Charlie Sykes: Sykes Writes

TOM BARRETT'S BRIDGE TO NOWHERE

By Charlie Sykes

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State Senator Ted Kanavas calls out the mayor for opposing the reconstruction of the Zoo Interchange:

For Tom Barrett, the mayor of Milwaukee and a liberal, former Member of Congress, to suggest his lobbying of Jim Doyle and the legislature was not political in nature is laughable.

On June 28, 2005, Mayor Barrett wrote a letter to former Senate Majority Leader Dale Schultz and former Senate Minority Leader Judy Robson in opposition to funding the preliminary engineering for the Zoo Interchange. Demonstrating Barrett’s lack of judgment he stated:

‘…the Zoo Interchange will stand long enough for us to resolve these issues.’

The letter was so fraught with errors and misstatements the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission responded with its own letter to legislative leaders indicating a number of Mayor Barrett’s statements were ‘without foundation.’

Then on July 21, 2005, Mayor Barrett issued a statement praising Governor Doyle’s partial veto of Zoo Interchange money and took a political shot at Waukesha County in the process:

‘Governor Doyle took the appropriate action in vetoing the Legislature's $38 millionappropriation for the Zoo Interchange. The funding was excessive and the message it sent, divisive. I thank Governor Doyle for recognizing that Milwaukee-Waukesha regional cooperation is not a one-way street.’

Tom Barrett’s statements and the Governor’s actions made the reconstruction of the Zoo Interchange into a political issue. Now Mayor Barrett is on the defensive and unfortunately for all of us, continues to put politics ahead of safety and economic development.”