Daniel Cody - “Left on the Lake”

…I can start riding our (somewhat) new scooter back and forth to work again.

I recently calculated the savings from riding the scooter to work vs. taking a car, and quite frankly it’s shocking. Taking into account the cost of gas at $3.75/gallon and the cost to park on campus per day, I’m saving about $10.00 per day by riding the scooter into work.

Even though I can only take it in to work twice a week because I drop off and pick up the kids from daycare, that’s still $80.00 per month. Nothing to sneeze at.

For the record a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Milwaukee today is $3.70/gallon. Oil hits another record high at $117/barrel.

Hard to believe it’s been a year already since Carter was born!

He is certainly becoming his own little man in terms of personality and the sheer amount of food the kid can put away is simply amazing.

On a personal note, a quick update about my brother Jonathon who has occasionally written here on my weblog over the years and for nearly the last year has been stationed in Iraq as a Captain in the Army.

On Monday he finally finished up his tour doing EOD in Iraq and returned home safely. He and his girlfriend promptly boarded a plane to Mexico for some well deserved R&R.

We’re extremely thankful he’s come back safe and sound and are proud of the service he’s given to his country.

Here’s a picture of him with Emerson from last July 4th when he was on leave.

As many people in Milwaukee County take a final look at information to help them make a decision about who to vote for in tomorrow’s County Supervisor primary, some have asked me in emails, on the phone, and in person recently to explain why I deserve their vote tomorrow and on April 1st.

It’s a good question and one that I like to answer with the following story:

Over the past four months I have spoken to literally thousands of people in the 15th district as I’ve been out knocking on doors, attending community events and talking to them at neighborhood meetings. One thing always jumps out at me, and that’s the sheer number of people who don’t know who their County Supervisor is.

In fact, about 9 out of 10 of those people don’t know their name of the elected official who has represented them for more than 15 years.When you’ve represented a district for over 15 years, like the incumbent has, and 9 out of 10 people don’t know who you are, there is something very very wrong with the way you’re doing your job as a public servant. And it’s not that those people aren’t paying attention because they can almost always name their Alderman.

Why? That’s because our Alderman are engaged with their constituents, and make a point of coming out to all the street parties, block watch meetings and neighborhood association meetings to listen to where their constituents are at on the issues.

I believe it’s about time we have the same kind of responsive, engaged, and active representation at the County level as we do at the City level, and that’s the kind of representative that I will provide as a County Supervisor.I believe it’s time for Milwaukee County government to leave the shadows of obscurity and start leading this community forward.

I believe it’s time to change the status-quo and shake things up. I believe that if you want to change the direction this County is heading, you have to change it from the bottom up.

To do that, it’s going to take leadership that is engaged, energetic, and has the innovative solutions to the problems this County faces today and in the future.

I know I can provide that kind of leadership and I ask that tomorrow you join me and take the first step to changing the direction this County is heading by voting for me, Daniel Cody, as your choice for Milwaukee County Supervisor in the 15th district.

As always, I encourage your feedback because active communication between an elected official and the people they serve is the first and most important duty a public servant must provide.You can get in touch with me by visiting http://danielcody.com/contact/

Thank you again for your support!

First off, here is a direct link to the website for my campaign for Milwaukee County Supervisor where you can find out everything you’d like to know about me and my campaign.

It’s incredible to realize that the primary election in my race for County Supervisor is next Tuesday already.

I think that no matter how things turn out next week, I’ve learned a lot about about how running as a candidate is so very different than working on a campaign and one other very important lesson. Some people will say anything, do anything, and spend whatever it takes to stay in power.

On the positive side of things, I’m really happy looking back with the campaign I’ve run. It’s been focused on direct voter contact and talking about the great potential Milwaukee County has as well as my ideas for getting this County back on the right track. I can say without a doubt that no one in this campaign has worked harder than I have, and outside of a few timing issues at the beginning of the campaign, there honestly isn’t a lot I would have done different. And those are both things that I’m very very proud of.

The last week before the primary is going to be crazy and will undoubtedly mean posting here on my personal website will suffer. I will try to get in a few more updates before the primary and of course afterwards with the results.

As always, I appreciate the support so many of you have shown over the last six months! It’s been an exciting journey and I’m looking forward to making it through next weeks primary and to the April 1st election!

One final update to the story of Mitch Laputka and Rachel Anderson that I’ve following since last September. Original story here and a follow up here.
You may recall they were arrested for neglecting their toddler son by strapping himin a stroller for hours on end while they went out and “partied”. That resulted in the body of the toddler being covered with diaper rash, his body temperature was 12 degrees below normal and he stopped breathing, requiring 21 minutes of CPR to revive him when rescue personnel arrived.

Today, they were sentenced in Milwaukee County Court.

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Jeff Wagner sent the mother, Rachel C. Anderson (21), to prison for three years and the father, Mitch Laputka (also 21) to prison for five years.

He also gave Anderson nine years of extended supervision and Laputka five years, ordering both to get a parole agent’s supervision for any visits with their child during the sentences.

I think the concern I and others had about the possibility of a light sentence has been addressed. Three and five years in state prison is a serious punishment, and even with good behavior, they’re both (rightfully) looking at doing a serious time.

Hopefully the child can get into a good foster or adoptive home and lead a much more fulfilling and moral life than either of his parents.

You may have noticed that over the past month, WTMJ Channel 4 (our local NBC affiliate) has been on a sensationalist tear during “sweeps” to increase it’s ratings, especially during it’s 10 p.m. newscast.

During that time, we’ve been subjected to breathless stories and relentless promos about “TAX INCREASES!”, the sexual orientation of school board members, overpriced trash cans, and just about anything that could make enough waves to bring in some viewers. Indeed, no stone was left unturned in WTMJ’s quest for slime, much, and ratings.

Ironically, the real story here may be the one about how Wisconsin’s largest media conglomerate penchant for the preposterous may have backfired on them.

The ratings for the past month’s 10 p.m. newscasts are in, and WTMJ Channel 4 managed to come in a disappointing second, despite their best efforts.

The highest rated 10 p.m. newscast over the past month was WISN Channel 12, the local ABC affiliate, with WTMJ coming in second .

We stopped watching any newscast from Channel 4 several years ago when they decided to start focusing on creating the news rather than reporting the news and switched to Channel 12. While they’re not perfect either, the kind of coverage they give to local news stories is much better than what the other local stations provide. It’s also an added bonus that our neighbor does the weather on Channel 12, so it’s nice to see her on the T.V. once in a while.

WTMJ management is going to take one of two things away from this. Either they will see this as some vindication that what they’re doing is working, and the only reason they didn’t get #1 was because their coverage isn’t sensational enough. Or they’re going to see that their brand of coverage isn’t what Milwaukee area residents are looking for and that a more respectable newscast focused on real local news - not stories that they fabricate and hype - is the future for them.

Campaigning and defending yourself from right-wing radio talk show hosts is time consuming work. Enjoy cute kids:

(Taken a few months ago for our latest family picture in Lake Park)

Thanksgiving is the traditional kickoff to the holiday season, and it’s something that over the years I’ve really come to look forward to. On top of spending some quality time with family and friends, it’s nice to have some time off to recharge the batteries.

This year, more than most, that’s going to be something I really need. After next week, the campaign season really kicks off for spring elections, and it’s going to be an all out sprint from December 1st through April 1st.

I’m pretty happy though with where things are at, because having laid a lot of the groundwork for my campaign over the course of the last five months will allow me to focus on actually campaigning vs. preparing to campaign. Which isn’t to say I haven’t been campaigning, as anyone who’s on my email list or answered a door I’ve knocked on knows!

At any rate, I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving, and hope you have a safe and enjoyable start to the holiday season as well.

I thought I’d post an update on the two parents who almost killed their toddler so they could “party” since it generated quite a bit of interest and comments.

The “parents” of the child, Mitch D. Laputka and Rachel C. Anderson, who neglected their baby so badly that his body was covered with diaper rash, his body temperature was 12 degrees below normal and he stopped breathing, requiring 21 minutes of CPR to revive him, both pleaded guilty to a felony count of first-degree reckless injury on Wednesday and will be sentenced January 31st.

Misdemeanor child neglect charges were dropped in exchange for their guilty pleas, but they’re both still expected to serve a short term in prison followed up by a lengthy period of extended supervision.

As I said previously, good riddance, but hopefully these two have a major epiphany in prison that helps them get their lives on track when they’re out.

Today, all Americans remember and honor those who have served in the armed forces at home and abroad, in wartime or peacetime.

In order to insure proper and widespread observance of this anniversary, all veterans, all veterans’ organizations, and the entire citizenry will wish to join hands in the common purpose. - President Dwight D. Eisenhower

Thank you all.