And while the highly controversial MPStakeover bill—authored by state Sen. Lena Taylor and state Rep. Pedro Colon,both Milwaukee Democrats—is on life support in the state Legislature, it isn’tdead yet.
Some senators are fighting hard for thelegislation. But state Sen. Spencer Coggs is adamantly opposed to the takeoverand, with state Rep. Tamara Grigsby, has offered an alternative reform billthat gives the Milwaukeemayor some input in MPS affairs, but doesn’t include a wholesale takeover.
We hear that Coggs got an earful from Gov. JimDoyle about the senator’s opposition to the power grab.
The bill’s fate in the state Assembly isunclear as well.
A spokeswoman for Assembly Speaker MikeSheridan said that the Taylor/Colon bill has been sent to the Rules Committee,rather than the Education Reform Committee, headed by Rep. Annette PollyWilliams, or the Education Committee.
While the Democrats are notably split on theissue, so are Republicans. On the one hand, a mayoral takeover is supported bymany Republicans and suburban business leaders who want to have more influenceover MPS’s affairs. On the other hand, some Republicans aren’t thrilled abouthanding a legislative victory to Doyle and Democratic gubernatorial candidateTom Barrett, who would be seen in some Republican business circles as a“reformer” who can get results, even if that means opposing the wishes of hisbase. Republicans campaigning next year will have a hard time criticizingBarrett if he’s championed the cause of conservative legislators and businessleaders.
Bonds Blasts Doyle
But the bigger question is: Why is Doylepushing so hard for the takeover legislation? And why are legislators obeying alame-duck governor—especially when takeovers in other cities rarely deliver theresults supporters promise?
There’s little enthusiasm for the takeover in Milwaukee. However,conservative, suburban elites such as the Greater Milwaukee Committee, theMetropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce and the leadership at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel support it.But city residents and MPS parents want to preserve their right to vote formeaningful public offices—like an elected MPS board that actually has somepower.
It’s been widely assumed that Doyle waspushing the takeover to appeal to the Obama administration, since Secretary ofEducation Arne Duncan is a fan of mayor-led districts. (Duncanwas appointed by the Chicagomayor to run that city’s schools.)
Doyle is already blaming MPS if Wisconsin doesn’t win federal “Race to the Top” funds, tobe distributed by Duncan,by claiming that a lack of MPS governance reform will doom the state’sapplication.
But MPS Board President Michael Bonds blastedwhat he called Doyle’s “cynical statement.”
In a letter to Doyle, Bonds wrote, “Sincemayoral control is not a requirement for Race to the Top dollars, yourstatement can only be interpreted as a political attempt to turn the rest ofthe state against MPS and to intimidate legislators who oppose mayoral controlinto supporting your proposal.”
And Barrett? He’s been criticized by many inthe Democratic base for supporting this takeover effort while also beingcriticized for not pushing hard enough for a takeover. Actually, he may comeout better if the reform fails, since he wouldn’t have to deal with the complexproblems facing MPS as long as he’s running City Hall.
Think about what will happen if thelegislation does go through. As mayor, Barrett would suddenly have a new $1.1billion entity to manage. And if Barrett becomes governor, City Hall will be upfor grabs. Milwaukee Common Council President Willie Hines would become actingmayor, but he’d surely face competition in a resulting election. And the namecurrently floated as a challenger is Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke. Ifa takeover goes through, in a few years Clarke could be running the city andMPS—now that is a recipe for disaster. Clarke, as one recalls, is soideological that he only allows FOX News in the county House of Correction.
As for the legislators pushing a takeover,we’re predicting they’ll get lots of campaign contributions from businessleaders who normally contribute to conservative candidates. A mayoral takeoverof MPS will deliver the district into their hands.
