By Dan Rylance
Special For Commentary
January 7, 2002
With April 2002 elections looming, two local political soothsayers last week bemoaned the lack of very many election contests. They concentrated exclusively on the Winnebago County Supervisor races while ignoring races for the Oshkosh Common Council and the Oshkosh School Board. In doing so they revealed their own personal biases as well as a basic misunderstanding of how American democracy should work.
The two pundits are familiar critics of Winnebago County government. Neither ever presents anything good to say about it and their recent remarks simply reiterate their earlier established positions. County government can do no right. The Common Council can do no wrong. Who are they? If, indeed, they needed any introduction.
In the right corner sits comfortably, Kathy Propp, president of the Oshkosh League of Women Voters. In the left corner anxiously stands, Stewart Rieckman, the political boss, of the Oshkosh Northwestern news. Together they spin a distorted interpretation of how American democracy is on the verge of extinction because of the lack of contested Winnebago County Supervisor races.
Let's identify the colors of the two prognosticators before the main event starts. Propp's organization (I have no idea how many active members there are or whether Propp simply uses the name of the organization to espouse her own political views) is a constant critic of the size of the County Board. Last summer, the organization presented testimony before a County Committee that the League wants a smaller Board because the present one is too large and therefore inefficient. (Democratic?) The League, however, failed to explain what legislative efficiency is or is supposed to be and offered no quantitative or qualitative data to support their position. In reality, they assume that if the League says it's so. It must be so!
Last week Propp expanded the League's summer tale. She was quoted as saying in the Northwestern that "You can't have democracy if you don't have a choice." This, of course, was in support of the article reporting that there was only six contested races for the 38 County Board seats. Then she spun the same argument that the Board should reduce its size because "to have one-38th of a vote is discouraging for candidates." I thought every elected board member cast one vote just like each of the 435 elected members of the U.S. House of Representatives cast one vote, but will return to that later.
Rieckman, who is obsessed with attacking Winnebago County government couldn't wait to join Propp in the ring. After all both were now on the side of restoring American democracy which was at war with an unpatriotic local form of government. They were out to make wrong right and they wrapped their cause in the flag of American democracy. Sound familiar?Could County County Board chair Joseph Maehl be a member of the Taliban?
Rieckman devoted his entire Sunday sermon to the issue. His punch was the same as Propp's mixed with his usual exaggerations to score a point. His headline read: "Voters have little choice in county." He added that if one lives in Winnebago County "chances are that you have no choice on who represents you." Followed by an analogy used recently by Tony Palmeri on this web site: "A banana republic is more democratic." (then the Winnebago County Board) . Worse he concludes the lack of contested races for most voters is "not democracy.That's fraud."
Fraud? How did this work suddenly appear in the debate? Propp never used it. Most dictionaries define fraud as a cheat. Is Rieckman alleging illegalities or his he simply misusing the word?
Finally, Rieckman challenges his readers to take the local democracy test of who is their county supervisor. He asks five questions: name your supervisor, when was the last time you heard your supervisor discuss an issue, who was his opponent in the last election, what committee does he serve on and when was the last time he came to your door to ask for your vote.
I decided to take the test immediately. No notes. No telephone calls. No questions to other members of my family. I scored 100% by correctly identifying who my supervisor was. He is Bill Wingren. He speaks so often on issues that I call him an Oshkosh whiner. He did not have an opponent in the last election or this one. He serves on the Judiciary committee and comes to my door regularly. I recently received a letter from him asking for my support and saying he would not accept contributions from anyone to pay for his campaign. So what's the problem? Sounds like local democracy is working rather well in my neighborhood. I wonder how Rieckman scored on his own test. Did the League take the test too?
To counter what has been presented by Propp and Rieckman, I propose the following debate thesis: "Resolved that elections for Winnebago County Supervisors are more democratic than elections for the Oshkosh Common Council." I will take the affirmative side and will exclude the Oshkosh School Board elections for simplicity reasons. I challenge either of them or both to take the negative side on this web site or a public forum hosted by the Oshkosh League of Women Voters and covered by the Oshkosh Northwestern.
Opening statement: Winnebago County Supervisor races are more democratic than Oshkosh Common Council elections because they constitutionally allow each voter to cast one vote in an established district for one candidate for that office. This is how American democracy works. It applies to all members of the U.S. House of Representatives and to all members of the Wisconsin Legislature. It also applies to all Winnebago County supervisor offices, but it does not apply to any Oshkosh Common Council races.
Let's take two local candidates to support this proposition. Last year, a new office seeker, Erik Barlow, who lives on Mt. Vernon street ran for one of four seats on the Oshkosh Common Council. He ran sixth in a field of seven candidates. In simple terms, he didn't have a snow ball's chance in hell to win one of those four seats. The three incumbents won easily, all of whom were endorsed by the Northwestern and funded by the Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce. The fourth established candidate, Frank Tower, lost in a recount, by two votes to Shirley Brabender Mattox.
This year Barlow decided to run for public office again. He decided in the end, however, to run for a Winnebago County Supervisor office rather than for the Common Council. His reasons were basic to how American democracy was established. He would run in a smaller district that he could canvas, afford to run, instead of a city wide election that gave him no chance whatsoever to come close let alone win. In February, Barlow will face two other opponents for the seat and two of them will go on to face each other in April. Barlow made a wise choice and one that gives him a reasonable chance to win.
Let's take another example. Melaine Bloechl, the senior member of the Oshkosh Common Council. Bloechl has announced that she will not be a candidate in April. Her political career in Oshkosh is rather interesting. In city wide elections for the Common Council, she was a winner. But in single vote races for a variety of offices (I think, at least, four) she always lost. Why is this? I would argue that under a truly American election format she was always the second choice of the voters. In an open race race for four or three seats, she always won. In other words, when the constitutional principle of one person one votes was applied, she always lost. When the constitutional principle of one person one votes was violated, she always won.
Second point. The basis of Propp and Rieckman's argument is that the lack of races for Winnebago County races is in and of itself proof that the system is undemocratic. Rieckman even calls it a fraud.
I respectfully disagree: The system for election to the Winnebago County Board is very fair and democratic. The mere fact that most of the seats are not contested does not make it undemocratic or support the charge of fraud. In fact, the lack of candidates is in and of itself the basis of our democracy. It's a choice for whatever reasons voters in each district have made. To take away their choice not to run is fascist and the most grievous sin against our form of government.
Third point. The argument for a smaller board is specious. Does anyone believe that the Oshkosh School Board with seven elected members is more efficient than the Winnebago County Board? Efficiency for an elected body, institution or business is based on the quality of its members, not the size of the body. Propp's assertion that electors don't run for County Board races because they can only exercise one-38th of vote is a only a spin to support her position for a smaller County Board. Every County elected Board member has one vote, every member of the Wisconsin Legislature has one vote and every member of the U.S. Congress has one vote.
In conclusion, I too am disappointed with the number of people running for local public office in Oshkosh in April. There are many reasons for this that deserve serious study and discussion. The arguments presented by Propp and Rieckman, however, are not the main ones.
Rylance is a former editorial writer for Knight Ridder newspapers, who now resides in Oshkosh, and is a regular contributor to this web site and a regular guest on Commentary.