EEEE Round Up: Everything Else Except the Edgewater

That title sounds like it should be sung to the tune from "All Along the Watchtower" . . . but yes, there are other things going on around town . . .

WORTH READING
Here's another take on why the city has a budget problem. Tho a few of us tried to address this a few times, it is something the council never seriously considers. Sanborn was the only one hammering on the Capital Budget this year, but if others had tried to cut roads, especially ones in his district, he would have voted for them.

Barry Orton, on Soglin's blog, does a good job summarizing where we are at with the Cable Competition Act . . . more broken promises. This is what led to the the defunding of WYOU (donate now!) and an average 21% rise in cable rates in two years.

Check out the drop in our air quality! Full Dane County Environmental Health Card Report Card here.

I appreciated this call to have the County Board members to stand up to the sheriff's department . . . and the understanding that it could have political implications if they were to do so.

ART GALLERY OPENING

The Jackie Macaulay Gallery is hosting an artist reception for Desereé Nehrkorn

Friday, December 4, 2009 from 5:00 to 9:00 pm.

Wine and hor'devours to be served.

Located in the Social Justice Center,
1202 Williamson Street, Madison, WI

WISCONSIN ONCE AGAIN SHOWING IT IS PROGRESSIVE
From the Democracy campaign:

Impartial Justice bill signed into law
The Impartial Justice bill is officially the Impartial Justice law. Governor Jim Doyle signed the bill this morning. The governor's signing statement is here.

With today's action, Wisconsin becomes the first and only state to enact public financing legislation this year and joins North Carolina and New Mexico as the only states to ever create public financing systems for judicial elections.

The Democracy Campaign thanks Governor Doyle and all the legislators who acted to make this long-sought reform a reality. WDC also thanks the many other groups that worked for the bill's passage, most especially Common Cause in Wisconsin and the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin. And we owe a great debt of gratitude to the countless citizens who took the time to contact their representatives and the governor to urge them to take this important step toward cleaning up state Supreme Court elections.

This historic breakthrough for campaign finance reform was a decade in the making, as the Impartial Justice bill was first proposed in 1999. It is the most significant campaign reform in Wisconsin since 1977.

WATER RATES GOING UP!!!
According to the letter from the PSC,

Our proposed charge for public fire protection provides an increase of approximately 27 percent compared to a 21 percent increase in general service rates.

There is a public hearing next Tuesday. You can comment here.

DID YOU KNOW . . .
County board elections are coming up? People can start filing for that and school board starting yesterday. Seems really, really, really quiet this year . . . so far, Melissa Sargeant is running for a seat being vacated by Dorothy Wheeler and there's some action on campus . . . but I haven't heard a whole lot more, but I haven't been paying a whole lot of attention either and there is a virtual media blackout at the county and school board levels, making it hard to find news . . . but, at the county level, if you don't like what happened to human services this year, or are concerned about the sheriff's office and the immigration issues, or are passionate about land use (yes, there are some of you out there!) or [insert issue here], you should consider running! It's not as much work as the city council and there are important issues that need to be addressed! School Board info here. County Board info here. Of course, if you are interested, you might want to talk to some folks . . . feel free to call or email me or find someone who you respect or agree with! Candidates needed!

SMALL BUSINESS BUS PASS PROGRAM
Sometimes those crazy Progressive Dane ideas can even be supported by Jenifer Alexander of the Chamber of Commerce . . . for more info to get involved in the program, see here.

STALLED HOTEL
Hmmm, not returning phone calls . . . hard to buy the initial excuses about product not being available given the news of liens being filed against the property.

AIDS QUILT IN MADISON TODAY AND TOMORROW"

Overture Center Main Lobby
201 State Street, Madison, Wisconsin

Wednesday, December 2, 2009
11:00 am - 10:00 pm

Thursday, December 3, 2009
10:00 am - 10:00 pm

The AIDS Memorial Quilt is an expanding memorial to the lives of people lost to HIV/AIDS, created by those who loved them. It is the largest community art project in the world, totaling more than 45,500 individual panels that commemorate more than 91,000 people.

View 21 12'x12' blocks of the captivating quilt in person, brought to Madison in recognition of World AIDS Day (December 1) by the UW Health HIV/AIDS Comprehensive Care Program, with financial support from Becker Law Office, the Wisconsin AIDS/HIV Program and our many generous allies and friends.

JUST A FEW DAYS LEFT . . .
Do some shopping, help the community, get a good deal!

Help Promote Sustainability Statewide and these Community Causes: Dane County TimeBank, WYOU Community Access TV, Community Groundworks at Troy Gardens

PEACE RALLY TODAY
Wednesday, December 2 – March of the Dead & Placing Demands on Sen. Kohls Office Door & Rep. Baldwin’s Office Door.

11:00 AM – Gather at Lisa Link Peace Park, State St., Mad., WI and march to Veterans Park at corner of State St. and the Capitol Square.

We will have a somber March of the Dead to the Capitol Square where we will remember and mourn the dead by reading their stories. Will arrive at the Square at NOON. We will deliver our demands to Senator Kohl’s office at approximately 12:30 to 12:45 and to Congresswoman Baldwin’s office at 1:30 or 1:45 PM, calling on our legislators to refuse to fund the escalation for the wars.

MADISON LOBBIES
Check out what the City of Madison is paying money to lobby on. The question that always bothered me is . . . who decides what we lobby on? In the last few years there has been a minimal effort to involve the council in the decisions, but it mostly is just a report on what has already happened and a request to give input once a year.

YOUR ALDER SAID WHAT?
As a side note to the above issue, check this out, the audio of the meeting is available. It's the last link at the bottom of the links here. It would be sooooooo totally cool if that was made available for every committee meeting. Tho, that would probably scare the bejesus out most elected officials . . . but it also might make them think a little more about what they say. I wonder why this audio is available and if they plan to continue doing it?

CASEY JONES, YOU BETTER WATCH YOUR SPEED
Ticketing for speeding is once again a priority, kinda. There used to be two traffic enforcement teams called TEST teams. I forget when and how it went away, but I remember council members being concerned at the time and we were told to mind our own business . . . I remember thinking that the cops at the time just didn't want to give tickets, they wanted to work on "real crime" because it was more exciting. Glad to see that preventative safety is back on their minds . . . but I'm also bracing myself for that ticket and when I get it, I won't have any good excuses besides I just have a lead foot! But then again, the enforcement is still probably so light, I might never even notice.

WTF?
This is an account of a beating on Halloween weekend, which I don't think we ever heard about:

Because of his injuries, which medical records show also include bulging discs, Miller was unable to complete the fall semester at UW-Parkside, and it is uncertain if he will be able to start a theater job in New York City scheduled to begin in January, he said.

Miller said he told a paramedic, whom he thought was a police officer, that he had just been beaten and could not get up. He said the paramedic told him to get up or he would be taken to detox then pulled him up and took him back to the house of the friend with whom he had been arguing.

Miller said the paramedic asked if he needed an ambulance, and he replied that he had no health insurance. The paramedic then questioned whether he was refusing medical treatment, but Miller did not reply, Miller said.

Amesqua said the paramedic, Gary Schreiber, denied that Miller told him he had been beaten. Miller also had no apparent injuries, she said.

Schreiber told a police detective that Miller refused medical treatment, Amesqua said.

A Fire Department report indicates paramedics responded to "a man sleeping in a alley. We were able to get him up and inside his house."

I'm freaking speechless.
Read more!

Mid-week Round Up

Lots and lots of miscellaneous . . . catching up on non-budget, non-Edgewater related topics! And no long meetings to report on! Spent time in non-government meetings last night! :)

PROPERTY OWNERS, GET YOUR TAX CREDITS

The Dane County Treasurer, David Worzala, is encouraging property owners to make sure they are signed up for the lottery credit to reduce their 2009 property taxes. The lottery credit is paid by the state and will reduce your taxes by $70-100 each year depending on your school district. The credit remains each year until you move so the savings continues each year once you have signed up.

While most property owners are signed up, the Treasurer's Office has identified almost 14,000 properties in Dane County that are likely to be eligible, but who are not yet signed up. To be eligible for the lottery credit you have to have lived in your home on January 1, 2009 and it has to be your primary residence.

To check if you are one of those not yet signed up, click here and follow the simple directions. To get on this year's tax bill, you have to send in your form before Thanksgiving.

DIDN'T THIS GET SETTLED YEARS AGO
One would this this shouldn't be necessary . . .

WIEA “Indian” Mascot and Logo Taskforce and RAAINL will be providing educational material, observing fan behavior and providing a ‘Silent Vigil of Protest’ at the 2009 WIAA State Football Championship games involving race-based “Indian” named teams playing at Camp Randall Field on Thursday, November 19 and Friday, November 20.

We need volunteers to observe/vigil/photograph fan behavior during, and to help distribute materials to fans as they leave the following games:

Division 4 – Kewaunee ‘Indians’ vs. Big Foot ‘Chiefs’
Division 2 – Kimberly vs. Waunakee ‘Warriors’
Division 1 – Milwaukee Marquette vs. Menomonee Falls ‘Indians’

If you can help distribute materials, meet outside Camp Randall at Gate 1 at:
8:30 PM Thursday, November 19 for Division 4 Game
2:30 PM Friday, November 20 for Division 2
5:30 PM Friday for Division 1

The games start at 7 PM, 1 PM and 4 PM respectively for those attending the ‘Silent Vigil.’

EMPLOYERS STEALING FROM LOW-WAGE WORKERS
Man, it just gets worse . . . as if the economy wasn't taking its toll on low-income workers . .. .

Employers Stealing Millions from Workers Everywhere!
Workers Speak Out Against Wage Theft

When: 6pm Thursday, November 19
Where: UW-Madison campus. Check TITU for room location.

Wage theft is rampant across the country! A recent study found that 26 percent of low-wage workers were paid less than minimum wage, while 76 percent were not paid for overtime, resulting in an average of $51 stolen from workers' paychecks every week.

The illegal underpayment or non-payment of workers' wages affects millions of workers each year, forcing many to choose between paying their rent and feeding their families.

Join us in educating and organizing ourselves to help stop wage theft. We'll hear from local workers who have experienced it, from faith and community leaders describing the impact on our community, and from students discussing how we can organize in solidarity with workers and do something about it!

Organized by the Student Labor Action Coalition and the Workers' Rights Center.

Endorsed by: Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice, Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian Studies Program, Campus Women’s Center, Chicana/o Latina/o Studies Program, Havens Center, Immigrant Workers Union (UTI).

PRAISE OR PROTEST
How's Obama doing on Afghanistan? Get ready to react!

Where: Madison, beginning at Lisa Link Peace Park, 400 State Street, up State St. toward the Capitol, around the Capitol and ending inside the Capitol rotunda with a rally and speakers.

When: On the day following the announcement by President Obama of his decision on additional troops for the war in Afghanistan:
If the announcement is made Sunday - Thursday: Event will be held the following day (Monday-Friday) at 4:30pm
If the announcement is made Friday or Saturday: Event will be held the following day (Saturday or Sunday) at noon
(Please check with contacts below to confirm time and day after President Obama makes an announcement of his decision.)

Contact info removed, but I can send it to you if you want.

While those within the Obama administration continue a vigorous debate about a possible escalation of the war in Afghanistan, concerned Madison-area citizens have already put in place their plans for a response to Obama's decision. A coalition of local peace groups, including Veterans for Peace, Madison-Area Peace Coalition, Madison Pledge of Resistance, and Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice are calling for Madison citizens to gather at Madison's Lisa Link Peace Park, 400 State Street, for a response to Obama's decision, including an open mic where speakers representing a range of opinions will share their views, followed by a solemn candlelight walk around the Capitol in remembrance of all of the victims of war.

"I'd like nothing more than for us to be able to gather to note a positive development, like a decision that no additional troops will be sent, or that the United States is establishing a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan," said Steve Burns, of the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice.

Recently, high-level Obama administration officials and influential members of Congress, including US ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry and Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold, have spoken out against sending additional troops into the war in Afghanistan, raising hopes that the Obama administration might pull back from the brink of an Afghanistan escalation.

Despite these hopeful signs, Madison-area residents remain prepared to speak out forcefully if Obama does make a decision to escalate the war. “During the 10 year Soviet war in Afghanistan an estimated 1 million Afghans died, 1.2 million were disabled and 3 million were wounded. The American people will not stand for the Obama administration repeating the actions of the Russians. The killing must stop.It only breeds hate, not peace,” said Buzz Davis of Veterans for Peace.

Rae Vogeler of the Madison Area Peace Coalition said, “Our position has always been the US shouldn’t be in Afghanistan to begin with. We want the wars ended now and the troops and contractors brought home. Every day more troops and civilians die, more billions are spent, and we move closer to bankruptcy as a nation.”

This event has been endorsed by: Veterans for Peace, Madison Area Peace Coalition, WI Network for Peace and Justice, Madison Pledge of Resistance, Peregrine Forum and Wisconsin Impeachment/Bring Our Troops Home Coalition.

UN-NAMED SOURCE
I was in my sitting in my office and got a google alert for the Tenant Resource Center so I read the article and burst out laughing and rolled my eyes. One of the worst questions we get asked is if a landlord is good or bad and the problem is, its all relative, it can vary from year to year and of course, people threaten to sue us - so we don't really give recommendations or endorsements. Large management companies are usually as good as the people they hire, some small landlords are as good as the meds they are taking. Sometimes there are some where we see patterns or bad policies. We can guess who's charging illegally for carpet cleaning or charging security deposits for routine cleaning. We know who is sloppy on their landlord entry policies or who will negotiate with tenants when they are at eviction court. But . . . we're hesitant to say anything on the record, officially. Which is why I laughed so hard at this ringing endorsement from an un-named source in my office . . . which I thought was very artfully worded and subtle, but Apex owner Bosben clearly knew was not exactly a compliment:

“I wouldn’t say they are any better or any worse than the other big management companies,” says a source at the Madison Tenant Resource Center.

Bosben takes issue with any criticism . . .

Wait, we didn't exactly criticize him! He made that assumption . . .

As for me, when they asked me if they could put my name on that quote I hesitated . . . because of my sorta miserable multiple experiences with them as a neighbor went with the ol' "no comment".

But Kudos to my staff who managed to say nothing and yet get the landlord to say that they knew it was criticism! Too funny, some people are their own worst enemy.

MAYOR DAVE'S BIG DONORS
At the last council meeting, Pham-Remmele accused Mayor Dave of selling a seat on a committee for $1000. Mayor Dave says there are so few of those donors, so I thought I'd take a peak at some of his reports, here's what I found:
January 2009 Continuing Report
- Robert and Irwin Goodman each gave $500.
July 2009 Continuing Report
- #20,565 raised with 19 pages of donors mostly giving $100 - 500.
January 2008 continuing
- Raised a total of $225
July 2008 Continuing
- $6,231 raised.
- Fred and Mary Mohs each gave $500
- Emily Earley gave $1,000
January 2007 report
- James Crow gave an accumulated total of $1,250
- David Liebl gave an accumulated total of $1,150
- Frank Byrne gave an accumulated total of $1,387
- Peggy Anderson gave an accumulated total of $1,000
- Elliot Butler gave an accumulated total of $1,150
Spring Pre-primary 2007
- Stephen Hurley gave $1,000
- Spring Pre-Election 2007
- Patrick Essie gave $1000
- Bruce Neviaser gave $1000
July Continuing 2007
- Raised $8,127 but not larger donors

So, I went through that quickly, might have missed something, but . . . did any of these folks get some super great committee assignment? Perhaps I missed people who gave over several years? I dunno, nothing jumps out at me. I'll dig around some more. I'd have quite a few other comments about his campaign finance reports, but I don't think that people are buying seats on city committees . . .

MEETINGS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED THIS WEEK
Because the 46 meetings I looked at on Monday morning were not enough, here's the ones that were added since then . . .
Yesterday, I posted the week ahead schedule, but because 46 meetings just aren't enough, here are the ones that they have added since then . . .

Tuesday, November 17, 2009
1:30 PM SISTER CITY COLLABORATION COMMITTEE FUNDRAISING SUBCOMMITTEE ROOM LL-110 MMB

Wednesday, November 18, 2009
4:00 PM HOUSING DIVERSITY PLANNING AD HOC COMMITTEE ROOM 313 MMB

Thursday, November 19, 2009
3:00 PM ERLANER, JEFFREY CLAY, CIVILITY IN PUBLIC DISCOURSE AWARD COMMITTEE ROOM 403 CCB

5:00 PM PUBLIC SAFETY REVIEW COMMITTEE ROOM 103A CCB
- Chronic Nuisance and licensing landlords
- Vendors by schools

I ALSO MISSED THIS IN THE WEEK AHEAD!
Robbie Webber explains . . .

Thursday, November 19, 5:00 PM, Room 300 of the Municipal Bldg This is a scheduled meeting of the Long Range Transportation Plan Commission, but members of the Ped/Bike/Motor Vehicle Commission, the Transit and Parking Commission, Board of Public Works, and Transportation Planning Board (MPO) have also been invited.

The Wisconsin DOT will present their plans for the intersection of Verona Rd and the West Beltline. The project extends down to Cty PD (McKee Rd) and will affect/alter some intersections in the area, including the entrance to the Home Depot area.

There is also a proposed new road under Verona Rd where the SW Path runs down. The path would be moved laterally to run along the side of the new road.

This project is far in the future, but this is an opportunity to see what WisDOT has planned so far and see if you want to comment. This is an information only meeting. No action or vote will be taken.

The DOT web site has some drawings, but changes may have been made since then. However, the web site will give you can idea of the general outline of the project.

PEOPLE'S AFFORDABLE HOUSING VISION PLODS FORWARD
There are no easy answers, but feel free to join us tonight at the Central Library to discuss how we move forward:

Please come to the People's Housing Vision meeting this Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 5:30 p.m. in the second floor meeting room of the Central Library. We're moving forward on our priorities and developing detailed solutions. We'll be discussing our research on addressing important concerns like enforcement of Ch. 32 of the Madison ordinances, expanding overflow shelter space, a third party shelter complaint system, expanding community resources in tenant/landlord matters for persons with Limited English Proficiency, rehabbing foreclosed properties to provide affordable housing opportunities, and providing greater fair housing protections for victims of domestic violence and persons with service animals . . . and more.

HARRIET IS MOVING!

Starting November 20, 2009, the Telecirc ("Harriet") phone number will change to 608-242-4700. Please note this change if you call Harriet to renew items, or to review your list of holds, items checked out, or items overdue.

Email notification for holds is also available! Contact your local library to sign up for email notices. Contact information for LINKcat libraries is available here.

Read more!

WYOU Bequeaths Runyon Tapes to UW Memorial Library

I'm really happy to see this happening . . . a truly Madison moment . . .

WYOU Community Television to Bequeath David Runyon’s “Nothing To Hide” Master Tapes to UW’s Memorial Library

25 boxes filled with 800 Runyon master tapes will be carried on foot by WYOU to UW’s Memorial Library on Friday, November 13th for a bequeathal reception. Tammy Baldwin to speak. Will create largest archive of its kind in the nation.

Madison, WI – WYOU Community Television is pleased to announce that it will transfer ownership of the master video tapes of Nothing To Hide, the late David Runyon’s long-running television show, to the University of Wisconsin’s Memorial Library. A special reception marking the Memorial Library’s acquisition will take place on Friday, November 13th, from 4:30pm – 6:00pm in the Library’s 4th Floor Commons. Speakers set to commemorate the event include: Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, Representative Spencer Black, Wisconsin State Legislature, Ken Frazier, Director of the UW-Madison General Library System, and Richard Russell, political activist and one-time WYOU Board Chairman.

WYOU volunteers and community representatives will gather at 3:30pm at WYOU, located at 609 E. Washington Ave and transport 25 boxes of tapes in a procession across the Capitol Square, along State Street and ending at the UW’s Memorial Library, 728 State Street.

Nothing To Hide ran during prime-time on WYOU from 1981 – 2001. At the time of Runyon's death in 2001, "Nothing to Hide" was the longest-running LGBT television show anywhere in the world. David Runyon, the creator and producer of Nothing To Hide, honed his television and documentary skills at WYOU. The video tape archive is noteworthy for its range of topics. Included in the collection are lectures by nationally known authors and social critics, speeches by LGBT history-makers, and documentary footage covering local and regional events. Upon its acceptance into the Library System, the collection will become the largest LGBT cable access video archive of its kind in a public repository in the nation.

The preservation proposal for Runyon’s Nothing To Hide collection came from a group of faculty and staff at UW-Madison. Representatives of the proposal approached WYOU about its 800-tape collection as well as local LGBT advocacy center, Outreach, owner of 50 tapes from the collection. Outreach, Madison’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center is also donating tapes from its collection.

The Memorial Library will archive the collection, digitize the masters and place the shows in circulation for access by scholars, students and community members. This will create the largest public repository of such materials in the nation and will add another unique research collection to Memorial Library.

WYOU is the public access television station serving the city of Madison and Dane County in Wisconsin. The station has been a resource to the citizens of Madison since 1976 for the production and distribution of locally produced programs. WYOU producers include students and teachers, conservationists, social workers, accountants, activists, healthcare workers, independent filmmakers and members of local religious organizations. The WYOU mission is to stimulate and facilitate open community use of the public access station for the development of local television programming. The station educates the community in the use of digital cameras and editing software and provide facilities for independent producers to learn how to create programs.

Contact: Barbara Bolan at 608-258-9644 and barbara.bolan@wyou.org

Read more!

WYOU Strives to Raise Money and Recover Funds

Please see more info below . . .

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 8, 2009

Contact: Barbara Bolan

WYOU Community Television

608-258-9644

barbara.bolan@wyou.org

 

 

WYOU Community Television Announces Its 2009 Fall Membership Drive, “Sustaining Your Voice” Is Set

 For October 18 – 25

 

WYOU Hopes to Raise $15,000 as It also Petitions the City Council to Reinstate the Station’s Full Share of PEG Monies in Madison’s 2010 Operating Budget

 

Madison, WI – WYOU Community Television is pleased to announce “Sustaining Your Voice,” the Fall On-Air Membership Drive.  The fundraiser will take place from October 18-25 and the station hopes to raise $15,000.  Cablecast in Madison and greater Dane County by Charter Communications, WYOU can be found on channels analog 95 and digital 991. The station also streams its programs live on their website – www.wyou.org. 

 

Donations can be made by calling the station (608.258.9644) or by visiting the website and donating online at www.wyou.org.  Sustaining donors, those who can give a small amount monthly are especially welcome. Volunteers will be available to assist with your pledge and answer any questions you may have.  Donations can be made via check, Mastercard, Visa and Paypal.

 

Responding to the Mayor’s newly published and proposed 2010 Operating Budget that includes a 50% ($70,000) funding cut to the station, WYOU has mounted an campaign to petition members of City Council to propose and support an amendment to reinstate the 2009-level of PEG funding (approximately $140,000). Station members and supporters and those who have signed petitions over the summer are asked to contact their Alder and request full funding be reinstated for 2010.

 

 

WYOU is the public access television station serving the city of Madison and Dane County in Wisconsin. The station has been a resource to the citizens of Madison since 1976 for the production and distribution of locally produced programs. Our producers include students and teachers, conservationists, social workers, accountants, activists, healthcare workers, independent filmmakers and members of local religious organizations. Our mission is to stimulate and facilitate open community use of the public access station for the development of local television programming.  We educate the community in the use of digital cameras and editing software and provide facilities for independent producers to learn how to create programs.

 

You need to know, use and support WYOU, Madison’s only community access television station.  Make it your choice to donate!  Make it your choice to volunteer. 

It’s WYOU.  MAKE IT YOURS.

 

Read more!

Did You Lose WYOU?

Or will you? If the station doesn't find funding, it could disappear for good!

WYOU MOVED! SEE CHANNEL 95 OR 991 OR VIDEO STREAMING
Remember channel 4? That station that used to be there when you turned on your VCR that would suck you in with video of the Willy St. Fair or Laborfest some local band that you recognized or Cooking with Bob? In all the HDTV upgrades and restructuring, it moved to channel 95 or 991. Or you can actually watch WYOU live streaming on your computer. If you can't find it on your tv, you need to call the cable company and have something reset. (Nice technical explanation, eh?) To find out what to do, contact the station (258-9644 or info@wyou.com) or just call the cable company and tell them you can't get to those channels. That's right Democracy Now! Grit TV and all your favorite local shows can be found there, but check the new schedule, some of the shows have switched times! To read more about the shows, check out them outhere. Or go to wyou.com and check out the video supporting local non-profits, the Ride the Drive video or volunteer testimonials. Don't like what you see? It's your station! Get involved . . . take a class and start your own show or help with one!

So, besides moving the channel and the new programming schedule, there is something else very important going on!

VIDEO COMPETITION ACT DEFUNDS PUBLIC ACCESS AND GOVERNMENT TELEVISION
Due to actions at the state legislature, PEG funding for WYOU is going away in 2011. "PEG" is Public, Government and Education funding that WYOU receives from Charter Cable TV subscribers via a franchise fee administered by the City of Madison (about $140,000). Wisconsin's Act 42 (known as the "video competition act") was passed in December, 2007 and it will eliminate Charter's requirement to pay the franchise fee to the city and, as a result, the PEG funding will cease for WYOU, Madison's City Channel and, for that matter, all public access, education and government across Wisconsin. This was discussed during the budget meetings on Tuesday night, because there will no longer be a fund to buy equipment for City Channel 98.

MAYOR JUMPS THE GUN, SAID HE'D REMOVE FUNDING EARLY?
Mayor Cieslewicz has told WYOU that in 2010, they will be receiving half of the funding as they have in the past, in order to prepare for 2011. So, even tho the city is getting the money, it is not making it to WYOU unless the Mayor of Council changes it's mind. Hopefully they will with all the new changes going on at the station and the great new Executive Director. Additionally, rumor has it, there may be some legislation introduced restore the PEG funding requirement and the money won't disappear at all if we're lucky! So removing the funding now is premature.

HOW BAD IS IT? (We're in critical condition!)
Meanwhile, if they can't get a major portion of that funding restored, they'll be out of business by the end of next year at best, at worst . . . they could have to start shutting down in the spring. While the staff and board have been working hard to find new sources of funding, it is a slow process in a bad economy. We (I say we cuz one of the first things I did after losing my re-election was join their board) think we have a viable plan, but we need your support to help us accomplish it and give it time to work!

DONATE NOW, OR TOMORROW!
Sometimes you don't know what you've got until it is gone . . . lets not let that happen to WYOU!! It's OUR public access television station . . . and its ours to lose if we don't act now! With the mainstream media in crisis, it is more important than ever that we maintain this valuable resource for our community. And the situation has never been more dire. That's why I'm hosting a house party on Friday, September 25th from 5 - 7 at my house (30 N Hancock St), yes, adult beverages served! If you can't make it, you could donate right now!

PLEASE STAND BY
And, when the time comes, we may need you to contact your legislature to get the PEG funding restored or the Mayor and Council to get the money you pay for in your cable bill that should be coming to the station for 2010. That is, unless the Mayor changes his mind - I'm foolish enough to hope he might! We'll find out October 6th.
Read more!

HANDS ON WYOU!!!

I'll be "bartending" at LeFete tonight 4:30 - 8:00 to remind people about the "Hands on WYOU" event coming up on Sunday at the High Noon Saloon! Stop by and say hello tonight or come to the fundraiser on Sunday to help save our Community Television Station - cuz even tho the PEG fees don't go away until 2011, your Mayor is cutting WYOU 2010 funding in half and we need the community to step in!

Date: Sunday, July 12, 2009
Time: 4:00pm - 8:00pm
Location: High Noon Saloon, 701A E.Washington Ave.

Silent Auction, become a member and for $10 you can make your own hand tile to join the wall of supporters, get a commemorative WYOU pint glass for only $2 and stop by and enjoy the music . . .

Baghdad Scuba Review
Adam Isaac and the People
Hot Cross Bones

Hope to see you there!!! Or, if you can't make it to the event, you can donate now!!!! Read more!

Friday Round Up

Due to the short week, lots of topics left to cover, so little time, so here's a recap of some important, some snarky, items I haven't had time to get to.

TASERS
In the important category. Anyone surprised that minorities, especially blacks, get tasered twice as much as whites compared to their arrest? Anyone? This article makes me sick to my stomach. I'd say its "worthy of closer study"!

CLEAN ELECTIONS
Also important, there was a first of its kind public hearing on overhauling Supreme Court races and election disclosure laws. Here's an update from the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

At a rare joint public hearing held by Senate and Assembly committees in Eau Claire and Madison, citizens and advocacy groups were given a chance to put in their two cents on the Impartial Justice bill overhauling state Supreme Court elections and the Electioneering Disclosure bill closing the "issue ad" loophole in state law. To read the Democracy Campaign's testimony, go here.

The hearing made history as it marked the first time a legislative public hearing was held simultaneously at the State Capitol and a satellite site via teleconferencing.

USELESS LOBBYING ORDINANCE
In response to my blog post about the non-public meeting held by Alder Schumacher, I got this list of questions among many:

I'd like to know too who hired Organizational Skills Associates, and how much that contract is worth. Was it large enough to trigger competitive bidding? If not, did anyone at least shop around? Who's even paying for the facilitator, and why was a facilitator needed, particularly if this was a meeting of a city committee which after all, does have a chair?

Sadly, those questions should be answered in lobbying reports if the facilitator was paid for by the lobbyists. But I think we sufficiently gutted our lobbyist law so that we will never know because they generally don't have to report on lobbying on a piece of legislation. And only having reports every six months makes the information so much less accessible in a timely manner.

"A BIT OF A DICK"
On the snarkier end of things, who's a bit of a dick? Last time I posted something unflattering (but true) about the dick in question, he posted this up at his house so that while sitting on my porch you can't help but see it - he happens to live kitty corner from me.


(Sorry, bad picture, but its a Maniaci sign that "the dick" made sure faced my house instead of the street during the election and reappeared in a more obvious taunt to me when he got mad at me, I think over something that I posted in my blog, but what exactly his anger towards me was about was unclear since I'm no longer his alder. He pretty much can't say anything civil to me.) I gotta say, I'm glad he didn't support me, I wouldn't want to win with supporters like that.

BUDGET GLOOM AND DOOM
I haven't forgotten or ignored the Mayor's latest budget gloom and doom reports over the past week or so, just haven't gotten to it yet. I'm a little reluctant to help spread "the fear" (best read while imagining a loud deep booming voice) without having more time to analyze what is being said and especially when we keep getting relatively good news.

WHO'S THE MEANY?
I had wondered why, for the first time in years, the forensics team didn't perform in front of the council. A blog reader explained:

At the CC meeting on Tuesday, I was sitting with the Memorial Forensics team and Mark Clear came over just before the start and told them there wouldn't be time to give a presentation since the meeting was going to be so long. You want to talk about disappointed and ticked off! They had two people scheduled to do a joint presentation which was supposed to be very good. Oh well.

Seriously? I wonder if this was his decision, or for whom (ok, I'm pretty sure I know) was he carrying water?

That's as much snark as I should probably share for a Friday . . .enjoy the weekend!!
Read more!

Don't Forget! Donate to WYOU!

This is YOUR television station! If we want to continue to have the ability to have a television station that the public can program, we need to support WYOU! Here's a recycled action alert:

WYOU, Madison's Citizen Access channel, currently is in the middle of a fund drive, featuring a lot of live, local, prime-time programming.

This week is a good time to see the diversity and originality of WYOU's programming.

WYOU presents more original, local programming each month than any of the local commercial television channels (probably more than all of those channels combined).

WYOU also provides training to the general public in filming, editing and studio production. We do outreach to youth groups and media support for area non-profits.

WYOU does this with a staff of 3 and a miniscule annual budget.

As you know, because of recent changes in the state cable franchise law, over 80% of WYOU's funding soon will disappear.

Please take a look for future reference and if you are so inclined, now is a good time to help.

Please consider donating by visiting the WYOU web site www.wyou.org
or by calling 258-9644

Please consider alerting your friends and contacts of the need to support WYOU.

Read more!

Help Save WYOU

Here's a brief rundown on what you can do! Pledge week is come up March 1 through March 8. Please help save this important community resource!

WYOU Community Television Announces The First Fundraiser for 2009 Will Take Place From March 1 – 8

WYOU Hopes to Raise $20,000 During the Week Long On Air Pledge Drive and to Help Reach Their Goal are Pleased to Announce that Beginning March 1, All Programs will Be Streamed LIVE from their Website www.wyou.org

Due to recent changes in public funding, WYOU needs your support to continue providing our programming to the television medium in Madison and to support our technical education for the community. Donations can be made by calling the station (608.258.9644 or 608.258.8006) or donating online.

Donations of $40 or more are encouraged but we appreciate any amount you can give.

What's going on? Madison's Citizen Access Station WYOU is losing its funding due to recent changes in the state's telecommunication laws. (And Mayor Dave vowing to quit supporting public access television.)

Please check out WYOU as there will be lots of live, original prime-time programming including local music and dance groups.

WYOU can be seen on analog channel 95 and cable channel 991. Or live streaming via the internet as of March 1st.

Check them out online at at their website, their blog or their "I'd Rather be Cooking with Bob!" facebook page.
Read more!

Public Access TV . . . soon to be a thing of the past? Cable prices going up!

Hmmmmm . . . . cable franchise bills, like the one passed in Wisconsin, didn't lower cable costs and are putting public access channels in jeopardy. Duh!

All the bills did were to raise prices in 66% of the cases and lower them in a whopping 1%. They allowed things to happen like moving channel 12 to 900 something-or-other. And will likely be the death of community stations like WYOU and others across many small towns across Wisconsin and America. 25% of those surveyed said they have lost funding for their stations or expect to lose those stations. After 2011, the PEG funds that fund stations like Channel 12 and the School channel, will go away. Ironically, stations like Channel 4, WYOU that have been forced to work with less PEG funding may do the best in this new scheme.

But don't worry, they tell us the market will take care of it. As new companies enter the market, the competition will drive the prices down. And those communities that value their public access stations can contract to use franchise fees to fund them. So, the market will take care of things. Right. Where have we heard that before and how is it working?

If you want to read more check here. And the survey is here. Read more!

What is Wrong with Wisconsin?

Lobbyists have taken over. If there ever was a doubt, all you need to do is look at AT&T's recent victory. And then think that Illinois even had more more sense to pass a better bill. It looks like we can expect PEG funds for the next three years, but after that, funding for WYOU, City Channel 12 and the School Board education channel will likely disappear. While Governor Doyle has not yet signed this bill into law, and he has the power to either veto it completely or make changes to it, it is unlikely he will do so. So, he needs to hear from us!

2 ways to contact the Governor.

Governor's office: 608-266-1212
E-mail: Governor Jim Doyle

Tons more information here. Read more!

Campaign Finance Reports - Take 3

Here's all the campaigns . . . and its updated as best I could . . .

Here's what you will find in the post with the top 5 in each category (and a little more in some cases.) Complete information below. (Sorry, wish I had time to better format this.) What you will find is amount raised, including some late conduit reports; amount self financed; average contributions; how much money they got from the Chamber of Commerce, the Realtors and the total conduit amounts; how much money they got from outside the city; and how much money they got from the real estate industry.

• Amount raised (pre-late reports)
• Vicky Selkowe $14,286.64
• Mark Clear $11,696.26
• Satya Rhodes Conway $10,743.53
• Troy Theil $10,208.85
• Thuy Pham-Remmele $10,109.00
• Amount raised as of Friday
• Vicky Selkowe $ 14,286.64
• Mark Clear $ 11,696.26
• Thuy Pham-Remmele $ 11,509.00
• Michael Schumacher $ 11,471.42
• Troy Theil $ 10,808.85
• Amount of Campaign Self Financed
• Mark Clear $ 2,550.00
• Eli Judge $ 2,200.00
• Jon Becker $ 1,955.21
• Joe Clausius $ 1,600.00
• Larry Pasha $ 1,250.00
• Percent of Campaign Self-Financed
• Eli Judge 67%
• Larry Pasha 55%
• Chris Ogden 44%
• Jon Becker 29%
• Joe Clausius 27%
• Average Contribution
• Curt Brink $ 154.54
  
• Jed Sanborn $ 126.65
• Paul Skimore $ 123.16
• Eli Judge $ 110.02
• Joe Clausius $ 106.49
• Amount from Chamber of Commerce Conduit (pre-late reports)
• Mark Deadman $2,462.85
  
• Michael Schumacher $1,962.85
• Troy Theil $1,712.85
• Thuy Pham-Remmele $1,702.85
• Jed Sanborn $ 615.00
• % from Chamber of Commerce Conduit (pre-late reports)
• Mark Deadman 30%
• Michael Schumacher 21%
• Thuy Pham-Remmele 17%
• Troy Theil 17%
• Paul Skimore 12%
• Amount from Realtors Conduit (pre-late reports)
• Troy Theil $1740
  
• Mark Deadman $1485
• Michael Schumacher $1200
• Thuy Pham-Remmele $785
• Jed Sanborn $674
• % of dollars from Realtors Conduit (pre-late reports)
• Michael Deadman 18%
• Troy Theil 17%
• Michael Schumacher 13%
• Jed Sanborn 10%
• Thuy Pham-Remmele 8%
• Total from conduits (pre-late reports)
  
• Mark Deadman $3947
  
• Troy Theil $3817
• Michael Schumacher $3162
• Thuy Pham-Remmele $2487
• Jed Sanborn $1864
• % from conduits (pre-late reports)
• Mark Deadman 49%
• Troy Theil 37%
  
• Michael Schumacher 34%
• Jed Sanborn 27%
  
• Thuy Pham-Remmele 25%
• Amount from outside the City
• Satya Rhodes-Conway $5053
• Vicky Selkowe $3310
• Michael Schumacher $2594
• Jed Sanborn $2337
• Thuy Pham-Remmele $2240
  
• Troy Theil $2220
• Michael Deadman $2080
• Eli Judge $2000
  
• % of Dollars from outside the City
• Eli Judge 100%
• Satya Rhodes Conway 47%
• Paul Skidmore 39%
• Jed Sanborn 34%
• Carl Durocher 31%
• Curt Brink 29%
• Michael Schumacher 28%
• Lauren Woods 27%
• Mark Deadman 26%
• Joe Clausius 25%
• Chris Ogden 25%
• % of contributors from outside the City
• Eli Judge 100%
• Satya Rhodes Conway 44%
• Chris Ogden 43%
• Joe Clausius 43%
• Curt Brink 41%
• Jed Sanborn 39%
• Paul Skimore 34%
• Michael Schumacher 28%
• Aaron Backer 27%
• Amount of money from the real estate related industry (pre-late reports)
  
• Mark Deadman $4180
• Michael Schumacher $3614
• Paul Skimore $3030
• Jed Sanborn $2956
• Troy Theil $2811
• Thuy Pham-Remmele $2750
• Joe Claussius $2375
• Curt Brink $1355
• % of dollars from the real estate related industry (pre-late reports)
• Paul Skimore 79%
• Mark Deadman 51%
• Jed Sanborn 43%
• Joe Calusius 41%
• Michael Schumacher 38%
• Curt Brink 32%
• Troy Theil 28%
• Thuy Pham-Remmele 27%
• % of contributors from the real estate related industry
• Paul Skidmore 59%
• Joe Clausius 57%
• Curt Brink 50%
• Jed Sanborn 43%
• Michael Schumacher 42%
• Mark Deadman 27%
• Thuy Pham-Remmele 25%

These are the numbers I had before I broke my spreadsheet, sorry I don't have the rest of the info at the moment.

Amount raised (pre-late reports)
Vicky Selkowe $14,286.64
Mark Clear $11,696.26
Satya Rhodes Conway $10,743.53
Troy Theil $10,208.85
Thuy Pham-Remmele $10,109.00
Michael Schumacher $ 9,416.42
Mark Deadman $ 8,092.85
Jed Sanborn $ 6,839.09
Marsha Rummel $ 6,839.09
Jon Becker $ 6,707.09
Julia Kerr $ 6,470.00
Larry Palm $ 6,288.19
Lauren Woods $ 5,883.00
Joe Clausius $ 5,859.53
Chris Schmidt $ 5,638.08
Gary Poulson $ 5,565.00
Aaron Backer $ 4,802.99
Robbie Webber $ 4,742.83
Tim Gruber $ 4,594.42
Curt Brink $ 4,285.31
Brian Solomon $ 3,826.26
Paul Skimore $ 3,817.85
Eli Judge $ 3,300.20
Larry Pasha $ 2,265.00
Chris Ogden $ 1,580.00
Carl Durocher $ 1,271.91
Sarah Florino $ 1,137.00
Duane Steinhauer EXEMPT

Amount raised as of Friday (Based on call to the clerk's office. i.e. includes late conduit reports.)
Vicky Selkowe $ 14,286.64
Mark Clear $ 11,696.26
Thuy Pham-Remmele $ 11,509.00
Michael Schumacher $ 11,471.42
Troy Theil $ 10,808.85
Satya Rhodes Conway $ 10,743.53
Mark Deadman $ 8,717.85
Jed Sanborn $ 7,214.09
Marsha Rummel $ 6,839.09
Jon Becker $ 6,707.09
Julia Kerr $ 6,470.00
Larry Palm $ 6,288.19
Lauren Woods $ 5,883.00
Joe Clausius $ 5,859.53
Chris Schmidt $ 5,638.08
Gary Poulson $ 5,565.00
Aaron Backer $ 4,802.99
Robbie Webber $ 4,742.83
Tim Gruber $ 4,594.42
Curt Brink $ 4,285.31
Brian Solomon $ 3,826.26
Paul Skimore $ 3,817.85
Eli Judge $ 3,300.20
Larry Pasha $ 2,265.00
Chris Ogden $ 1,580.00
Carl Durocher $ 1,271.91
Sarah Florino $ 1,137.00
Duane Steinhauer EXEMPT

Amount of Campaign Self Financed
Mark Clear $ 2,550.00
Eli Judge $ 2,200.00
Jon Becker $ 1,955.21
Joe Clausius $ 1,600.00
Larry Pasha $ 1,250.00
Larry Palm $ 1,242.43
Tim Gruber $ 1,090.24
Curt Brink $ 1,040.00
Troy Theil $ 1,000.00
Michael Schumacher $ 1,000.00
Thuy Pham-Remmele $ 800.00
Chris Ogden $ 700.00
Aaron Backer $ 519.55
Mark Deadman $ 500.00
Julia Kerr $ 500.00
Robbie Webber $ 402.83
Chris Schmidt $ 346.08
Vicky Selkowe $ 100.00
Sarah Florino $ 100.00
Carl Durocher $ 75.00
Lauren Woods $ 40.00
Jed Sanborn $ -
Marsha Rummel $ -
Paul Skimore $ -
Brian Solomon $ -
Satya Rhodes Conway $ -
Gary Poulson $ -
Duane Steinhauer EXEMPT

Percent of Campaign Self-Financed
Eli Judge 67%
Larry Pasha 55%
Chris Ogden 44%
Jon Becker 29%
Joe Clausius 27%
Curt Brink 24%
Tim Gruber 24%
Mark Clear 22%
Larry Palm 20%
Aaron Backer 11%
Michael Schumacher 11%
Troy Theil 10%
Sarah Florino 9%
Robbie Webber 8%
Thuy Pham-Remmele 8%
Julia Kerr 8%
Mark Deadman 6%
Chris Schmidt 6%
Carl Durocher 6%
Vicky Selkowe 1%
Lauren Woods 1%
Jed Sanborn 0%
Marsha Rummel 0%
Paul Skimore 0%
Brian Solomon 0%
Satya Rhodes Conway 0%
Duane Steinhauer EXEMPT

Average Contribution (pre-late reports)
Curt Brink $ 154.54
Jed Sanborn $ 126.65
Paul Skimore $ 123.16
Eli Judge $ 110.02
Joe Clausius $ 106.49
Sarah Florino $ 103.70
Michael Schumacher $ 87.67
Chris Schmidt $ 81.42
Julia Kerr $ 71.93
Tim Gruber $ 70.08
Jon Becker $ 68.87
Chris Ogden $ 67.69
Larry Palm $ 67.28
Mark Clear $ 66.76
Gary Poulson $ 66.25
Thuy Pham-Remmele $ 65.10
Brian Solomon $ 62.73
Aaron Backer $ 61.19
Larry Pasha $ 59.71
Troy Theil $ 59.03
Satya Rhodes Conway $ 58.39
Carl Durocher $ 57.00
Marsha Rummel $ 56.52
Vicky Selkowe $ 50.49
Mark Deadman $ 46.30
Robbie Webber $ 45.68
Lauren Woods $ 35.63
Duane Steinhauer EXEMPT

Amount from Chamber of Commerce Conduit (pre-late reports)
Mark Deadman $2,462.85
Michael Schumacher $1,962.85
Troy Theil $1,712.85
Thuy Pham-Remmele $1,702.85
Jed Sanborn $ 615.00
Joe Clausius $ 502.85
Paul Skimore $ 462.85
Chris Ogden $ 100.00
Curt Brink $ 75.00
Julia Kerr $ 50.00
Mark Clear $ 50.00

% from Chamber of Commerce Conduit (pre-late reports)
Mark Deadman 30%
Michael Schumacher 21%
Thuy Pham-Remmele 17%
Troy Theil 17%
Paul Skimore 12%
Jed Sanborn 9%
Joe Clausius 9%
Chris Ogden 6%
Curt Brink 2%
Julia Kerr 1%
Mark Clear 0.43%

Amount from Realtors Conduit (pre-late reports)
Michael Schumacher $1,740.00
Thuy Pham-Remmele $1,485.00
Troy Theil $1,200.00
Paul Skimore $ 785.00
Jed Sanborn $ 674.85
Joe Clausius $ 200.00
Chris Ogden $ 150.00
Curt Brink $ 150.00
Julia Kerr $ 50.00




Read more!

Campaign Finance Reports - Take 2

Here's the next 5 reports.

This time I looked at Brink, Clear, Palm, Sanborn and Clear.

1. There is a conduit missing. There are several firefighters that are listed on the reports as contributing through a conduit, but there is no conduit report listed on the City website.

In addition to the previous report that Clausius had conduit contributions from mystery conduit from the following three people:

Che Stedman (Oregon) $100
Todd Shortreed (Waunakee) $100
Michael Stich (DeForest) $100

I can also now add:
Jed Sanborn's report has conduit contributions from the mystery conduit from the following three people.

Clay Christiansen $22
Michael Popovich (Middleton) $117
James Sharpe $161

2. The conduits and candidates didn't quite get their reporting right, unless I missed something. There are some people who reported conduit money but there are no reports. In other instances, conduits reported contributions that don't show up on the reports.

In addition to my previous report of

Mark Deadman
Reports a contribution from

Larry Gleasman $50 and
Phile Salkin (Verona) $50

as being from a conduit, but it doesn't show up on the conduit reports (likely the Realtors).
Note: I believe these contributions should have shown up on the pre-primary report. WRA letter dated 1/31/07, report says 2/13/07.

Michael Schumacher
Reports a contribution from

Larry Gleasman $50
Note: I believe this contribution should have shown up on the pre-primary report. WRA letter dated 1/31/07, report says 2/06/07.
John Deininger $40
Jennifer Mirscke (Sun Prairie) $25
Peter Sveum (Stoughton) $50
Kathy Zastrow $60
Lisabeth Weirich $60

as being from a conduit, but it doesn't show up on the conduit reports (likely the Realtors). And my apoligies if I spelled things wrong the handwriting was hard to read.

Great Madison Chamber of Commerce - Direct Givers
Report a Contribution to Mark Deadman from
Phil Blake $100 and
Mari Wolter $100
but the contributions don't show up on Mark Deadman's reports.

Report a contribution to Michael Schumacher from
Phil Blake $100
but the contribution doesn't show up on Michael Schumacher's report.

I can now also add the following:
Jed Sanborn report the following contributions from conduits that don't show up in the reports:

David Simon $250
Susan Springman (Waunakee) $25

both are in the real estate industry and I suspect that they should have shown up on the realtors reports.

Troy Theil's report marked the following contributions from conduits that don't show up in the conduit reports.

Elizabeth Curley $50
Allen Arntsen $50
Michael Christopher $50
Thomas Beach $100
Anne Gorman Axe $30
Dick Wagner $50
Scott Neitzel (Verona) $60
Tom Stolper $100
Susan Springman (Waunakee) $25

He also reported contributions from the following people that show up in the conduit reports but were not marked as such on Troy Theil's report:

Jim Imhoff $100

And finally, the Chamber of Commerce reports contributions to Theil that don't show up on his report. The contributions are as follows:

Jim Hegenbarth $125

3. Some campaigns got high dollar amounts or large percentages of their money from organized special interests. (I know, no big surprise really, but the numbers are higher than even I expected).

Here's a brief (hopefully accurate) analysis of a few campaigns - but it doesn't include any of the late money.

Brink

• Total - $4285.31
• Average Contribution - $194.79
• Average Contribution without $1040 of the candidates own money - $147.51
• $1,355 from the real estate and development community which makes 32% of the dollars and 50% of the contributors
• 48% of the dollars came from contributions that were more than $100
• 29% of the dollars came from outside the city
• 41% of the contributions came from outside the city
• 2% of the money came from the Chamber of Commerce conduit
• 0% of the money came from the Realtors conduit
• 2% of the money came from conduits

Clear

• Total - $11,696.26
• Average Contribution - $87.76
• Average Contribution without $2550 of the candidates own money - $66.76
• Only one noticeable contribution from the real estate and development community
• 56% of the dollars came from contributions that were more than $100
• 16% of the dollars came from outside the city
• 13% of the contributions came from outside the city
• 0% of the money came from the Chamber of Commerce conduit
• 0% of the money came from the Realtors conduit
• 0% of the money came from conduits

Palm

• Total - $6288.19
• Average Contribution - $82.74
• Average Contribution without $1242.43 of the candidates own money - $67.28
• No noticeable money from the real estate and development community
  
• 64% of the dollars came from contributions that were more than $100
• 10% of the dollars came from outside the city
• 5% of the contributions came from outside the city
• 0% of the money came from the Chamber of Commerce conduit
• 0% of the money came from the Realtors conduit
• 0% of the money came from conduits

Sanborn

• Total - $5593.85
• Average Contribution - $103.59
• $2,956 from the real estate and development community which makes 53% of the dollars and 43% of the contributors
• 80% of the dollars came from contributions that were more than $100
• 42% of the dollars came from outside the city
• 39% of the contributions came from outside the city
• 10% of the money came from unknown conduits
  
• 11% of the money came from the Chamber of Commerce conduit
• 12% of the money came from the Realtors conduit
• 33% of the money came from conduits

Theil

• Total - $10,208
• Average Contribution - $65.02
• Average Contribution without $1000 of the candidates own money - $59.03
• $2,811 from the real estate and development community which makes 28% of the dollars and 21% of the contributors
• 52% of the dollars came from contributions that were more than $100
• 22% of the dollars came from outside the city
• 19% of the contributions came from outside the city
• 4% of the money came from unknown conduits
  
• 17% of the money came from the Chamber of Commerce conduit
• 15% of the money came from the Realtors conduit
• 35% of the money came from conduits

More to come . . . Read more!

Campaign Finance Reports - Take 1

Ok - Instead of responding to the TIF piece in the Isthmus, I was convinced to look at the campaign finance reports instead. After 5 hours, here's what I can tell you.
(Slightly edited to fix a few errors I found.)

I only looked at reports for Claussius, Deadman, Pham-Remmele, Schumacher and Skidmore. They seemed to have the highest amount of contributions of interest. After looking at these 5 reports, here is what I can tell you.

1. There is a conduit missing. There are several firefighters that are listed on the reports as contributing through a conduit, but there is no conduit report listed on the City website.

Clausius had conduit contributions from mystery conduit from the following three people:
Che Stedman (Oregon) $100
Todd Shortreed (Waunakee) $100
Michael Stich (DeForest) $100

I'm aware of this happeneing on a few more reports and I will report them as I sort them out.

2. The conduits and candidates didn't quite get their reporting right, unless I missed something. There are some people who reported conduit money but there are no reports. In other instances, conduits reported contributions that don't show up on the reports.

Mark Deadman
Reports a contribution from
Larry Gleasman $50 and
Phile Salkin (Verona) $50
as being from a conduit, but it doesn't show up on the conduit reports (likely the Realtors).
Note: I believe these contributions should have shown up on the pre-primary report. WRA letter dated 1/31/07, report says 2/13/07.

Michael Schumacher
Reports a contribution from
Larry Gleasman $50
Note: I believe this contribution should have shown up on the pre-primary report. WRA letter dated 1/31/07, report says 2/06/07.
John Deininger $40
Jennifer Mirscke (Sun Prairie) $25
Peter Sveum (Stoughton) $50
Kathy Zastrow $60
Lisabeth Weirich $60
as being from a conduit, but it doesn't show up on the conduit reports (likely the Realtors). And my apoligies if I spelled things wrong the handwriting was hard to read.

Great Madison Chamber of Commerce - Direct Givers
Report a Contribution to Mark Deadman from
Phil Blake $100 and
Mari Wolter $100
but the contributions don't show up on Mark Deadman's reports.

Report a contribution to Michael Schumacher from
Phil Blake $100
but the contribution doesn't show up on Michael Schumacher's report.

3. Some campaigns got high dollar amounts or large percentages of their money from organized special interests. (I know, no big surprise really, but the numbers are higher than even I expected).

Here's a brief (hopefully accurate) analysis of a few campaigns - but it doesn't include any of the late money.

Clausius

• Total - $5859.53
• Average Contribution - $142.52
• Average Contribution without $1600 of the candidates own money - $106.49
• $2,375 from the real estate and development community which makes 41% of the dollars and 57% of the contributors
• 64% of the dollars came from contributions that were more than $100
• 25% of the dollars came from outside the city
• 43% of the contributions came from outside the city
• 9% of the money came from the Chamber of Commerce conduit
• 3% of the money came from the Realtors conduit
• 18% of the money came from conduits

Deadman

• Total - $8,092.85
• Average Contribution - $49.05
• Average Contribution without $500 of the candidates own money - $46.30
• $4,160 from the real estate and development community which makes 51% of the dollars and 27% of the contributors
• 78% of the dollars came from contributions that were more than $100
• 26% of the dollars came from outside the city
• 18% of the contributions came from outside the city
• 30% of the money came from the Chamber of Commerce conduit
• 16% of the money came from the Realtors conduit
• 46% of the money came from conduits

Pham-Remmele

• Total - $10,109
• Average Contribution - $70.20
• Average Contribution without $800 of the candidates own money - $65.10
• $2,750 from the real estate and development community which makes 27% of the dollars and 25% of the contributors
• 42% of the dollars came from contributions that were more than $100
• 22% of the dollars came from outside the city
• 20% of the contributions came from outside the city
• 17% of the money came from the Chamber of Commerce conduit
• 7% of the money came from the Realtors conduit
• 24% of the money came from conduits

Schmumacher

• Total - $9,416.42
• Average Contribution - $97.08
• Average Contribution without $1,000 of the candidates own money - $87.67
• $3,614 from the real estate and development community which makes 38% of the dollars and 42% of the contributors
• 57% of the dollars came from contributions that were more than $100
• 28% of the dollars came from outside the city
• 28% of the contributions came from outside the city
• 21% of the money came from the Chamber of Commerce conduit
• 12% of the money came from the Realtors conduit
• 23% of the money came from conduits

Paul Skidmore

• Total - $3,817.85
• Average Contribution - $119.31
• $3,030 from the real estate and development community which makes 79% of the dollars and 59% of the contributors
• 80% of the dollars came from contributions that were more than $100
• 39% of the dollars came from outside the city
• 34% of the contributions came from outside the city
• 12% of the money came from the Chamber of Commerce conduit
• 3% of the money came from the Realtors conduit
• 15% of the money came from conduits

4. The Realtors have given "late money" (we won't see who it was from until the July reports are done) to the following candidates in the following amounts:
Michael Schumacher = $575
Mark Deadman = $625
Thuy Pham-Remmele = $500
Michael Schumacher = $305

5. Chamber of Commerce has given "late money".
Michael Schumacher = $725
Thuy Pham-Remmele = $575
Troy Theil = $600
Michael Schumacher = $450
Thuy Pham-Remmele = $325
Jed Sanborn = $375

So, more to come, as soon as I find more time to dig through these numbers - I have to get to work by noon today. Hopefully, my info is error free, but this is not an easy task to try to untangle all of this. If you see an error, feel free to let me know. Read more!

Last Business Meeting of the 2005 - 2007 Madison Common Council

I thought we were pretty squirrely at the last Council meeting, just last Tuesday. I wonder what tonight will hold?

Last time, the agenda and (near) actions of the council were disturbing. I'm not sure how many people realized that we nearly repealed the childcare program, finally approved spending the fair housing testing money that we voted on in 2005 when we created the Department of Civil Rights, voted to condemn private property (Sanborn and I voted "no"), created a committee in a highly unusual way, approved a flawed agreement with Union Corners for TIF funding and nearly approved a resolution with missing information. All of this, in addition to some playing some crass politics on the council floor. Several alders (Compton, Gruber, Knox, Olson, Rosas, Skidmore, Thomas, VanRooy and Verveer - tho Verveer says he wasn't paying attention and made a mistake) actually voted to call the question to prevent me from asking questions about the Union Corners agreement. (Thanks to Benford, Bruer, King, Sanborn, Webber and Palm who wanted to allow debate and subsequent correction in the resolution. Brandon, Cnare and Radomski were absent. Golden abstained.)

The Union Corners issue boiled down to this. The day before the council meeting, the TIF Committee met and we discussed changing what is considered an investment by the developer. If changed the way the development community wants it changed, they could be allowed to make more profit before the City gets back its "equity kicker". The "equity kicker" is a formula to get back money from the developer if they make more money on the project than they said that they would. (Which means we could have given them less TIF money to begin with.) None of the alders in the room were present for that TIF committee discussion, and yet they were willing to vote to just give taxpayer dollars away without listening to arguments about how we could improve the agreement and protect the taxpayer.

And then, there was the nutty discussion on public financing of campaigns. My personal favorite was when Alder VanRooy attempted to "balance" the committee that had the League of Women Voters, Democracy Campaign and Common Cause on it by adding 2 members of the business community. Apparently, according to this alder, the "business community" has a different view of clean elections than the watchdog groups!

Tonight's agenda holds several items of interest including:

• Neighborhood Conservation Districts (#8) (Note: There are two versions, the alternate appears to be the one that will be voted on, but I hear that Ald. Olson has even more changes.)
  
• Compact Fluorescent Light bulb proposal (#12)
• Sale of the Dungeon Monroe School and putting nearly $1M in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund (#13)
• More Health Department Merger (#14 & 15)
• Approving the Monroe St. Commercial District Plan (#19)
• Banning Paint Ball Guns (#20)
• Declaring April 23 - 39 as "Cover the Uninsured Week" in Madison (#29)
• Creating a Committee to look at a Community of Neighborhood Support (#30)
  

Hopefully things don't get as contentious at the last business meeting, but I'm not too optimistic. If nothing else, with at least nine new members of the council, this election cycle gives us a chance to start over and hopefully build a little more respect and collegiality on the Council and some better working relationships. And hopefully this new council won't be afraid of debate on the council floor. Read more!

What does this say about a candidate?

Campaign finance reports can often reveal something about a candidate. Sometimes those things are interesting, weird or, in some cases, kind of disturbing. What would you say about a candidate who got the following contributions and has a primary next Tuesday?

$100 Self
$200 Contribution from the current incumbent's campaign account
$1,500 loan from self
$99 Real Estate Broker, T Wall Properties (McFarland)
$50 Construction Project Manager, T Wall Properties (Deerfield) (name is spelled wrong on report)
$99 Vice President of Business Development, T Wall Properties (Maple Bluff)
$99 Wife of Vice President of Business Development, T Wall Properties (Maple Bluff)
$25 Has a common name, didn't want to guess, appears to work with the real estate industry (Verona)
$250 Terrence Wall (Maple Bluff)
$249 Helen Wall (Maple Bluff)
$20 Business Manager/Financial Secretary International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 159 (no address, appears to live on the west side of Madison)
$200 Wisconsin Laborers' District Council (PAC contribution)
$200 John Flad (lives on west side of Madison)
$50 Vice President, Flad Development (Middleton)
$50 Employee, Flad Development (Waunakee)
$50 Employee, Flad Development (Oregon)

Of these 16 contributions, 2 are from the candidate, 1 comes from a campaign committee, 1 comes from a PAC, 10 (62%) are from people who don't live in the City of Madison, 11 (68%) work for T Wall or Flad or are the wives of people who work at those companies, not one single contribution from a non-candidate resident inside the district.

I count this one, somewhat disturbing. Wondering who the candidate is, check it out for yourself, here and here. (Note: a little time on the Clerk's website and google and you'll find the information above, and maybe more.)
Read more!

Show me the money . . .

Some people have taken offense at a recent blog of mine regarding who was contacted by whom during the Inclusionary Zoning debate. Apparently, the allegation that these same people contacted get alot of money from these lobbyists, landlords, realtors and developers was offensive and I think some are suggesting unsubstantiated. I looked through some old computer files and found a few things that will help shed some light on what I was trying to say, so here are some more details for those who are questioning what I had to say . . . .

In 2001 - the following current alders got a substantial amount of money from the landlords, realtors and developers that I recognized on their lists . . . there may be more that I didn't recognize:

Judy Compton: $6,157
Santiago Rosas: $1100
Paul Skimore: $300 (unopposed)

In 2003 - this is what I found:

Paul Van Rooy - $6549 - which was 65% of what he raised
Paul Skidmore - $2,495 - which was 100% of what he raised and he was unopposed
Santiago Rosas - $2,100 - which was 89% of what he raised and he was unopposed
Judy Compton - $1750 which was 90% of what she raised and she was unopposed
Cindy Thomas - $1250 which was 39% of what she raised and she was unopposed

In 2005 I found:

Jed Sanborn - $4040
Cindy Thomas - $3155
Paul Skidmore - $755 (of $805) and he was unopposed
Judy Compton - $700 (100%) and she was unopposed
Santiago Rosas - $450 (100%) and he was unopposed
Paul VanRooy - $450 (of $475) and he was unopposed

Total:

Judy Compton $8107 (Opposed 1 of 3 races)
Van Rooy - $6999 (Opposed 1 of 3 races)
Cindy Thomas - $4355 (Opposed 1 of 3 races)
Jed Sanborn - $4040 (Opposed 1 of 1 race)
Paul Skidmore - $3995 (Never opposed)
Santiago Rosas - $3650 (Opposed 1 of 3 races)

Why are these folks who haven't had races collecting all of this money from landlords, realtors and developers? If we review the list of contacts this is what you'll find . . .

Brandon 52 - has never been opposed so raised very little money
Compton 52 - $8107
Skimore 41 - $3995
Sanborn 28 - $4040
Konkel (PD)28 - Doesn't take landlord, realtor or developer money and returns it.
Palm 23 - none?
Cnare 10 - minimal
Golden 9 - minimal
Rosas 8 - $3650
VanRooy 5 - $6999
King (PD)5 - none
Thomas 3 - $4355

Now, if my colleagues are offended that I posted this . . . I might remind them that all I did here was hold up a mirror for them to look into . . . if they are ashamed of their actions, perhaps they should reconsider them.

Campaign Finance reports can be found here.


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