The Scott Walker Crisis: Reality Intrudes on Buck-Passing County Executive

Posted on: July 13th, 2010

Following is the statement of Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate following the nonpartisan Public Policy Forum’s recently-released budget preview.

“In its budget preview, the nonpartisan Public Policy Forum reminds us what many in Milwaukee County have known for years, that Scott Walker has relied on smoke and mirrors to disguise long-term fiscal and structural crises. Under strong leadership, the buck would stop with him. But you won’t hear Scott Walker taking any responsibility any time soon.

In Milwaukee County under Scott Walker, crisis is nothing new. A blasted budget. Crumbling county buildings. Cut bus routes and public safety positions, shuttered parks and vital services to the community taken over by the state because of Scott Walker’s reckless management. It’s not just that Scott Walker continually operates in crisis, it’s that he continually causes them.

The new report by the Public Policy Forum is one more piece of evidence heading into November that Wisconsin must be spared the buck-passing ways of Scott Walker. Wisconsin cannot afford the costs of the never-ending Scott Walker Crisis.”

Post Categories: Brown Bag Charade • Mismanagement • Scott Walker Double Talk • The Rest of Us Left Holding The Bag
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What’s He Smoking? More Scott Walker Flip-Flopping

Posted on: July 12th, 2010

Scott Walker was cowering from cameras in recent days after the newest revelations about his serial flip-flopping.

Over the weekend, Walker was nowhere to be found after shifting his position on Wisconsin’s smoking ban — though left it to an unlucky spokeswoman to claim that Walker’s ever-shifting positions were somehow consistent.

Then on Monday, it was revealed that, contrary to earlier positions about no-bid contracting, Scott Walker awarded a no-bid contract to a “politically connected” firm that was slated to investigate safety at county buildings in the wake of the tragedy at Milwaukee County’s O’Donnell Park last month.

The evasions join a breathtaking list of Walker flip-flops on a wide range of issues, including:

-Arizona’s immigration law, when it took Walker less than 24 hours to change his position after challenged by Mark Neumann.

-Late-night voting, where Scott Walker railed against a practice he had voted himself in the Legislature to condone.

-Stimulus funding, which Scott Walker foreswore, but then took by the millions.

-His own pay, when Scott Walker vowed to give back a percentage of his pay and then, abruptly and without explanation, reneged and gave himself a $50,000 raise in 2008.

-Concealed carry of firearms, where Scott Walker voted against the practice while in the Legislature, but now claims he supports it.

-When in the Legislature Scott Walker co-authored a proposal that would have cut shared revenue and would have had a particularly large impact on Milwaukee. But after becoming Milwaukee County Executive, Walker attacked Governor Doyle for shared revenue cuts. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “Plan would shift sales tax, end aid,” 2/26/1999; “Doyle Plans 7% Shared-Revenue Cut,” 2/16/2003; “Walker Orders 200 Layoffs,” 8/13/2003)

“Scott Walker can’t be trusted. What’s he smoking that he continues his flip-flopping?” Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate asked Monday. “When he bothers to take a position it reminds us of the old saying about the weather in Wisconsin-just wait a few hours and it will change.”

Post Categories: Brown Bag Charade • Scott Walker Double Talk
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Scott Walker’s Sham Savings Plan Creates Headlines, Not Savings

Posted on: July 8th, 2010

Even as his own County budget faces a $6 million budget shortfall after years of reckless budgeting, Scott Walker issued his latest sham plan: eliminating already vacant state jobs that aren’t funded, and will not create any new savings.

“Scott Walker needs some summer school math lessons. Eliminating jobs that are already vacant leads to zero savings. Scott Walker’s latest phony plan is nothing more than grandstanding,” said Mike Tate, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “But what’s really outrageous is that he still hasn’t said how he will pay for $2 billion in irresponsible tax cuts for the rich and big corporate fat cats when the state already faces a $2.3 billion deficit.”

Unlike Scott Walker’s phony plan to eliminate already vacant jobs, Tom Barrett has unveiled a detailed plan to Put Madison on a Diet, and create more than $1 billion in spending reductions every year while reforming the way state government works.

Post Categories: Brown Bag Charade • Scott Walker Double Talk
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Wisconsin Taxpayers Picked Up Scott Walker’s $18,000 Share of his Pension

Posted on: June 24th, 2010

A new analysis released today by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin shows that Walker collected some $18,000 in these very benefits while serving in the state Legislature. On Thursday, DPW Chair Mike Tate demanded that Scott Walker repay taxpayers the $18,000 to make good on his political grandstand.

“If Scott Walker felt so strongly about his pension announcement, he should start by paying back his pension contributions that Wisconsin taxpayers picked up while he was a legislator,” said Tate. “If he wants to score political points on the same benefits he has taken from Wisconsin taxpayers, then Scott Walker needs to put his money where his mouth is and walk the walk, not just talk the talk.”

Scott Walker has grandstanded on pension issues since 2003, when he was elected based on his promise of pension reform. Instead of reform, he brought Wisconsinites $400 million in new borrowing and financial scandals. He has failed to deliver reform, even at the Count, where retirement benefits are described on the County’s own website as “substantially noncontributory”.

“Scott Walker hasn’t fixed Milwaukee’s pension scandal, Scott Walker IS Milwaukee’s pension scandal,” Tate said.

Based on the analysis that is reflected in the table below, if Scott Walker was asked to pay back taxpayers to cover the state picking up his pension contributions while he was a state legislator, it would be an estimated payment of $17,995.47. This does not include interest.

Year

Participant Contribution

Employer Contribution

Total Contribution

Legislator Salary

Participant Total

Employer Total

1993

5.5%

11.1%

16.7%

$35,070

$1,928.85

$3,892.77

1994

5.5%

11.1%

16.7%

$35,070

$1,928.85

$3,892.77

1995

5.5%

11.1%

16.7%

$38,056

$2,093.08

$4,224.22

1996

4.6%

10.1%

14.7%

$38,056

$1,750.58

$3,843.66

1997

4.7%

10.2%

14.9%

$39,211

$1,842.92

$3,999.52

1998

4.7%

10.2%

14.9%

$39,211

$1,842.92

$3,999.52

1999

4.3%

9.8%

14.1%

$41,809

$1,797.79

$4,097.28

2000

4.1%

9.6%

13.7%

$41,809

$1,714.17

$4,013.66

2001

3.9%

9.4%

13.3%

$44,233

$1,725.09

$4,157.90

2002

3.1%

8.6%

11.7%

$44,233

$1,371.22

$3,804.04

 

 

 

 

Grand Totals

$17,995.47

$39,925.34


To put this in terms Scott Walker can understand, $18,000 equals…
Nearly half of the pay raise he gave himself
Close to the amount he has spent on meals for himself, his staff and others, and food and drinks for fundraising events
18 tickets to rub elbows with fat cats in Washington
or 9 steak dinners for himself and fat cat donors.

Post Categories: Brown Bag Charade • Mismanagement
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State inspectors’ reports find shoddy conditions at Mental Health Complex

Posted on: June 15th, 2010

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel posted an article today exposing the shoddy conditions that state inspectors found at the Scott Walker’s County Health Complex. If you suffered from a mental illness, does this sound like an environment that would help you get better?

Milwaukee County comes under fire by state inspectors for shoddy conditions at the Mental Health Complex, including a series of fire and other patient safety violations, in three reports released Monday.

The inspection reports also found the county psychiatric hospital had further erred by failing to properly maintain patient records, failing to get the proper OK for administering medications and not having complete records on physical restraints and drugs used on patients. The reports also found poor oversight of private contractors responsible for food safety and medical records.

Read more from the Milwaukee Journal >>

Post Categories: Mismanagement
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Scott Walker Has Failed Us

Posted on: June 15th, 2010

A day after Scott Walker politically postured to cover up a growing scandal, a new Web ad released today by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin focuses on Scott Walker’s failure to protect women in Milwaukee County’s care from sexual predators.

Various state, local and federal probes are underway at Scott Walker’s mental health complex, where conditions of neglect found after a patient starved to death there in 2006 have continued to the present-day, when housing female patients with men known to be violent was given as the false choice to keep the men from fighting.

Though the unsecured and mixed-gender arrangements have been vocally opposed for years by nurses at the facility, Walker and his hand-picked administrator have defended the policy and the conditions at the complex, which is facing a staffing crisis because of his poor budgeting.

Meanwhile, county taxpayers have paid more than $200,000 for a private attorney-not to prevent rapes or custodial deaths, but to protect Scott Walker and his cronies from liability in the unfolding scandal, for which the GOP gubernatorial candidate has tried to deflect scrutiny and has refused to answer basic questions.

Yesterday, Walker announced that he would be raiding a capital fund to fix building violations that are the result of his plan to defer maintenance at the mental health complex. It is not clear that the funds are even bond eligible.

“The patients of Milwaukee County’s mental health complex were put at risk of preventable sexual assault because of decisions that Scott Walker made, but he’s too busy with political gamesmanship to answer for his failures,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate said Tuesday. “Scott Walker has failed the most vulnerable of Milwaukee County. We cannot let him bring his reckless management to all Wisconsin.”

The new Web ad and a full timeline of events at the Behavioral Health Division is available online here.

Post Categories: The Rest of Us Left Holding The Bag
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