Walker West

A staunchly Conservative and respected Republican legislator with a tax freeze and government reform agenda contrasted against an old-school county pol. Milwaukee County circa 2002?

No - Waukesha County, summer/fall 2005.

There are obvious differences between the Dan Vrakas run for Waukesha County Executive and Scott Walker's revolutionary win in Milwaukee County, of course: No recall, no corruption at the County, no pension scandal. And Walker ran against Jim Ryan (not an old-school County pol) originally, not Tom Ament. But the way the Waukesha County Exec race is shaping up philosophically has some echoes of Walker.

Walker and Vrakas share a lot in common. Both came into the State Assembly around the same time (Walker in 1993; Vrakas in 1991) and built solid Conservative records that won allegiance from Republicans when they decided to run for County Exec. Vrakas has served in a leadership role in the Republican-led Assembly. Along with other leaders in the Assembly, he's shown himself to be in touch with voters' concerns, helping the Assembly shape an agenda that has led the Party to pick up numerous seats since '98.

Like Walker, Vrakas is a strong advocate for a tax freeze, which has emerged as a central plank in the Vrakas platform. And expect Vrakas to put forward some government reform ideas soon too. Although Waukesha County government has been well run, there are still ways that it can be streamlined and more efficient. Plus, both Vrakas and Walker are relatively young and are good looking, sort of the modern antithesis of the stereotypical old style County pol - county executive candidates for a media age.

Which brings me to Vrakas' likely opponent in the race, County Board Chairman Jim Dwyer. I say likely because I've heard several reporters wondering out loud whether Dwyer's announced or not; he told the news to a couple media outlets but not all and never had a press conference (I hear he's finally scheduled to have one Monday). Don't get me wrong, although a bit slow-footed on the stump so far, Dwyer is a very nice and well-intentioned man. Anyone who's met him will tell you that. I like Jim Dwyer a lot as a person.

However, I've decided to throw my hat in the Vrakas ring and will be helping his campaign with media here and there on my off time. The reason I decided to get involved is twofold: First of all, he's a politician I can believe in. He's a very decent man. He's a nice guy - not a smooth politician type. His father was the same way - a gentleman. I remember Paul Vrakas from when he was mayor.

Secondly, as outlined above, philosophically Vrakas is clearly the Republican in the race, even though it's technically a non-partisan race (co-sponsor of the Republican tax freeze, TABOR, concealed carry and author of a bill to ban civil suits because of obesity against food manufacturers, for starters). That's why Vrakas has Republicans mobilizing behind him bigtime in this race, something that became apparent really fast.

Dwyer has long been tagged as more Liberal - not a strong selling point in conservative Waukesha County.

The philosophical differences between the two are probably best illustrated by their differences on tax freeze issues and are likely to become front and center in the race.

As mentioned above, Vrakas was a co-sponsor of the Republican tax freeze proposal in the state Legislature. In October 2004, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel stated in an article about Vrakas running for reelection:

Vrakas, a Republican, said he is running for another two-year term in the 33rd Assembly District to continue his work in trimming state spending and to implement tax freezes and the taxpayer bill of rights to cap taxes levied by local governments.

In stark philosophical contrast, Dwyer has been very vocal about his opposition to not only that tax freeze but also the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR). He sort of sounds like Jim Doyle used to sound until he found tax freeze religion (sort of).

For example:

May 2004, Waukesha Freeman:

Waukesha County Board Chairman Jim Dwyer, an outspoken opponent of the freeze and TABOR efforts, said Friday, "This is simply an effort to shift the focus and shaft someone else."

June 2004, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

"On a day marked by a series of high-profile news conferences around the state organized by a coalition of groups strongly opposed to TABOR, Dreyfus appeared at the Waukesha County Courthouse along with County Board Chairman Jim Dwyer..."

June 2004, Waukesha Freeman:

"Waukesha County Board Chairman Jim Dwyer was pleased the property tax freeze and TABOR are now on the back burner for the next six months or so. He was a key organizer of a protest last week over the freeze measures.

"It's absolutely good news..."

June 2004, Waukesha Freeman:

"Waukesha County Board Chairman Jim Dwyer said the freeze does not serve the people well.

"The time has come to put aside partisan politics and focus on the issues that affect the people of this state. "

April 2004, Waukesha Freeman:

Waukesha County Board Chairman Jim Dwyer said placing a tax cut referendum to the voters would be unfair.

February 2005, Waukesha Freeman. An article headlined "Joint Finance Committee Forwards Freeze bill to Legislature" stated:

Waukesha County Board Chairman Jim Dwyer submitted remarks that countered what Walker said.

February 2002, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

More on taxes: A news article reported that the Wisconsin Counties Association had decided to push a plan to fill the state budget shortfall in part by repealing sales tax exemptions, which then County Executive Dan Finley labeled a new tax. The article said:

The plan was endorsed Friday in a unanimous vote of 20 of the 23 members of the association board. Those members included two county board chairmen, Karen Ordinans or Milwaukee County and Jim Dwyer of Waukesha County.

Dwyer also has spoken out in favor of giving County board members higher salaries and has defended the size of County government (according to a 2004 article in the Journal Sentinel).

That's what I mean by philosophy.