Mayor Aaron's Riversplash Press Release

As Milwaukee’s self-appointed interim mayor (and resident bleeding heart) for the next few minutes, I’ve prepared the following statement regarding the chaos and shooting at Riversplash this past weekend.

These events were disturbing, but not nearly as disturbing as the public reaction to them. This is no time for drastic measures. It was a cry for help by a tragically misunderstood portion of our community. We must learn to live in harmony with the culture, not run in fear of it.

We must be careful not to make anyone feel unwelcome in our city. It will only serve to amplify the fear and alienate a culture that has the same rights and privileges as the rest of us. We may not understand urban slang or the city culture, but who are we to judge them? Why is it so wrong to want to express oneself through random violence and gunplay in the streets?

In order to understand how we can all get along better, this city must open a dialogue. We will reach out to the urban culture, to try and understand what makes them so angry. Only then, can we begin the healing.

Now that I’ve set the bar sufficiently low for the regular mayor, let’s see if he cleared it.

Hint: he didn’t.

Milwaukee Unemployment Dropped

Milwaukee-area employment improved:

The Milwaukee area added 7,600 jobs in the past 12 months and improved its unemployment rate from March 2006, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development reported Wednesday.

Preliminary data show the four-county Milwaukee area as one of only four Wisconsin metropolitan areas with lower unemployment last month than a year ago.

The unemployment rate for the area - Milwaukee, Waukesha, Washington and Ozaukee counties - dipped to 5.2% in March from 5.3% in March 2006, the state reported.

In the same period, the Milwaukee area added 7,600 jobs - more than triple the statewide net increase of 2,400. It was the 34th consecutive month of year-over-year gains in the Milwaukee area's job count.

Now, imagine if the city, region, and state had a pro-growth strategy. There are bright spots to the local economy. Milwaukee is the center for the large digging machine industry. There is also plenty of promise in health care and biotechnology. We need serious leadership that understands the needs of business instead of simply looking at them as sources of money for runaway spending.

Nail in Milwaukee's coffin?

Patrick discusses a Mike Nichols column on the effect of the Huggins murder on Milwaukee. The question that hovers is an interesting one. Was the Huggins murder a nail in Milwaukee's coffin? I hate to say it, but once you move outside of Milwaukee's suburbs, that coffin was nailed shut long ago for many Wisconsinites. There are many of us out here in the 'ex-urbs' of both Madison and Milwaukee that routinely chose to visit Madison over Milwaukee. There are many of us out here in Southern Wisconsin that will choose to spend a weekend in downtown Chicago over anywhere in Milwaukee. There are many of us outside of southern Wisconsin that will gladly choose to spend a weekend in Minneapolis over Milwaukee. In many ways, Milwaukee's problems are closing in on the city, and nobody within the city's leadership seems willing or courageous enough to reverse it.

BuySeasons avoids the "Toxic" business climate of Milwaukee

I want to pass along the reaction of a Wisconsin businessman, to the decision of BuySeasons to expand in Waukesha County, instead of in Milwaukee's Menomonee Vally as they had hoped to do. This plan would have brought the companies headquarters and several hundred jobs to within easy reach of the people in Milwaukee that most need the jobs in our inner city neighborhoods. But some of Milwaukee's political leadership, like Congresswomen Gwen Moore, and Aldermen Bauman and Donovan stood in the way, saying that these $9 to $16 an hour jobs weren't good enough.

Here is the reaction of Bruce J Redenz of AMEA Accredited Machinery & Equipment Appraiser. Madison Tool, Incorporated:

I have some news for Alders Bauman and Donovan: The way a city recoups its development dollars after putting together a commerce park is by collecting property tax revenues from the companies that develop the improved properties.

Well, here’s 360,000 square feet of tax revenue that the City of Milwaukee won’t be getting its dirty hands on…

Tell me precisely how many “non-fad” or “real” businesses Alders Bauman and Donovan have started from nothing. How many people do their companies employ again?

Oh let’s see here: The only reference to business ownership on either of their bios, according to the City of Milwaukee website is a claim that Bauman was once “President of the Milwaukee Rail Car Corporation”, a company that, according to the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions was “administratively dissolved” in 1993. (Ummm, that’s 14 years ago, right?)

http://www.wdfi.org/apps/cris/?action=details&entityID=1M22514&search
Text=milwaukee%20rail%20car&searchBy=searchByEntityNameAlphasort

Bauman’s comments in particular were nothing less than libelous, and as a business owner for over 11 years, of a company that hasn’t ever been “administratively dissolved” I hope Mr. Jalem Getz considers bringing suit against Bauman in civil court for defamation. It’s very difficult in court to prove defamation per say. A published story in the Journal/Sentinel ought to help his case substantially.

Bruce also included a copy of the press release from BuySeasons announcing it's decision to expand in New Berlin. They also expressed their opinion of Milwaukee's political environment, calling it toxic.

While a toxic political environment in Milwaukee prevented us from relocating to the Menomonee Valley, it was the outpouring of support from the public and surrounding areas which reminded us the vast majority of Wisconsin is a great place for a business like ours.

As a reminder, Alderman Bob Bauman said:

Ald. Robert Bauman, who opposed the land sale, said Milwaukee is running short of land available for industrial use and should better protect that “scarce resource.” He questioned the long-term sustainability of BuySeasons, calling it “a fad business.”

This "fad business" has received several awards from the likes of the MMAC, The Business Journal, Inc Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine and others. They have 175 full time employees earning an average of $11.55 an hour and are expecting to grow that by 30-40% over the next three years. They also hire several hundred seasonal employees in the $9 to $16 range.

Ald. Willie Wade, said BuySeasons will bring hundreds of jobs to the valley site. Those include entry-level seasonal jobs, which Wade said are badly needed for central city residents who lack basic job skills.

One last thing
One last thing here, I would like to ask Bob Bauman, Gwen Moore and the others that opposed this expansion in the wasteland of the Menomonee Vally, where are those "better jobs" you wanted? When will they begin employing Milwaukee's inner city residents that desperately need jobs?