Downtown Brown Bag Meet & Greet a Huge Hit

February 11, 2005 25th Ward Comments Off

Business owners and community leaders Margie Newman and Alan Brunettin hosted a brown bag meet & greet for me today at their downtown gallery, Urbis Orbis.

The group in attendance was decidedly progressive and with the exception of one person, all live outside my ward. This is a good thing. With strong support from both in the ward and outside the ward money is coming in the door (via PayPal) daily and volunteers are lining up to help. Today’s group represented the preservation movement, former Metropolis officers, architects (yes, plural) and other small business owners in the city.

As you’d expect, nobody from Civic Progress was there to wish me well.

While the discussion centered mostly on my campaign we touched on issues relevant to the entire city such as updating the city’s antiquated zoning codes and setting out a vision for the future beyond the predictable 5-year consolidated plan strategy.

To Margie & Alan – thank you so much for arranging this event. This combined with all the coffee’s I’ve been doing in private homes throughout the ward will make a difference on March 8th.

– Steve

25th Ward Committeeman takes exception to Arch City Chronicle

February 11, 2005 25th Ward Comments Off

In the “Ends & Odds” section of January 26 – February 8 Issue of the Arch City Chronicle appeared the following:

“It’s not an open ward if it’s run like the USSR: Down in the 25th, Patterson is crying foul over campaign signs that Dorothy Kirner has already put up around the ward. The signs declare that Kirner is endorsed by the ward. The endorsement meeting is still a month away.”

In the newest issue (February 9 – 22) is a letter to the editor from 25th Ward Committeeman Norman Sutterer:

Dear Editor:
The recent edition of the Arch City Chronicle reported that yard signs popping up in support of Dorothy Kirner declare that she has been endorsed by the 25th ward organization and that Mr. Patterson “cries foul” because the ward has not yet made an endorsement in this race (‘article’, date).

Your facts are wrong. Dorothy has a great deal of support in the ward and signs are going up. However, the signs say “Paid for by the 25th Ward Democratic Organization.” Not the same thing! Last spring the 25th ward selected Dorothy as our Democratic nominee to fill the vacancy created when her husband Dan’s partner in all things and we knew that she would continue the work we cared about and admired. Following that selection, the ward organization purchased yard signs for Mrs. Kirner. Consistent with the law, she did not coordinate or participate in that expenditure. After the election, she asked us for any remaining signs so that she could use them in the future.

That is Dorothy Kirner. Always frugal with her money and everyone else’s. That is a value we admire in public officials. Your facts are wrong and they led you to a rather insulting headline. Everyone may not always agree with Dorothy Kirner on every single issue but she is universally known as a woman of impeccable integrity. I would caution Mr. Patterson to avoid attacks – subtle or direct – on her character. Because that is an argument that he will surely lose.

Sincerely,
Norm Sutterer
Democratic Committeeman – 25th Ward

Where does one begin to comment on this?

Well, Dave Drebes got several facts correct – I cried foul, pro-Kirner signs were going up, and the ward endorsement meeting was still a month away. The only “fact” that can be disputed is whether or not the signs indicate an endorsement. I still content they do while Norman Sutterer, as is his right, disagrees. Clearly based on the headline, Drebes tended to agree more with me than with Sutterer.

We are supposed to believe the argument the general public is going to look at the signs and think; “Oh that Dorothy Kirner is so frugal by reusing signs from last year.” Doubtful. In reality they are going to think the signs were bought and paid for by the ward committee (which they were) as a show of support. Click here to read my thoughts on this subject from 1/27/2005 which includes a photograph of the signs in question.

You be the judge.

– Steve

SLAY: 25th Ward Dead Last in Bricks & Mortar Investment

February 9, 2005 25th Ward Comments Off

Mayor Slay’s website is bragging about over $2 Billion Dollars in bricks & mortar investment from July 2001 through November 2004. Pretty impressive.

However, when you start to look at the detail ward by ward you get a much different picture of the disparity between the wards. Not surprising to many of us that live in the 25th Ward – we came in last with a total of $4.9 million. Next to last was the 13th Ward of Fred Wessels with a total of $6.4 million – 30% more than the 25th.

Comparing the 25th Ward to downtown or West end wards would an unfair comparison. However, I think looking at the wards adjacent to the 25th Ward is fair. Here are the other wards adjacent to the 25th:

• 25th Ward (Kirner): $4.9 million (28th overall)
• 13th Ward (Wessels): $6.4 million (27th overall)
• 20th Ward (Schmid): $17.3 million (21st overall)
• 11th Ward (Villa): $21.1 million (19th overall)
• 14th Ward (Gregali): $22.2 million (18th overall)
• 15th Ward (Florida): $32.3 million (12th overall)
• 9th Ward (Ortman): $78.2 million (7th overall)

Here is how the numbers break down for the 25th Ward:
• Residential Investment: $2.9 million
• Business/Retail: $800K
• Schools/Daycare: $100K
• Board of Public Service Contracts: $1 million
• City Demolition: $100K

Below are some observations/notes from these figures:
• Over half the residential investment is for “misc. residential repairs.”
• The residential figures included a total of 12 housing units – 10 substantial rehab and 2 new construction.
• Due to redistricting, some of the work is outside the current 25th ward boundaries. For example, the business section includes Ackerman Toyota, King Dodge, McMahon Lincoln Mercury and Bimmers R Us.
• No detail is supplied on the section for Elementary/Secondary/Daycare investment. In other wards this includes both public & private investment.
• The Board of Public Service Contract total of $1 million lists three things – Mt. Pleasant Park improvements, Amberg Park Playground and Roller Hockey Rink in Mt. Pleasant Park. The 14th Ward to the West had the same $1 million in BPS contracts but they listed alley repairs and work on Delor.
• The city spent $100K demolishing 7 structures.
• Slay’s website indicates the figures were rounded to the nearest 100,000.

While I understand one of the wards must be last it would at least be nice to see investment spread around a bit more. The 25th Ward’s measly $4.9 million investment is less than three tenths of one percent of the total investment over the last four years. We couldn’t even muster a full one percent!

I invite you to take a look at the above figures and use the links provided to see the numbers from each ward.

– Steve

SLAY: 25th Ward Dead Last in Bricks & Mortar Investment

February 9, 2005 25th Ward 1 Comment