The strange case of Glenn Savoie, Waukesha Alderman and prostitute solicitor, continues to gather controversy as more horrible details of his life are revealed.The Waukesha Freeman and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel both are reporting that on one of the occasions Savoie was busted for soliciting a prostitute, the girls in question were 12 and 14.
He's perhaps fortunate that his crime was committed in Milwaukee, as I doubt other jurisdictions would have treated the matter so lightly. Savoie is certainly lucky that the father of one of the girls reacted by calling the police rather than take the law into his own hands. And thank God the girls knew to run to a responsible adult when confronted by this man.
Savoie's story has shifted, too, on the length of time he served in jail, as well as the circumstances surrounding the solicitation arrests. Savoie's reaction to inquiries by the Waukesha Freeman - calling the police claiming harassment - while reminiscent of the former mayor is certainly conduct unbecoming of someone who was seeking a position of the public trust.
The Waukesha Freeman today even went so far as to write an editorial demanding his resignation, or his removal from office by his fellow aldermen.
Citizens in District 6 deserve a better representative than someone who solicited prostitutes and then didn't reveal it when he was seeking office. Savoie should do the honorable thing and resign immediately. If he doesn't resign, he should be removed from office as soon as possible, with whather means it takes.Talk radio is weighing in as well. Jeff Wagner of WTMJ-AM 620 discussed the matter on Friday. If I were Savoie, I would switch my clock-radio to buzzer to wake me Monday morning, as WISN-AM 1130's Dan Deibert has promised to make the Savoie issue his pet cause. I suspect Charlie Sykes, Jay Weber, Jeff Wagner, Mark Belling and Jessica McBride will be in full attack mode Monday as well. Heck, even the talkers at WMCS might take the opportunity to poke fun of the suburbs.
Last, but certainly not least in this story, are the Wisconsin Bloggers. The story began when Mike at Spring City Chronicle did a background check on the new alderman. Mike has since followed up his newsbreaking post with more commentary, updates, and observations. Now Musings of a Thoughtful Conservative is also asking how long Savoie will last.
Which leaves out city government as the only ones who have not made a public statement so far asking Savoie to resign. One alderman, Rick Tortomasi (phone (262) 544-5373, e-mail mailto:rickt@huscintol.com, did e-mail Savoie that he would help him adjust to his new job duties, and that he was not put on this Earth to judge Savoie.
Tortomasi may not have been put on Earth by God to judge Savoie, but he and his fellow aldermen were elected by the voters to do just that. The Common Council judged wrong when they made Savoie a member, and they need to rectify that error.
Some will argue that Savoie paid his debt to society at the time of his convictions and subsequent incarcerations. But his continued lies to the public, his failure prior to his selection as alderman to inform the Common Council of these convictions, to actually call the police when a reporter called investigating the convictions, the nature of the crimes (the girls were 12 and 14), his shifting stories concerning the circumstances of the crimes and his incarceration, and his evident belief in the lack of the seriousness of the crimes he committed render him unfit for public office.
If all of this attention on Savoie does any good, it will be the ostracizing of Savoie from civil society of which he is apparently unfit to be a member, judging not only from his past but his current actions.
