Thursday, September 5, 2013

About Mary Lazich, Elections And Urban Affairs Expert

Not content with Voter ID bills that would obstruct central-city and campus voting, State Sen. Mary Lazich, (R-New Berlin), is pushing a new package of partisan measures to further embed her party's legislative majorities. Some observations:

1. The blatant partisanship input in the Lazich-directed legislation has the same stench that wafted over the Capitol when secretive GOP operatives were drafting reapportionment legislation in private offices.

2. Having anyone from elections-challenged Waukesha County chair a committee with the word "Elections" in its title is a sick joke. How long did the Waukesha County voting clerk circus go on, with its secret computers, multiple investigations, botched vote-count dramas, etc?

3. And having Lazich chair a committee with the words "Urban Affairs" in the title is a sicker joke.

Urban areas with substantially elderly, student and low-income populations need transit to succeed, but Lazich, from her pro-highway/anti-transit Waukesha County base, managed to work the words "stampede" and "frenzy" and "the Grim Reaper" into a rightist screed against transit.

And there was this 2007 rant accusing Milwaukee leaders of "extortion." Language alleging felonies does not make for regional or inter-city cooperation, but don't tell that to Lazich.

This was when New Berlin was negotiating what was to become its second mutually-approved water purchase from Milwaukee, despite Lazich's uninformed meddling.

She also was involved at the time in more unsuccessful meddling - - a foolish, pre-Tea Party state's rights campaign with an Ohio state legislator to scuttle the Great Lakes Compact (wonderful audio here)  - -  which was highlighted by this turn of events:

Lazich should check more carefully into the company she keeps: [Ohio State Rep. Tim] Grendell had to make a public apology for a racially-tinged barb he aimed at an African-American colleague and leader in the Ohio legislature.

The story with the details from the Cincinnati Enquirer is here, and thanks to Adam Young who left this information in the comment box on this earlier posting of mine.

Here are the key paragraphs from the Enquirer story:
"Grendell, of Geauga County, directed his comments last week toward state Sen. Mark Mallory of Cincinnati, who was a co-sponsor of a resolution asking the General Assembly to ratify the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

"Grendell, who is white, told the Cleveland Plain Dealer for a story published Thursday that Mallory is "the only reason I might support the OhioReads program," referring to the state's volunteer tutoring program for schoolchildren.

"Grendell also said he doubted that Mallory, who is black, would understand the U.S. Supreme Court's historic 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling that allowed legal racial separation.

"Grendell took the House floor Tuesday and apologized to Mallory, members of both the House and Senate and the citizens of Ohio."
Your urban affairs experts at work.

6 comments:

Max B said...

Mary, Mary, Mary. She's special. Every now and again she wakes up and thinks she should do something. She rarely consults with members of her own party and even the GOP extremists have little use for her. She's too wacky for even them.

If you have it, you should link to her screeching rant in legislative chambers against the Great Lakes Compact. She was in fine form that day.

James Rowen said...

I added it, Max B.:

http://thepoliticalenvironment.blogspot.com/2008/03/mary-lazichs-26-minute-great-lakes.html

Anonymous said...

How does she keep getting elected???

Anonymous said...

I seem to recall the GAB all over complaints about election fraud after the last presidential election.

Wait, I'm mistaken. I had a dream that the GAB really did something.

Jake formerly of the LP said...

No, you had a dream that the GAB had something to investigate. Too bad for you, what AM hate radio says tends not to jibe with reality.

See, in the above ground world, those people of color and city dwellers have the same right to vote as you do. You see, most of Wisconsin isn't the clueless cesspool on this issue that pollutes Loony Lazich's hometown of New Berlin.

Anony Too said...

Lazich and Grothman: The same dweebs they were in high school.