Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Craven Response To County Garage Fatality Shows Walker's Transparency Lie

These two items encapsulate the Scott Walker phenomenon:

*  From The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's account of communications disclosed in court Monday among Scott Walker, his partisan, gubernatorial campaign team and public officials in County government - - and on his taxpayer-paid staff - - when he was Milwaukee County Executive:

Walker's campaign staff also vetted the county response to the June 24, 2010, death of 15-year-old Jared Kellner, who was killed by a concrete panel that fell from the side of the O'Donnell Park parking garage at the lakefront.

[Then-Walker campaign chief of staff Keith] Gilkes, in an email written the day of the accident, advised Walker's county staff to "make sure there is not a piece of paper anywhere that details any problem at all."
*  From an interview with Walker less than three months later during his 2010 Republican gubernatorial campaign published in the Lakeland Times, re-posted on Walker's campaign website and also re-posted in this blog:

When he says he believes in government transparency, it's not just a campaign slogan, Walker said.

"I don't just say that, I've lived it," he said.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think the argument could be made that Gilkes is advising his staff to potentially commit a crime in destroying potential evidence. In any case it reveals a very disturbing and yes "seamy" underbelly to the Walker camp.

Jake formerly of the LP said...

Correct, this is real scandal unearthed in the Rindfleisch sentencing. Anyone with a brain knows Walker was at least aware of the illegal campaigning activity (if not outright ordering it), but the campaign BEING IN CHARGE OF COUNTY POLICY is a whole 'nother ballgame.

Hey Marina, time for the Board to do a bit of investigating.

Anonymous said...

WisPolitics E-Profile: CERS executive director Keith Gilkes
5/16/2008

Name:
Keith Gilkes

The book I'm recommending these days is ...
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. Worth a read plus I have a rule of not reading any book over 200 pages -- if it can't be said in about 200 pages then I don't have the patience to finish it.

Anonymous said...

I have a 15 year old son. I can't imagine what those parents are feeling right now. Their beloved child's death was discussed and considered a liability in a political campaign. Very bad. I'd like to apologize to them for even reading these disgusting emails.

Anonymous said...

walker IS transparent. his lies are so obvious, you can see right through him.

Anonymous said...

"make sure there is not a piece of paper anywhere that details any problem at all" ?????

WT...

Like maintenance?

Anonymous said...

Maintenance? What sort of maintenance does one perform on a concrete panel hung on a wall? The panel was structurally installed incorrectly.
Isn't this conflation?

Reagan's Disciple said...

yawn....

Still waiting for this John Doe to be put to bed...

Anonymous said...

Merely an indication of the character of Scott Walker, and the persons he chooses to associate with. Specifically indicating that their first reaction was not one of compassion, empathy, or sympathy, but rather how best to cover up any possible negligence caused by the county executive's bogus austerity measures, as that would be detrimental to the campaign for governor.

Anonymous said...

Reagan's Disciple said...
yawn....

It never ceases to amaze me that there are so many sick trolls like you circling around Walker.

The thread was talking about the tragic death of a 15 year old and you say "yawn".

You are one sick excuse for a human being.

Jake formerly of the LP said...



Keep waiting RD- You know as well as anyone they have the goods on the scumbags your pom-pom waving idiot self supports.

And even before Walker gets charged, the "politics before everything" mentality of these people is going to resonate loud and clear to all but the weakest of Milwaukee AM radio listeners. But please, continue to think a majority of Wisconsinites actually support your garbage.

I'm so thankful I was born with a brain that allowed me to think for myself, have empathy for others, and enough self-respect to call out my own for misdeeds. Something hopefully you may learn as you reach adulthood.

Anonymous said...

@anon 9:38
On June 24, 2010, a concrete slab fell from the entryway of the garage at O'Donnell Park, killing 15-year-old Jared Kellner and injuring two others. The incident uncovered a number of construction flaws at O'Donnell Park and inconsistent inspection practices for public buildings in Milwaukee.
Yes ANON - yearly FUNDED inspections by the WALKER administration may have uncovered the flaws and deterioration from years of abuse.

Anonymous said...

anon@9:17

Seriously? Then let's correctly blame. The State of Wisconsin Department of Administration Safety and Buildings reviews all building plans for commercial buildings and structures over 50,000 sq. ft.

Should we take the first step first rather than placing blame for an accident that happened that could have been prevented had the building inspector caught this faulty altered product in the first place.

Clearly, you have an obsession issue with the assignment of blame on someone who had absolutely nothing to do with the cause of the accident.

For liability issues to protect the taxpayers, no one should have been discussing premature conjecture - exactly because of the personal reputation injury that can happen on blogs.

Anonymous said...

It is the emails that hint at the idea of blame when they tell people to get rid of the paper trail associated with building. They are the ones who bring up the idea of the building having something to do with their management of things.

Anonymous said...

At what point did the Campaign Group reasonably anticipate there might be litigation concerning the death and injuries and the potential repair costs?

At what point did the County Executive reasonably anticipate litigation, or was he so informed by someone?

Was there a litigation hold issued for documents and electronically stored information?

When was the litigation hold issued?

Who received such notification?

How does the Gilkes email fit in with this?

This could be an interesting open records request.

Anonymous said...

@4:46: I think 10:39 is the appropriate response. What were they trying to hide. Me thinks this is damaging and opens the door for further litigation against MC.

Anonymous said...

A political hack instructs civil servants to commit obstruction of justice, a felony, and you yawn at this, RD?

Anonymous said...

Do not be too harsh in your judgement of Reagon's Disciple.

Reagan's Disciple is, by definition, a person who is an adherent of the doctrines of another, a follower; and as such is clearly incapable of rational independent thinking. 

He has been told that the John Doe investigation is of no concern to him, so quite naturally, he finds any mention of aspects of the investigation to be boring. 

He is a good follower of simple direction, but not so able to follow reasoned discussion when it conflicts with his preprogrammed dogma. 

 He is a proud disciple, labelling himself as such, and willing to allow his beliefs and opinions to be dictated to him. Life is easier that way.

-HammerHead