If you solely relied on the E.W. Scripps-owned Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for your news, you’d think that Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele was a nonpartisan deal-maker with high marks from both sides of the aisle.
But in reality, Abele, who says he’s a Democrat, is facing stiff opposition from the public for going along with virtually every Republican plan to gut Milwaukee’s democratic institutions and provide $80 million for the Bucks arena, which, as structured, will probably come heavily from our property taxes.
Last week, Abele finally took questions from the public on his arena plans, his proposal to sell $9 million worth of Park East land for $1 to the Bucks owners for development around the proposed arena and his willingness to take over low-performing public schools so that he can privatize them.
Abele has refused to testify before the Milwaukee County board of supervisors about his plans, sending his aides instead. He’s also cut supervisors out of any role in creating the Bucks proposal. According to the latest version of the Bucks plan, Abele’s Republican legislator friends will allow him to sign off on the $80 million deal and also give the state the county-owned Marcus Center without a vote by county supervisors.
Finally, though, Abele did appear at a wispolitics.com-sponsored lunch panel last week at UW-Milwaukee, which cost the public $20 to attend. Abele arrived and departed with his private security guards in his new SUV.
Outside of the event—and unreported by the Journal Sentinel—a few dozen public school supporters protested Abele’s takeover plans. Inside, angry and upset parents asked Abele why he would participate in a Republican scheme to privatize public schools and take them out of the hands of a democratically elected board. His response?
“There are a lot of laws that pass that I don’t like.”
None of that tense discussion appeared in the Journal Sentinel’s coverage, which instead focused on Abele’s bipartisan credentials.
With the continued help from the Journal Sentinel, that’s exactly the image Abele is trying to sell to an uninformed public and his fellow 1% elites. But we have to ask: If an alleged Democrat supports every tea party scheme to privatize publicly owned assets and take power away from democratically elected officials, is that really bipartisanship? Or merely a Republican wolf in a Democratic sheep’s clothing?
