Posted on 12/31/2011 5:49:12 PM PST by afraidfortherepublic
The gambit by two large Wisconsin unions to force Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett out of a possible recall election appears to have backfired.
Two sources close to the Democratic mayor said this week that Barrett now is "seriously considering" running in a potential recall election of Gov. Scott Walker and will make an announcement in early January.
Both sources emphasized that Barrett has not yet made a final decision.
But nearly everything else they said suggested the mayor will seek a rematch with Walker.
The pair of Barrett sources said he might jump in even if the leaders of the Wisconsin Education Association Council and the Wisconsin State Employees Union put up another Democratic candidate. The unions are said to be supporting former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk.
"We don't want a primary, but we're not intimidated by it," said one of the sources close to Barrett. "Tom's decision will not be influenced by that. He's not running to be governor of WEAC or AFSCME."
Ciara Matthews, spokeswoman for the Walker campaign, responded to news of a likely Barrett candidacy by issuing a statement saying the governor had reined in wasteful government spending and eliminated a $3 billion budget deficit.
"Governor Walker fulfilled these promises and has laid the foundation for a more successful Wisconsin," Matthews said. "He looks forward to the opportunity to compare that record against any of the possible Democrats."
Last week, two top WEAC officials - President Mary Bell and Executive Director Dan Burkhalter - had a face-to-face meeting with Barrett to discuss the potential Walker recall race. Also attending the meeting was Marty Beil, executive director of the state employees union and an open critic of Barrett.
In an email obtained by No Quarter, Bell told her senior staff that the group was unsuccessful in persuading Barrett to sit out the recall contest. Walker beat Barrett by 52%-47% in 2010.
"In our judgment, the meeting did not convince Mayor Barrett that he should not run in a potential recall election," Bell wrote to her board members and UniServ presidents.
"We continue to pursue the message on other fronts, but could use your assistance in telling the story from your perspective and with your reasons to those with whom you have connections that might be more effective in delivering that message to the Mayor."
Insiders say the union officials were trying to clear the Democratic field for Falk. Barrett and Falk both ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2002.
Beil and Bell have not returned calls about the meeting.
This month, the United Wisconsin coalition said more than 507,000 signatures had been collected in just 30 days. They need 540,208 signatures to force the recall election sometime in 2012. Petitions are due Jan. 17.
The effort was spurred by anger over Walker's proposal effectively ending collective bargaining for most public workers.
Barrett has been reluctant to discuss the recall race publicly, repeatedly pointing out that he has a re-election contest slated for the spring. But it now appears that he will face only token opposition in his bid to win a third term as Milwaukee's CEO.
It's not a surprise that certain labor organizations wouldn't be thrilled with a Barrett candidacy in a recall election.
WEAC strongly opposed Barrett's plan a couple of years ago to take control of the troubled Milwaukee Public Schools, and the public employees unions have been upset with his cuts to balance the city budget.
The two Barrett sources, who asked not to be named because he's not made a final decision, argued that the mayor might be helped by news that he doesn't have the backing of some labor organizations.
Though the mayor had the support of most unions in the 2010 gubernatorial contest, the sources said, he might score points with the small group of independent voters in a general election if it is clear that he is not a wholly owned subsidiary of labor.
"There's a reasonable line of thinking that this will be a plus," said one of the two sources.
It sounds as if Barrett's team has already begun to plot election themes.
One of the sources suggested Walker was "dishonest" for not disclosing during the campaign that he wanted to roll back collective bargaining for public employees and that Barrett was the best eyewitness to that.
"We feel confident that we can win a general election," the source said.
Walker and Republicans, no doubt, will accuse the 58-year-old Democratic politician of flip-flopping on the collective bargaining issue.
After blasting Walker for his proposals, the mayor took a plank from the governor's legislation to help save millions on health insurance costs and balance the city budget without having to negotiate with city unions.
But the sources said they are not concerned about that charge, pointing to a PolitiFact Wisconsin item that concluded Barrett had not reversed course. Nor are they worried about polling memos leaked by WEAC that suggest Falk might have a better chance in a head-to-head matchup with Walker.
"Tom is the strongest candidate," the Barrett ally contended.
Wisconsnin Barrett Rematch Ping
This is pathetic if Tomm Barrett is the only candidate the Dems can get.
ping
Love to watch him lose twice.
We need to encourage this. Whatever it takes to drain union coffers.
The dems just can’t stand to lose. It is only a fair election, a “Democratic” process, if they win (and control the elections). We should all learn and remember that as they slowly move America into Socialism.
The dems just can’t stand to lose. It is only a fair election, a “Democratic” process, if they win (and control the elections). We should all learn and remember that as they slowly move America into Socialism.
His ego is bigger than his brain.
What a loser. Try it again.
Walker will win with a bigger margin than last time.
Walker is doing a great job. Thanks Gov Walker.
I think he will get his ass kicked outside of Madison and Milwaukee, and lose. Good, run Tom Run.
Any relation to the .50 Caliber Barrette?
Any relation to the .50 Caliber Barrette?
Word on the street is that they are having difficulty getting many more signers. I wonder if they will even meet the mark once scrutiny is applied to the signatures they have?
How is the dumb Dim going to explain why he used Walker’s reforms to reduce the health care and pension benefits for his city workers? Barrett even boasted that he was able to save the city money. So even Barrett won’t be able to turn back the clock for the unions. The election timing will also be interesting because he might not be able to run for mayor if he runs for the gov.
I’m originally from Wisconsin, now Indiana, and except for our governor, Mitch Daniels, Walker is by far the best governor in the country...
It sounds as though the signatures have stalled...they had 504,000 last week, didn’t they?
I think you are on to something. I suspect that their announcement of 504,000 signatures included all those who signed the “intent” petitions way back when the other recall was going on. And I susect that they have contacted, or tried to contact those names and haven’t secured real signatures yet Not that that will stop them from turning them in. But, I suspect that the several attempts going to get the GAB to verify those signatures has thrown a scare into them.
The whole nation is watching, and at least half of the nation is laughing at them. Teachers cannot stand to be laughed at.
One of my neighbors has had a Recall Walker signed posted at her house for months. It is a serious sign — bordered in wood and firmly planted into the ground. It was GONE yesterday. I’m going to check again today and next week, but something has caused her to remove that sign.
Curious.
Well, they didn’t get my name on their recall papers......
I was at a local convenience store filling my truck with gas when I was approached by a woman who asked me to sign the recall petition. I quickly and firmly said, “Not in a million years would I sign that paper and you people are damn lucky to even have a job!”.
She walked away grumbling to herself while others who heard me say it just smiled.
After breakfast I drove down the road to see what happened to by rabid neighbor’s recall sign. (This sign is hand made and is framed on all sides with 1 x 2s with pointed stakes tat extend into the ground.) It has been removed (not broken) and is laying in the ditch. ??? There is also a dead deer in her ditch, and another neighbor has a Pro-Walker sugn naiked high enough in a tree that nobody can get it. Hmmmm. ??? Nobody has touched my Walker sign posted down the road.
When their signatures are submitted, go to Verifytherecall.org and check to be sure that nobody submitted your name when you weren’t looking.
Really, we shouldn’t have to take such measures in a Democratic Republic. The unionista Dems are ruining this country.
It’s going to be the same thing that happened last time.
I just love it when they put up guys with losing track records. Barrett has no chance. With voter ID laws now in place it will make it a little tougher for them to cheat so blatantly.
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