Mike at the Spring City Chronicle has the latest up-to-the-minute numbers on the financials for each of the candidates running for mayor, including State Representative Ann Nischke's report.
It turns out, Nischke is #1 in the fundraising business. Alderman Larry Nelson is #2, but #1 with Katie Falk, Ed Garvey, Progressive Majority, and Amy Blazkovec-Johnson, wife of WEAC president Stan Johnson. Alderman Jim Connors is coming on strong, having actually outraised Larry Nelson between the last reporting period and the current period. Could be a very interesting race out there.
And, as it turns out, I'm relatively undecided, so I would like to open up the discussion here the next few days. Convince me to vote for a candidate.
I have some questions about each of them.
Can fiscal conservatives forgive Nischke for supporting a school tax referendum when she was head of the chamber of commerce? Will her co-sponsorship of TABOR and the Taxpayer Protection Amendment and the signing of the Waukesha Taxpayers Alliance Pledge be enough to overcome her support for a tax increase? Will the (R) after her name be enough to pull her over the finish line first?
Will Larry Nelson run out of bookmarks? Will we all feel more communal riding the bus to the Larry Nelson wing of the Waukesha Public Library? Will the Democrats forgive themselves for introducing partisan politics into a non-partisan race? Will he ban lawn sprinklers?
Does anyone care that Dean Field is going to donate part of his salary to charity? C'mon, really? If he gets elected, will he finally make up his mind whether a full-time city administrator is a good idea?
Can Jim Connors find time to be Mayor and play professional tennis? Is he somehow related to Curt Connors? But more importantly, can he sneak in at #2 Tuesday night? Are there enough conservative business owners in the city that aren't voting for Nischke to push him past Larry Nelson?
Will County Supervisor Andy Kallin find something else to say other than, "Merge it with the County?" Will he find support outside his own county supervisor district?
How many votes will James Young get? How many votes will Eric Holmes get? (Actually, the latter question is really interesting since he doesn't live in the city and can't vote for himself.)
But most importantly, for whom should I vote, and why? (Candidates are also welcome to contribute to the discussion.)
