So .. on Monday, I wrote about the local elections .. let's see how my predictions panned out:  

1. I was wrong that Sandy Pasch would beat Wadhwa by 20 points.  The beat-down was THIRTY points.  I think back to when Wadhwa called me about the blog, how incredulous he was when I told him he'd lose by a landslide, as if no one had told him that before.
   
   
   
2. I predicted Wasserman would win by 2% .. looks like I got that flipped.  Alberta Darling won by 2%, who, as a Republican will remain in the minority in the State Senate, which means she'll be powerless once again.  Interesting that even in a Democratic tsunami election, a solid guy like Wasserman couldn't win .. that's what you get with gerrymandered districts.
   
   
   
3. I predicted the Milwaukee County Sales Tax increase would fail by 10%.  I am flabbergasted I got this wrong, as the referendum passed by 2%. 
   
   Honestly, I'm stunned.  I really had the Milwaukee area as a populace with a tremendous anti-tax bias. 
   
   Clearly, there are two groups who voted for this.. First, those voters who think their tax burden is not too high, don't mind increasing it by $63M/year, and want to increase support for Parks, Transit, Emergency Medical Services and Cultural services .. I FULLY understand there are people out there like that, but I'd put them in the 1 out of 5 range.  And I'll salute the folks who voted for this on the basis of its merits: They want more money for parks, et. al., and they are OK paying more for it.  As I said, that IS a legit vote. 
   
   The second group of people are the voters who didn't understand what they were voting for, exactly.  The warnings that the referendum's wording was confusing was spot on .. They read "property tax relief" and said, hey, something for nothing, let's vote for that.   The referendum wording didn't mention the sales tax would COST $130m.  Just that it would save/lower the property tax by $67m.  It's extremely doubtful this group really knew they would be paying $63m in the end.
   
   Well, guess what, County Supervisors who pushed this:  You succeeded, through tomfoolery and confusing language.  You didn't go for a legitimate referendum, where people knew the costs.  You wanted "property tax relief" in the wording so you could fool people into giving up $63M more of their dollars in a shell game.  Congrats on gaining your victory through the ignorance of voters.  You spun the language and won the game.
   
   
   
4. Speaking of something for nothing .. I predicted a 10+ point win for the City of Milwaukee's Sick Pay referendum.  Got that wrong, it won by a whopping 36%.  No surprise there.  Why should 9to5 stop there?  How about some other direct-legislation winners to benefit Milwaukee workers:  "Everyone gets a 50% raise!"  .. "All workers get a company car to drive!" ..  "Massage Mondays!" .. "Free Donut Fridays!" -- All of those would pass with HUGE margins too.
   
   Whoop .. We didn't have to wait long for that first lawsuit, challenging this referendum.

Make sure you read:

1. Local Election Predictions
   
2. WFB Scam Alert
   
3. One less bad guy on WFB's streets!
4. Silver Spring Blame Game
   
5. Solicitors DO NEED PERMITS
   

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 While I doubt many of you care what I think about Tuesday's election .. tough noogies.  I'm going to tell you anyhow.

State Rep:  Sandra Pasch will beat Yash Wadhwa easily, and win by 20 points.  Pasch won a long, tough primary battle against 3 tough, solid candidates.  I attended a forum with Pasch and Wadhwa, and two things were obvious:  Pasch was a solid candidate with a great grip on the issues, and second, Wadhwa was not ready for prime time.  In a Democratic year, Pasch wins this race easily.

State Senate:  This is a tough race to call.  Our district knows all about Wasserman and Darling, as both of them have represented us.  Wasserman is a new face in 2/3rds of Darling's district, so he had a lot of work to do to get known.   There's no doubt there are fewer Republicans in Wisconsin than 2-8 years ago, as people flip parties.   That reduction occurs all across the state, which includes those districts which are "solid Republican" areas.  

I've voted for both Darling and Wasserman, so this is a tough vote to cast.  Indeed, Wasserman has a thin resume of legislative accomplishments while Darling has some, albeit not recently.  Why?  Wasserman has spent his entire career in the Republican dominated Assembly.  Darling was a leader in the Republican Senate until the Dems took that over.   Now that Darling is also in the minority, she's also stuck in nowhere land just like Wasserman.

That's why I'm voting for Wasserman.  Having a rep in the minority party does NOTHING for you, as they are powerless, and none of the leadership listens to anyone in the minority party.   Wasserman is a decent guy.  I remember the first time I wrote him, he called me up one night around 8pm, and the two of us chatted about issues for 30 minutes like two guys drinking beer, eating pizza.  He's very likable, and will do well.  -- My prediction:  Wasserman wins by 2 points.

Milwaukee County Sales Tax Referendum:  This won't pass.  It'll lose by at least 10 points.  There are two types of voters who will vote yes.  The first group is those who want to pay more taxes, believing this sales tax increase will improve the parks.  The second, much larger group will vote yes because they don't understand the issue, and are taken in by the poor wording, suggesting a yes vote will somehow magically lower their tax burden.  It will only shift their tax burden from property tax to sales tax, plus add some.  Don't be fooled.

Finally, While I don't live in the City of Milwaukee .. I'm sure their referendum on mandating sick-leave will pass by 10 or more points.  There are far too many people who will look at that as a vote to give them something for nothing, and while I like this type of "Direct Legislation" referendum by the people, this is a terrible example.  Next, we'll see a referendum to give all employees a weekly massage.  Everyone will vote for that, too.  This is a travesty, and I'll bet a lawsuit will be filed by Wednesday morning on its validity.

Sensenbrenner will win by a million points, as well as the dozen other uncontested races that clutter up our ballot. 

Of course, I don't know what our ballot looks like this year, as it wasn't published in the NOW paper, like it is every other election cycle.    Odd.

Make sure you read:

1. WFB Scam Alert
   
2. One less bad guy on WFB's streets!
3. Silver Spring Blame Game
   
4. Solicitors DO NEED PERMITS
   

 Don't want to keep checking for news on this blog?  Have it delivered to your inbox, so you won't miss anything.  Free.  Click here.

Well, the filing period came and went, and we've got a few races. 

While I'd focused on the Whitefish Bay Trustee spots, of which two are open for three candidates, a last minute entry came into the dock for WFB Board President to challenge Katie Pritchard.  Doug Weas, who, if Google is correct, is this guy, and heads Weas Development, which appears to be a real estate developer, or consultant of some sort. 

I'm pleased that Weas has entered the race, as uncontested races are no good.  I will try to get interviews with Pritchard, Weas, and David Fee in the next few weeks.

State-wide, we have a race for State Rep (22), since Sheldon Wasserman is challenging Alberta Darling for State Senate.   Sandra Pasch (of Whitefish Bay) and Rosemary Ponik (Brown Deer), both Democrats, will face off in the September 2nd primary.  Winner coasts to victory in November.

Back in August, I read in Milwaukee Magazine:

Sam Rowen, 31 is said to be pondering a run for the 22nd Assembly District seat being vacated by Democratic Rep. Sheldon Wasserman, who will attempt to unseat state Sen. Alberta Darling in 2008. Sam now works as legislative aide for Milwaukee Alderman Mike D'Amato.

But now .. the JS reported:

Milwaukee Ald. Mike D'Amato, who has represented the city's east side since 1996, will not seek re-election in April.  His departure sets up a scramble for a seat that covers one of the most politically active parts of the city. Already, five have filed to run, including D'Amato's aide, Sam McGovern-Rowen.

So .. Since Wasserman is running for State Senate vs. Alberta Darling .. and Rowen isn't running for Wasserman's seat .. who is?  

UPDATE: Ok, I did some Googling.  I've found two candidates:

Whitefish Bay's own Sandra Pasch .. Website: http://sandrapasch.com/

And Rosemary Ponik, from Brown Deer.  (No known website.)

 Both are Democrats.  No Republicans have registered to run for the 22nd district.