It’s an amazing coincidence that just as I was on TV today to talk about what one group is doing to resurrect a Milwaukee County Park pool that was left to rot , another article appears about the upcoming County Parks budget which once again decimates our parks system at the direction of the County Executive.
It’s this simple: Scott Walker is forcing the County Parks Director Sue Black to write a budget that cuts jobs, kills recreation centers, and once again closes County run pools. I don’t mean to suggest it’s her fault because it isn’t. It’s crystal clear who’s responsible for the terrible shape our parks are in, and once again it’s crystal clear who is putting his own political ambition above the wishes of those he was elected to serve.
But it’s not just the County Executive who’s to blame. There are a small group of County Supervisors who have played the role of enabler for far too long and who’ve consistently refused to confront the destruction of our County Parks. I’ve got a message for them:
Throwing your hands up in the air and bemoaning, “There’s nothing I can do” is not why you were elected to serve and it’s certainly not anything close to the kind of leadership the residents of Milwaukee County deserve and desperately need.
There are of course County Supervisors who try to take the lead and who honor their role as stewards and they know who they are, but when those folks have to contend with their own colleagues as well as the County Supervisor’s office, it’s an uphill battle for them and as a result, a fight the supporters of this County’s natural resources are often on the losing side of.
Imagine if Director Black didn’t have to constantly worry about a budget and the future of her employees and instead could focus her tremendous energy and talent on once again making the Milwaukee County Parks system one of the best in the Country.
Fortunately there are those of us who see what’s happening to one of the greatest natural resources in Southeastern Wisconsin.
I live in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Milwaukee, WI with my wife Jen, our daughter Emerson, and sons Carter and Colton.
That’s a bummer. Almost as bad as Dan Cody’s mission to pillage my comment section.
Sounds like someone should run for office with a speech like that!
I wonder if Mr. Cody is a property tax payer. Doen’t much sound like it, or if he is, he works for the county, city or state… or perhaps a school district.
Guess I’m curious why it doesn’t sound to you like I’m a person who pays property taxes, and what, if anything, my employer has to do with that or why you’re inferring that it’s somehow a negative thing if I do.
For the record, which probably would take about as much time to find out as it did to post your comment, yes and yes.