Raising a stink over County Courthouse cleanliness

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker's idea to privatize housekeeping at the Courthouse is raising a big stink.

The County Board backed Walker's idea after he vetoed the board's attempt to keep the housekeepers as county employees.

Now, courthouse staff are bringing in their own cleaning supplies and dealing with custodial issues like clogged toilets. Some staff members are telling TV stations that they feel for their safety.

With Walker running for governor, the opposing Democratic Party quickly seized the story.

"The people of Milwaukee County deserve better and the people of Wisconsin cannot afford to elect a candidate proven to be this reckless with even basic services," said Mike Tate of the state Dems.

Meanwhile, a recent poll shows that the 2010 governor's race will be close. Mayor Tom Barrett is hanging in there with all projected Republicans running. The poll shows Barrett within the margin of error against three potential Republicans opponents.

The poll, done by Public Policy Polling, shows:

Barrett leading Tommy Thompson 46 percent to 41.

Barrett leading Mark Neumann, 41-39.

Barrett tied with Scott Walker, 40-40.

The firm found independents leaning toward Republicans, reflecting a national trend. Another interesting tidbit is that although Tommy Thompson was the most well-known candidate, he also was the least liked.

MPS Battle Heads to Madison: Gov. Jim Doyle threw down the gauntlet over control of the Milwaukee Public Schools by scheduling a special session that puts the Milwaukee mayor in charge over the schools.

That created all sorts of grandstanding on both sides.

Doyle was even offering interviews this week while he was on a trip to Copenhagen. He's not that articulate in his reasoning to back the bill, however, other than to say it has to be done to get more federal aid.

The opposition includes groups like the Green Party, who held a rally at the Capitol this week.

"It robs the citizens of the right to their vote for their representatives and to participate meaningfully in decision-making regarding education at the primary, middle, and secondary levels of our PK-12 public education system," the party said in a statement. "The public school system and an elected and representative school board, as originally conceived by Horace Mann, the first superintendent of the public schools of the state of Massachusetts, was intended to reflect the community standards for access, equity and excellence in education."

The Coalition to Stop the MPS Takeover also issued a statement: "We demand that there be public hearings in Milwaukee on any legislation that might fundamentally impact the Milwaukee Public Schools."

The coalition points out that the idea didn't work in New York City, Chicago, and Washington. The Coalition Against the MPS Takeover includes 28 community, parent, educator and union groups.

It is widely thought there's not enough interest in Capitol to create laws on such a parochial issue.

Barrett offered this take: "To me, the most important message ... is the critical importance of how we select, support and hold accountable the next leader of MPS. That individual must possess the leadership and management skills necessary to implement significant reform, they must know what we as a community expect from them and we must give them the support they need to implement those strategies. I believe this requires a fundamental change to the current system and I am committed to continuing to push for such change."

Hoantroversy: Milwaukee County Supervisor Patricia Jursik and State Rep. Christine Sinicki (D-Milwaukee) caught the city trying to delay any redecking effort of the Hoan Bridge, they say.

The two prefer redecking the Hoan as opposed to a plan supported by the Chamber of Commerce to tear it down. They found a letter from the city to the state Department of Transportation asking that the DOT submit a complete Environmental Impact Statement, a very long and costly process.

"This letter is a recipe for delay and interruption of this work through the guise of an environmental impact study. If this continues, the Hoan will become another Zoo Interchange fiasco. One way to nip a conspiracy in the bud is to bring it into the light of day," Jursik said.