Inside New Berlin

The New Berlin-Muskego NOW newspaper, Jan. 3 edition, had a wonderful article about our son Jason’s wedding. Within a week, my husband and I received a “SAW YOU IN THE NEWS!” card in the mail. A handwritten message from Rep. Mark Gundrum’s Office was inside, conveying congratulations to us and expressing best wishes to Jason and Christine. Also enclosed was a typed note, which referred to Rep. Gundrum’s deployment to Iraq and advised, “ Please feel free to contact us in his absence, and we will be happy to assist you in any way we can.”

Wasn’t that attentive of Rep. Gundrum’s staff?!!!  It was a nice gesture that sends a positive message to constituents and community. That's an example of good public relations. Mark Gundrum should be proud of his staff members.

Contrast that with the negativity, name-calling, snide remarks, belittling, insults and other personal attacks heaped on the public from Sen. Mary Lazich’s staffer Kevin Fischer.

My Jan 5 blog asked, “Where is Sen. Lazich’s public rebuke of Fischer’s antics and her insistence he retract his words and apologize?”. I pointed out that in her Jan. 4 “Conservatively Speaking” blog entry, Sen. Lazich called Assembly Minority Leader James Kreuser’s words deplorable and said they should be retracted.

In the 18 days since I posted that blog, Sen. Lazich has posted 21 blog articles on assorted topics, such as touting her appearance on the Weather Channel. Were any of her blog topics on Fischer’s deplorable words? Nope.

Fischer's “This Just In” FranklinNOW blog states he is legislative aide to Sen. Lazich. This past weekend, Fischer arrogantly defied NOW’s rules by posting a bunch of comments to his blog that contained vulgar expressions, obscenities, jeers or other slimy personal attacks against FranklinNOW blogger Greg Kowalski (a 21 year old college student) and former BrookfieldNOW blogger Cindy Kilkenny. Those uncivil, repugnant attacks were made by Fischer and his pals Bryan Maersch, Fred Keller and Janet Evans.

Given that Sen. Lazich was quick to criticize an Assembly leader’s words, her failure to take a public stand on her own aide’s deplorable, malicious remarks is disappointing and troubling. It raises some questions.

Are we to conclude? ----

Sen. Lazich condones or has been willing to overlook her staff member’s habit of resorting to nasty name-calling, belittling, gibes, and other personal attacks against individuals, including her constituents?

Sen. Lazich has a double standard? Offensive words aren’t “deplorable” when publicly communicated by her “conservative” Republican associates in state government positions?

She considers a staffer, who often verbally abuses others publicly, an asset to her office?

She feels Wisconsin residents in her district and elsewhere, who have been viciously maligned by her legislative aide, aren’t important & don’t deserve an apology?

Our nation honors Martin Luther King, Jr., who was a remarkable activist, civil rights leader, and orator.

His words were inspiring and powerful.

Click on the BrainyQuote web site for numerous Martin Luther King, Jr. quotes. Here's a sampling:  

• "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
  
• "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."
  
• "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
  
• "A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom."
  
• "A right delayed is a right denied. "
  
• "An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."
  
• "He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with  it."  
• "Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal."
  
• "Life's most urgent question is: what are you doing for others?"
  

While Senator Mary Lazich’s Jan. 4 blog calls Assembly Minority Leader James Kreuser’s words deplorable and says they should be retracted, she’s turned a blind eye to the deplorable words of her own legislative aide Kevin Fischer. Where’s Sen. Lazich’s public rebuke of Fischer’s antics and her insistence he retract his words and apologize?

Kevin Fischer, Sen. Lazich, and Greg Kowalski are regular bloggers on FranklinNOW.  Kowalski, a college student who just turned 21, is an appointed member of Franklin’s Environmental Commission. Kowalski’s blog is titled Today’s Concerns.
Although Fischer has refused to let Kowalski post comments on Fischer’s blog, he floods Kowalski’s with numerous caustic comments, many of which are insults directed at Kowalski and his blog’s readers.

For example: Click on Kowalski’s Jan 3 blog entry titled Some commenting issues and you’ll find that Fischer posted comments on it 38 times, starting from 8:51 pm and ending at 1:12 am. THIRTY-EIGHT!  Fischer’s 4- hour marathon of submitting mean-spirited, insolent remarks included calling Kowalski “Pillsbury Doughboy”, “Cheesecake Boy”, “cheesecake-breath”, “cry-baby”, and various other personal attacks. Far from being a wit, Fischer comes across as an immature, sarcastic bully picking on a college kid.

Fischer also taunted Kowalski with this gem: “You don’t pay Greg. You don’t even work full time. You have no clue what the real world is like. You are….what is the word….oh yes IRRELEVANT”

All of you high school & college students and other individuals not working full-time, should take note.  Senator Lazich's legislative aide apparently considers you irrelevant!!!!

Fischer also snidely referred to some of Kowalski‘s blog readers as “numbskull”, “butt-kisser”, “naïve”, “idiot”, “mommy”, “wussy”, etc. 

It’s disconcerting that someone employed as a state senator’s aide (funded by us taxpayers) resorts to such foul and unecessary name-calling.

I’m amazed at Sen. Lazich’s silence and inaction regarding Fischer’s deplorable remarks. The senator's legislative aide is mocking and insulting her constituents! Why does she tolerate it?

Sen. Lazich contact information---  email: Sen.Lazich@legis.wisconsin.gov.
Madison Office address: Room 109 South, State Capitol, P.O. Box 7782 Madison, WI  53707-7882 
Phone # (608) 266-5400 or (800) 334-1442  District Office # (414) 425-9452                                      (voting) address: 4405 S. 129^th St. New Berlin,WI 53151  

Staffer Kevin Fischer can be contacted by email at KevinFischer@legis.wisconsin.gov

New Berlin School Board Member Susan Manley filed non-candidacy papers, signally her intent not to run for re-election. See news report.

It didn’t surprise me one bit.

When District Administration presented several projects at the September 24 School Board Meeting, that were described as “important”, “immediate”, & “dire" needs --but which had not been currently budgeted for,  Mrs. Manley was quite dismayed.   

She expressed “frustration” that  “critical issues” at New Berlin West and Reagan School were on the list--grumbling that the School Board had spent a lot of money on those two schools.  She conveyed  “frustration” that some of those “critical needs” weren’t taken care of with the $33 million spent renovating West.  

And then she voted against proceeding with the proposed roofing and air quality plans. However, the motion passed 4-2. (She and Matt Thomas were the dissenters)

When it met in October, the School Board discussed increasing the tax levy to address some of the more “pressing” needs identified in September by Administration, such as Eisenhower’s leaky roof, and huge holes in asphalt at Orchard Lane School. Mrs. Manley was again agitated and "frustrated". Referring to the "taxpayers", and fretful about how they'd react,  Mrs. Manley complained that "we" (presumably she/the School Board) had not planned properly and hadn’t done its job right.

Mrs. Manley chose to vote against the motion/amendment “ to approve the commencement of work on the asphalt project at Orchard Lane at the lowest qualified bid-- and to fund an amount not to exceed $270,000 to identify maintenance projects this year”.  The motion passed 4-3. (Mrs. Manley, Matt Thomas, John Kegel cast the no votes).

During Mrs. Manley’s tenure on the School Board, I emailed her a few times, but got no response--no email reply, no letter, no phone call, no attempt to speak with me at a School Board Meeting, and no answers from her to the questions I posed in my email messages. Nothing.

Hopefully, the Board Member who replaces Susan Manley in April will be more responsive to constituents, take greater initiative/action to be well- informed about District needs or problems, and will consider safety of students and staff a top priority.