road-building -- to develop the footprint for the extension of 794 to Ryan Road and to any further studies of the lowering the Hoan concept.
Transit Watch: A new group advocating smart policies on the public transit circuit will hold its first meeting next week.
The Coalition for Advancing Transit formed last month as part of the Urban Economic Development Association, a community-based organization that focuses on housing and economic development issues.
According to a brief overview on the group's Web site, "The meeting will seek consensus on purpose and structure for the Coalition for Advancing Transit. We will discuss ways to encourage positive movement by elected officials to cooperate on solutions for the challenges facing transportation and workforce development in the region."
The meeting is set for 8-11 a.m. Tuesday at the Manpower Headquarters, 100 Manpower Pl., on North Martin Luther King Drive and Cherry Street. The Web site is www.uedawi.org.
An avid outdoors person he regularly takes extended paddling trips in the wilderness, preferring the hinterlands of northern Canada and Alaska. After a bet with a bunch of sailors, he paddled across Lake Michigan in a canoe.
He lives in Bay View.
