Playing Fast And Loose With Time And Space

I'm proud of my family. Perhaps you've been able to tell. We've charted the genealogy on several sides back into the mid 19th Century. Many of my ancestors have been farmers of one sort or another. My father's grandfather came from England and through hard work and more than a little gumption came to own his own farm in Sauk County. My mother's great-grandfather founded a farm in Sauk County that has been in the family for more than 120 years. One of his brothers came to own and work most of an entire county in northern Kansas, sending one stepson to die with Captain Keogh's I Battalion at Little Big Horn.

All of this is interesting, of course but it doesn't make me a farmer or an Indian fighter for that matter.

One of the candidates for the Democratic Assembly seat has made much of his family's 150 year farming tradition. He features it prominently on his website, including a headline from the State Journal celebrating his family's dedication to the land. He should be proud of them and share their stories in the same way that I share the stories of my family.

The fact remains, though, that Wally is a Townie. He grew up on Fair Street in Evansville and lives in Oregon now. That's not really the impression that his website leaves. That concerns me.

Fellows' website also reprints a Review story which quotes him saying that municipal taxes under Janis Ringhand grew 37%. Searching the Wisconsin Taxpayer's Alliance website for the number that Fellows cites you can see that Evansville's tax rate fell 5.5%. Granted, the city experienced growth in the 30% range and tax revenues grew along with that but to say that the mayor was responsible for exorbitant tax increases is more than a little unfair. Requests from the Ringhand campaign to clarify his numbers have gone unanswered by Mr. Fellows. That concerns me.

Fellows website goes on to cite his work on Tammy Baldwin and Russ Feingold campaigns in the past. He wants us to believe that he's a Progressive candidate. He fails to mention that he volunteered on Brett Davis' campaign two years ago. In Wally's defense, he does say that he now stands opposed to many of the views of the man he helped elect just two years ago. That concerns me.

Wally Fellows says that he has Common Sense Ideas that he wants to put into play for us but he has no government or leadership experience. I hope that he does get involved in some way and learns his way around government. I just don't want him to learn at my expense. The Assembly vote this time is too important to trust to a newcomer.

And, if he loses in September, he'll have time to clarify the things he claims on his website.