Photo by Susan Ruggles Flickr cc
On Monday, in front of his childhood home in Greenfield, state Sen. Chris Larson announced that he is running against Chris Abele for Milwaukee County executive in the spring 2016 election. Larson began his political career as a Milwaukee County supervisor, then defeated conservative state Sen. Jeff Plale in the 2010 Democratic primary and became Senate minority leader during 2013-2014.
If elected Larson would be returning to his roots at county government, but it’s a radically different county government. Suburban Republicans in the state Legislature, at Abele’s request, gutted the power of the board; gave him near-unilateral power over items like selling any or all of our non-park resources including the airport, the zoo and the Milwaukee Public Museum; are allowing him to take over and privatize public schools; and were willing—but decided against it at the last minute—to give him a super-veto that would have allowed him to override anything the county board does.
Larson said he’s running because of Abele’s power grabs and would ask to repeal those powers to restore the county’s normal checks and balances, saying it was dangerous to put so much power in the hands of one person.
“I am not going to be county executive forever,” Larson told the Shepherd. “Neither is Chris Abele. Neither is anyone else after me. I don’t want that much power concentrated for the same reason our democratic forefathers didn’t want that much power concentrated in the executive branch. It’s because it can corrupt. It can lead to only the few and only the rich being served.”
Larson also takes issue with Abele’s negotiating skills during the debate over financing the new Bucks arena. The original proposal called for no county obligations, but the final deal Abele cut forces Milwaukee County to pay $4 million annually for the next 20 years.
“Before Chris Abele walked into the room, Milwaukee County residents were not on the hook for $80 million,” Larson said.
Larson said in contrast he would focus on economic development and job creation, especially in high-poverty neighborhoods.
Larson also drew a stark contrast with Abele, the college dropout son of a Boston billionaire whose inherited wealth opened doors for him in Milwaukee.
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“We the people can counteract his dad’s money,” he said. “The voters know that he bought the last election.”
