Roger Danielsen, gone!

Waukesha School Board member Roger Danielsen, infamous for his invasion of the privacy of the recent referendum opponents, resigned in the face of a recall threat by Citizens for Responsible Government. Danielsen denies it was the controversy over his e-mails stating the criminal record of the daughter of one of the Waukesha Taxpayer Alliance organizers. According to The Journal Sentinel,

"I haven't got the stomach for doing these cuts," said Danielsen, 53, referring to the $1.9 million worth of service reductions the district plans to implement to avoid a budget shortfall in the 2005-'06 school year. "The only accomplishments I've had on the board I think are going to go by the wayside in the next couple of years."

If we take him at his word, then it was time for him to go. And any other school board member who doesn’t “have the stomach” for making the cuts should follow him.

Unfortunately, from a purely political standpoint, had Danielsen remained the heat would have remained on the Waukesha School Board. As it is, they dodge the possibility of a domino effect recall process and remove a potential issue for next year’s school board elections. It will be very interesting to see who the school board appoints as his replacement.

We’ll be watching.