Posted on 05/24/2015 5:33:16 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Scott Walker and his legislative minions have no respect for local democracy.
One of Walkers early acts as governor was to sign a law that pre-empted Milwaukees paid sick days ordinance which voters had approved by 69 to 31 percent and which the state Court of Appeals had upheld. Dana Schultz of 9to5, the National Association of Working Women, described the state override of the Milwaukee law as an assault on democracy, local control and working families."
The assaults have continued, with Walker and his allies moving again and again to prevent Wisconsins towns, villages and cities from acting to defend the public interest, serve local citizens, establish sound land-use policies and protect the environment. At every turn, the attacks on local democracy have been cheered on by the out-of-state special-interest groups and billionaire campaign donors who have sustained Walker and his legislative majorities. The most enthusiastic of those donors are champions of schemes to undermine public education. So it should come as no surprise that Walkers Republican legislators are now attacking elected school board members who have dared to act in the best interest of the students, teachers and communities they serve.
A plan approved last week by the legislative Joint Finance Committee on a 12-4, party-line vote would permit a county executive to take authority over vulnerable urban schools away from elected school boards. The executive could then appoint commissioners with the authority to assume control of those schools. The commissioners could either manage the schools directly or solicit takeover proposals. In effect, says state Rep. Cory Mason, D-Racine, this could give unelected commissioners the authority to privatize individual schools.
The initial target of the proposal is Milwaukee. But it could extend to Madison and Racine.
And thats not the last assault on local democracy.
Walkers legislative partisans are also moving to end the terms of all nine elected members of the Racine Unified School District Board in 2016 and force new elections for the nine seats a move Mason notes would effectively invalidate the elections of a number of board members. The board has been reasonably respectful of teachers and their unions, which does not sit well with the Republicans. Under the plan, board members would no longer be elected districtwide (as are the vast majority of school board members in Wisconsin). Instead, each member would represent a small section of the district. The GOP's goal is to reduce the influence of the city of Racine (a Democratic community with a substantial minority population and a history of supporting unions) while increasing the influence of suburban areas (which tend to be more Republican, have a smaller minority population and are presumed to be friendlier to the governors agenda).
Mason says, For the state of Wisconsin, under Republican control, to basically nullify Racine duly elected officials and make them run again in the districts that (the state) would prefer is not only an assault on local control, but democracy.
Wisconsin Republicans once respected local control and local democracy. Under Scott Walker, they have abandoned both putting crude partisanship ahead of principle.
He makes them crazy.
MEGA KUDOS for posting this anti-Walker screed. It shows what a really great conservative he is and how he’ll get things done in DC if we elect him president. By seeing him from the standpoint of the enemy we get an even better idea of how good he really is, a better view than we can even get from his own people.
Under the plan, board members would no longer be elected districtwide (as are the vast majority of school board members in Wisconsin). Instead, each member would represent a small section of the district. The GOP's goal is to reduce the influence of the city of Racine (a Democratic community with a substantial minority population and a history of supporting unions) while increasing the influence of suburban areas (which tend to be more Republican, have a smaller minority population and are presumed to be friendlier to the governorâs agenda).IOW, ridding it of at-large 'representation', which Jesse Jackson has condemned in a public speech right here in little old Grand Rapids; instead, there would be (a restoration of) districts, making the board representative, instead of a Demagogic Party rubber stamp.
The sick days were part of Act 10 which broke the strangle hold pubic employee union contracts had on local government.
The focus of the article’s lament is a proposed state law that would take failing Milwaukee schools out from the dead thumb of Milwaukee’s school board/school admin and appoint a special master to try to better the school.
Real conservatives typically object to top-down interference in local matters.
Normally I would agree. However, if the locality is running a deficit and is expecting the state to bail them out, it would make sense to have some state control over how the money is being spent.
In other words, a locality can't vote themselves a larger share of the state budget. Especially if that vote is heavily influenced by public employee unions.
GOOD!
"Democracy" is two coyotes and a sheeple voting on what's for dinner.
It was striking down a requirement that all PRIVATE businesses provide paid sick days to their employees. It was the equivalent of a $15 min wage.
The bill about schools in Milwaukee is designed to fix failing schools. No unexpectedly, Milwaukee Public Schools is a basketcase. The vulnerable ones in the schools are the kids stuck in classrooms where no one learns.
Unlike the liberals and “progressives” like the author of this misleading pile of garbage, the Wisconsin GOP is trying to put in place policies to help kids in Wisconsin’s inner cities. Both Milwaukee and Racine schools have effectively refused to put in place the reforms from Act 10, leading to layoffs and other fiscal woes.
Are those who are opposing the measure to EXTEND “democracy” to each district served by a board of education really as stupid as they sound. They are trying to argue that area-wide representation is more representative than district-by-district representation, when everyone knows that area-wide representation winds up serving the top one or two districts in the area with the most people, and the expense of equal representation of all the other districts.
I think no one educated them to understand we have “representative” government using democratic means, and not a “democracy” which is always a tyranny of the majority over everyone else.
If John Nichol’s panties are in a twist, you KNOW Scott Walker is right on target! :)
Nichols is our local Vocal Socialist who has a BIG megaphone through ‘Das Kapitol’ Times.
When the effects of unlimited immigration start to take hold and most statehouses and legislatures are run by liberals, the few remaining conservative enclaves will be sad to find that their attempts to maintain conservative policies will have been preempted by policies such as Walker's.
Why not allow liberal cities and counties to create and enforce liberal policies? If we conservatives are right then those policies will fail and people will tend to elect conservative politicians to represent them.
She shows a total lack of understanding of state government. It is the state legislature that created counties and granted city charters, not the other way around. The state legislature has the right, if not the inherent duty, to abolish corrupt and unworkable local government structures.
I was born & raised in Wisconsin.
The Capital Times was a worthless rag 58 years ago when I graduated High School & it has only gotten worse.
My brother has tried many times to get me to return there to live & there are 2 major reasons why I won’t:
The weather—which no one can change.
The ABHORRANT taxes, which I cannot afford.
I have 5.58 acres, house, garage, fenced & cross-fenced in N Nevada & he has a 2000 sq ft house on about 1/4 acres.
HIS taxes are over 10 times MY taxes.
I am pretty certain that he doesn’t get 10 times the fire protection—10 times the police protection—or 10 times the results out of the schools.
Pretty much says it all.
I think Wisconsin is fed up and waking up.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.