Whenever I oppose a particular tax increase, I'm routinely challenged to list cuts in spending that I'd make instead. Fair enough.
Want to save Milwaukee County taxpayers a quick $53,438 plus benefits? Easy! Get rid of the public relations spokesperson for the Milwaukee County Board, Harold Mester.
I don't know Mester personally but I do regularly receive the press releases that he puts out on behalf of individual County Board members and the Board in general. Mester seems to do a fine job but - trust me on this one - the quality of Milwaukee County government wouldn't suffer one iota if the Board lost its p.r. flak.
What's more, as a Milwaukee County taxpayer, I object to my tax dollars being used to prop up the political fortunes of some of the more notorious members of the County Board.
In January, the local newspaper reported that Supervisors Elizabeth Coggs and Toni Clark had scammed a taxpayer-paid trip to President Obama's inauguration. In the heat of the ensuing controversy, Mester sent the pair a note saying:
"You probably already know this, but be advised that Dan Bice or other members of the local media could conceivably be in attendance at any of your upcoming public appearances, including Committee and Board meetings. I don't know for sure, but it's always possible. Just wanted tro make sure you're not caught off guard if they try to track you down. They were here in the lobby this afternoon, but I deflected most of their questions."
In other words, we taxpayers are paying a guy to help arguably corrupt public officials avoid scrutiny. Doesn't sound like a good use of taxpayer dollars to me.
Then there's today's flap.
Last week, Bice reported that U.S. Bank was foreclosing on Coggs' residence. This morning, in what the folks at the newspaper call "a production error", the item ran again almost verbatim.
Understandably Coggs, whose professional and personal life appears to be such a train wreck that there's no need for duplication of stories, was irate. Instead of simply demanding an apology though, Coggs - through Harold Mester - sent out a blistering letter to Bice (and everybody else in the Milwaukee news media). In her letter, Coggs played the race card in a way that would have made Al Sharpton proud!
I don't know whether Mester was involved in helping Coggs craft her letter. I do know though that he was the one responsible for distributing it to media outlets (under his official title and through the official Milwaukee County web connection) ... and therein lies the problem.
If Elizabeth Coggs wants to pick a fight with the local newspaper, God bless her. In fact, were it not for her over-the-top race baiting, I think she might even had a bit of a point this time. Still, this is a matter between her and the newspaper .
Regardless of which side you come down on, Coggs vs. the Journal Sentinel is not Milwaukee County Board business. In the same vein, it shouldn't be the job of the taxpayer-paid for Board spokesperson to either run political interference for one or more of the members of the Board or to assist an individual Board member in their personal battles with reporters.
In the infamous "caucus scandal" that rocked the State Legislature a few years ago, much was made of the blurring of the lines between "political" work and "public" work. At present, I don't suggest that what's going on with the Milwaukee County Board is illegal - just unnecessary.
Harold Mester may be a nice guy and a great spokesperson for the Board. I don't know. I do know though that as long as the Milwaukee County Board continues to employ it's own personal public relations person, it will be impossible for them to justify increasing our taxes one red cent.
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