Waxing America

The filing deadline was Tuesday and the lineups are set for the Madison aldermanic races.  From The Capital Times, Election Matters: Mayor won't back Konkel foe, and the Wisconsin State Journal, Mayor tried to recruit candidates to oppose Konkel on City Council.

Besides the Konkel story, there are very few notes of interest  pertaining to the filings:

• Larry Palm will face Will Sandstrom, the turbulent and often confused candidate who made his mark in the 2003 mayoral primary. Palm gets my sympathy, but the race will bring a smile to more than one face.
• Brenda Konkel with her four challengers will have to rate behind Palm in the most interesting opponents category. She gets perennial candidate Dennis Denure who actually comes up with some decent proposals (The Museum Mile).
• Districts 10 and 11 will compete for the most interesting traditional competitive campaigns.

The political landscape will not change much after the April elections unless the campus districts produce alders who are in lock step with Progressive Dane or only mildly supportive.

The offer from the Madison Culture Arts District (MCAD) board to turn the Overture Center over to the city of Madison is the best start possible to resolving the issues confronting the performing arts center. As the Wisconsin State Journal reported,

Owner wants to give Overture Center to city; not a good idea, mayor says

Overture Center's owner wants to give the $205 million arts facility to the city of Madison or another entity for $1 as part of a complex deal to secure its long-term future, a letter obtained by the Wisconsin State Journal shows.

City officials are balking about taking responsibility for the gleaming but financially strapped facility on the 200 block of State Street.

The alternative may be a bank foreclosure on the building, the letter says.

The next step is to create a city commission to look at the the three fundamental issues: resolving the debt related to construction, a new structure for Overture, and a long term planning regarding finances and programming.

The nice thing about reading Stanley Kutler's* commentary on national affairs that have their roots in thorny Constitutional issues is that he informs, he educates, and he knows the topic. It's like going back to school. I did take four courses from him as both an undergraduate and graduate student at the University of Wisconsin.

Writing at Truth-dig, he cogently outlines the political and legal issues facing the United States Senate and the Democratic Party with the appointment by humbled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich of his nominee, Roland Burris (Burris refused seat in US Senate.):

Understanding the Constitution sometimes is like interpreting the Talmud.  Two scholarly readings bring forth three opinions. Article I, Section 5, of the Constitution is rather straightforward: “Each House shall be the judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualification of its own Members..."

Nice. Now what do they do? For the full story, go to Kutler's article: Blagojevich vs. The Senate:

As a child growing up in the nineteen fifties there were plenty of reminders about the never-ending battle against Soviet Communism.

In and out of the classroom we knew of the value of our democracy, the freedoms we enjoyed as Americans.  We had open and free elections, though blacks could not vote in the South where the poll tax ensured the rule of whites. We could travel across our great country without having to show identification or answering to anyone as to our purpose, so long as there was no probable cause to stop us.

The differences were not limited to democratic values.

The virtues of capitalism were everywhere. In Poland, peasants stood in line for hours for a loaf of bread. In Moscow it took weeks, no months, to have a telephone installed. And the Soviet airline Aeroflot was a joke, United States Airlines Compete With Aeroflot - And Win :

You can get all of the details in an excellent article by AP reporter Ryan J. Foley, Case could rewrite corporate law in Wisconsin.

A case before the Wisconsin Supreme Court could have a major impact on the power of corporations and their relationships with unions, banks and vendors.

The court will decide whether owners can make business decisions for their personal benefit at the expense of creditors, workers and the corporations themselves or whether they have obligations to those interests. Oral arguments are set for Jan. 7.

This is a case where you need a scorecard to keep the players straight. Let me summarize:

When the Democrats gained a majority in the Wisconsin Assembly, giving the party control of both houses of the legislature, the sweetness of victory was salted by the pending budgetary problems.

As I noted in November, Charlie Sykes's Newest Rule: Never Grow Up,  some, like right-wing radio gossip Charlie Sykes breathed a sigh of relief, were pleased with the outcome for shallow politcal reasons:

For the first time in more than two decades, Democrats now control all the levers of state government, which means that it falls to them to single-handedly solve the state’s massive (and ever-growing) budget hole...

and then expressed joy, given the horrific crisis facing the state:

For their part, Republicans have the luxury of sitting back and watching all of this from the sidelines.

I felt sadness upon hearing of the passing of Madison Alderwomen Betty Smith, but I also smiled.

Betty had good politics, or as I used to tease her, great politics for a Republican.

In fact, she would be despised and castigated as a RINO if she was active in politics today.

Betty was elected to the city council in 1973. I had made a pledge to begin a Madison child care program. I did not have a clue as to how it would happen. We were going to certify child care centers, provide instructional and training materials on child development to those who wanted the assistance, and even provide a modest scholarship program.

Betty told me not to worry about it. She gave me the name of Mary Berryman Agard and we went to work. At least the two of them did. I just tagged along.

The program was a smashing success. To this day, Madison's program is the model for the rest of the country.

It was a joy to work with Betty. Whether it was the child care program, the State Street Mall, the Civic Center, or even her complaints about the performance of certain city employees, she always had a smile and nothing less than support and encouragement as we strived to make Madison a great place to live, for all people.

When Jerry Frautschi announced his gift to create the Overture Center almost ten years ago, he had no firm opinion as to the structure that would operate the facility. In fact he assumed that the new facility, built on the site and concept of Madison's Civic Center, would continue with City of Madison control.

Then mayor Susan Baumann wanted no part of the facility. Her concern was the responsibility of the new performing arts center, both managerial as well as financial.

She informed Frautschi the gift was welcomed, but that he would have to find an alternative to the city when it came to ownership and management of Overture.

She informed the pubic of something different.

She told members of the city council and the press that the eventually adopted Madison Cultural Arts District (MCAD) was a condition of Fratuschi's gift. Actually MCAD served the needs of then Civic Center director Robert D'Angelo, who was looking for a structure that would guarantee him the benefits of public employment without the the inconvenience of an elected executive who might keep an eye on him.

It was a condition, not imposed by the donor, but by Baumann.

It is time to recognize that the Wisconsin State Journal and its parent company, Lee Enterprises, are on the edge of disaster. The once flourishing Lee Enterprises, $48/share as recently as 2004, is now trading at less than 1 % of that amount, 36 cents a share.

The newspapers's editorial policies are starting to make sense.

Last Sunday, the Wisconsin State Journal (WSJ) unfairly called upon the city of Madison to solve the Overture problem by screwing the organized employees:

...Labor costs are by no means the only part of Overture that deserves an overhaul. But they compose the largest expense item in Overture's budget. The city's pay structure is out of line in several places...

...For example, a study found that an Overture ticket cashier earns $18.34 an hour, compared to a statewide benchmark of $10.30.

I suggested on Monday that the newspaper was asking Overture Employees Take a Holiday Hit For Failed Leadership:

In an editorial that misses the mark, Cooperate to reform Overture,  the Wisconsin State Journal commends the leadership of the Overture Center for laying off employees and calls upon public officials to renegotiate the labor agreement with the union that represents the employees.

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and the City Council should respond by reopening the city contract... to allow center management to control pay and benefits...Labor costs are by no means the only part of Overture that deserves an overhaul. But they compose the largest expense item in Overture's budget. The city's pay structure is out of line in several places...

...For example, a study found that an Overture ticket cashier earns $18.34 an hour, compared to a statewide benchmark of $10.30.

The pay structure is not out of line.

Out of line were the decisions that led to the design of Overture and the Wisconsin State Journal editorial.

The original design problems will be dealt with in a separate post, for now I will deal with the editorial.