February 16, 2010

Analysis: It's time for the mayor to sweat the small stuff

Mayor John Dickert isn't interested in the small stuff. If asked, he'd probably put that a little differently. He'd say there are so many big issues and projects before the city that he doesn't have time for small-time local issues like CAR25 contracts.

It's a sympathetic argument (really), but it's also the source of his problems. Ignoring local issues, or at least not giving them his full attention, has allowed them to blossom into ready-made attacks for political opponents. If the mayor is going to turn things around, he needs to take the "small stuff" seriously.

A good example is the weeks-long fight over a $40,000 no-bid contract to revamp CAR25. The mayor did a couple of things well. He was right in recognizing CAR25, being the only Racine-centric TV station on the planet, could be a significant source of local information and entertainment. And, he was right in identifying Sandy Petrykowski, with her extensive background in national and international TV journalism, as the person to do it.

Where Dickert went wrong was how he approached the Cable Commission and City Council. Instead of laying out what Petrykowski would do if awarded the contract, he simply said she should get the deal and she'll work out the details later. It's a classic "cart-before-the-horse" situation.

If Dickert and Petrykowski made a 15-minute PowerPoint presentation to the Cable Commission and Finance Committee laying out what, exactly, they intended to do to improve CAR25, I have little doubt the contract would have passed easily. But they left the specifics a mystery, which left committee and commission members to fill in the blanks. The result: Petrykowski had to withdraw her name, Dickert racked up an unnecessary political loss and CAR25 doesn't have its $40,000 investment.

Then there's the collateral damage from this "small" issue. Dickert gaveled down Alderman Mike Shields at a City Council meeting, which turned into a major issue because it was recorded on video. Shields, president of the local NAACP, used the video to attack the mayor for silencing critics. (Nevermind that Shields was speaking out of turn, it's the gaveling everyone will remember.)

The mayor also opened the door for a review of all of the city's no-bid contracts. City ordinances now give an exemption for professional services contracts, and at least one alderman has requested a study of removing that exemption. In other words, the CAR25 contract isn't going away. Hopefully the mayor learns from this. Spending a couple of hours on the front side will save weeks, even months, of aggravation on the backside.

Another example is, after getting elected, Dickert put together a support team that, while talented in many areas, couldn't write a press release. That left the city struggling to communicate with the public and required the need to hire a public information officer. (The PIO will do more than write press releases, but Mark Eickhorst will fill a glaring need in the Mayor's office.) It seems like a small detail, but the mayor has struggled to communicate with the public since taking office. He should have considered that early after taking office.

The PIO issue has metastasized into questions about Dickert's efforts to hire friends and supporters into city jobs. Tom Friedel, the city administrator, is a family member; Greg Bach, his assistant, was a campaign manager; Eickhorst is a long-time friend; and Petrykowski was a friend. All together Dickert spent, or tried to spend, over $200,000 in city money on people close to him. Every person hired is qualified for their job, but it doesn't take much imagination to envision the criticism.

Lost in all of these small issues is Dickert is trying to do some good things. He's working to create an international freshwater research lab in Racine, he's working on a deal to attract Chinese investors to the city, and he seems to realize job creation is a top priority. But his inattention to detail, and the local political landscape, is burying his larger efforts and making him look out of touch.

Sure, in the scheme of things, a small contract for a cable-access TV station is a dumb local issue. But CAR25 means something to the people involved, and it's the mayor's job to honor their commitment to this one part of the city by being open and honest with them from the beginning. The same goes for all aspects of the city. The mayor can't ignore anything.

Fortunately for Dickert, he's got a year to turn things around. Talking with city political insiders, he could help himself by reaching out to the City Council and other officials for help. But that's a challenge because:

1.) Dickert really isn't interested in the small issues; he's working for something bigger. (Kinda like the power-hitter in baseball that will gladly strike out three times to hit one home run.)

2.) Dickert doesn't know who's planning to run against him next April. The race could easily see two or three City Council members and other local officials jumping in to contend for the four-year term. It's tough to reach out when there's so many potential opponents.

3.) He's dug a deep hole. There may not be that many people willing to help him out.

52 comments:

  1. As a former Dickert volunteer..well said

    ReplyDelete
  2. We will fight Dickert with every means at our disposal. He wants to play we can do that. He will not like how the games end

    ReplyDelete
  3. "The mayor did a couple of things well. He was right in recognizing CAR25, being the only Racine-centric TV station on the planet,.."

    Hey with a home computer, simple editing equipment and free tools found on line anyone can become a media center. gee how will the Mayor enjoy having over 100,000 see how many of his cronies get city jobs or how the inner city feels about how they are treated.

    Side bar my bet in two weeks this "consultant is long gone

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anon 9:16. You are what is wrong with this community. You are a angry, however your displaced anger toward the Mayor makes you sound quite trite.

    If you used your anger to make positive changes in yourself and in your community you would be a much better person.

    This commentary is not from one of Dicket's "Trolls". But from someone who has had it with the negetivity from this community.

    ReplyDelete
  5. And some of us have had it with the lies from City Hall.

    Party on, lying John!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I guess actually publishing a "10 Year Plan" is considered small stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I guess hiring your cousin for $95K a year after saying you wouldn't need a city administrator is small stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Do not forget about all the legal troubles that Dickert has created for Racine that is going to cost us a ton of taxpayer money to clean up. He tried to screw Spodick because they had a bad business deal several years ago and then tried to cover it up. There have been several open meetings violations that are going to get the city fined. There have been open records requests not fulfilled and Dickert altered records. Dickert tried to buy a building, was out bid, and then convinced a new owner to evict a business so he could bring a scrap yard in with less jobs at a lower salary.

    What is next?

    ReplyDelete
  9. anon 11:29. Spodick was done by Becker...the other stuff where is your proof?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Here is a story Jodi Harding was born male. It was born Jospeh Harding. I have as much proof as some of the other comments here.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Becker = Dickert. The same oinkers are behind each one. The people of Racine are owned by them. That's how a hospital can kill patients for years and still "serve the community."

    ReplyDelete
  12. The mayor started this death spiral by not delivering the 10 year plan as promised and everything since then has just been an acceleration towards failure. It all stems back to that.

    ReplyDelete
  13. "Another example is, after getting elected, Dickert put together a support team that, while talented in many areas, couldn't write a press release."

    God damn it, are you f'ing serious? This isn't quantum physics we're talking here. Have a thought, write it down, insert punctuation, spell check and send.

    If we don't have anyone in city government that is capable of writing sentences then let's just give up right now. Why bother waking up in the morning? Why bother voting or even having a local government?

    I can't believe this sh!t. It is so unreal it isn't even comprehensible anymore.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Why is it that it seems that the Editors of the Post and the bloggers on the Post and the Journal Times are out to stomp on everyone and bring everyone down? Haven't you people ever learned to play nice?

    ReplyDelete
  15. 12:28

    The reason why is that we have people employed at the city THAT CAN'T WRITE A PRESS RELEASE! A PRESS RELEASE! A GOD DAMN PRESS RELEASE!

    WRITING 5 SENTENCES AND PUTTING ON A HEADER ARE BEYOND THE ABILITIES OF THE PEOPLE RUNNING OUR GOVERNMENT!

    THAT'S WHY!

    We actually hired someone to do this because Dickert campaign staff have mastered the English language enough to string together a bunch of words to form sentences that explain something.

    ReplyDelete
  16. As a Racine citizen and voter, I want the mayor to be working on the big issues, which is why we voted him in. His staff should be working with the media, including the JT and the Post at creative writing. Call me a troll if you like, but I see Mayor Dickert being aggressive at tackling the big issues, which is what it is going to take to fix Racine.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I always like it when he says, "That's the way it's done". Is this from all HIS political experince of 6? months, or Freedel's multi-year experinces with Becker? Yeah, and he's ignoring everything; but the home run.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Changing the Spodick deal and then covering it up with email votes and changing the minutes and agendas to reflect the cover up was done last summer under Dickert's direct orders. There were numerous articles here in the Post and in the Journal Times.

    The irony is the changing the deal is not the legal problem, the cover up is. That is the "legal strategy" meeting that was canceled last week.

    Dickert is in big big trouble and it is going to cost us, the taxpayers.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Excellent article Dustin. Fair and honest.

    The Mayor's office could have done themselves a huge favor by paying more attention to the details.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Spodick is a crook - the poor girl who wanted to open the soup restaraunt and wanted to buy the building cannot because there are liens on the building thanks to him and his crooked ways.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Excellent article! This just goes to show Dickert is completly in over his head and out of touch! It amazes me this guys arrogance and ignorance. Listen the Cable Commison gave him reasoning behind why this is a bad idea to spend this money this way, and now he still wants to spend it? This guy is NOT representing us properly and he should be investigated and possibly removed! WE deserve better!

    ReplyDelete
  22. In Dickert's defense, there's no training to become mayor (or president, as Obama is showing). You jump in and do the best you can. Based on interviews in recent months, it seems like it's time for the mayor to recalibrate and settle in. Whether he's willing to do that is the big question.

    ReplyDelete
  23. It's obvious Obama had no training - one term president.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Dustin

    The stuff you mention in this posting is basic blocking and tackling though. In other cases, it is common sense.

    Putting any work out to bid, regardless of if the rules allow unilateral decisions or not.

    Writing press releases.

    Communicating with the public

    Working with the other officials

    Keeping your word - releasing the 10 year plan

    All of these things are doable and fairly straight forward. His failures were all largely avoidable and has more to do with his personality rather than experience.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Nobody likes the cocky, arrogant, thinks he know all, do it my way or your wrong, lying, showing favortisim, hypocrite guy. NOBODY likes THAT guy.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I said this before and now I'll say it again!

    In the end John Dickert will always do the right thing. He always has been devoted to making Racine a better place to live. The longer he's Mayor the better things will get.

    Management always needs a little nudge now and then to keep them think straight!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Pity party won't work for him, no matter what

    ReplyDelete
  28. Solid story--fair reporting. Can we just all agree that the "mayor" is in way over his head and lacking the capacity to oversee the cities issues. He was a real estate agent pithing condos without any experience in managing through complex issues. He ran a campaign that reminded me of a jr high school poster party designed to elect student govt representative, and the people voted him in. Shame on the people. I only hope there is a capable person runing against him in the next election.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Becker regularly admitted he was unable to focus on small stuff. He said he couldn't stay focused. Dickert, as noted by Dustin, apparently has the same problem. If the mayor can't focus on the small stuff then it falls to the administrator to handle the small but important stuff. It also falls to the administrator to protect the mayor from himself when he wants to make a bad move. Dickert hired a political person not a profesional administrator so there is no one to handle the small stuff and make good professional decisions.

    As noted, Dickert has a year left in his likely short term. A 10 year plan serves no purpose when the business of the city isn't getting done.

    Dickert's decisions just keep pilling up and it will bite him in a year.

    ReplyDelete
  30. 3:34

    Ha HA!

    ReplyDelete
  31. I think despite all of this that Dickert will largely be unaffected. Incumbants have a huge advantage. You would need a really energized and charismatic person to run in order to overcome that disadvantage and I just don't see it happening.

    ReplyDelete
  32. No way, cya Dickert!

    ReplyDelete
  33. You are right on points 2 and 3. Challengers could come out of the woodwork. If you cant get the little things done, how will major issues get tackled?

    Change will come-15 percent unemployment will motivate change. Raising property tax assessments in a down/foreclosure market will motivate change. Someone should look into those city assessments from this year.

    ReplyDelete
  34. "...the mayor has struggled to communicate with the public since taking office." No, he has refused to communicate with the public. There is a big difference between having difficulty with it and outright refusing to do so. It has been mentioned many, many times on this site how he refuses to return phone calls or answer emails from the public. He doesn't care what we think and he's made no effort to hide it. Does "recycle bins" ring a bell?

    Anon 10:01, it sounds to me like you're a left-wing bleeding heart liberal that can't stand it when people get fed up and angry over being lied to and ignored by your local Furher.

    Anon 11:03, yes, just like his other campaign promises were small stuff (i.e. "We can't afford a city administrator" and "I won't raise taxes"). Yep, lying John strikes again.

    Anon 11:04 = a-hole.

    Anon 12:28, another bleeding heart, "why can't we all just get along" liberal telling people not to stand up, identify and defend themselves against the injustices perpetrated against them by political overlords. Why don't you go to Cuba and try to "play nice."

    Anon 1:03, let me see if I have this right; the "big issues" are more important than anything you consider to be a small issue, which affects people's lives just as much? We should focus on the "big issues" and just let him get away with ignoring or manipulating the smaller issues, no matter how illegally or unethically he handles them? I'll bet that if you ask some of these people involved with the smaller issues whether or not they consider it a "big issue," you’d be surprised at the answer.

    Anon 3:34 seems to think that changing the minutes and then trying to cover it up "in the end" is the right thing to do. Anon 3:34 seems to think that "in the end," it's OK to price land and houses at little or no cost to city employees, and the hell with the rest of the citizens. Anon 3:34 seems to think that closed door private deals that should be open to the press and public is okay "in the end." Why don't you just flat out say that wherever dickert is concerned the ends justify the means, no matter whether it's right or wrong?

    I must admit that I am surprised to see this article here.

    ReplyDelete
  35. It looks like those "your boy in city hall" comments really got to Pete and Dustin.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Graham - Shorten it up knucklehead.

    ReplyDelete
  37. I will not be able to take him seriously when he is campaigning. He came off as untrustworthy and cowardly by not revealing the 10 year plan. If he thinks he is going to use some gimmick off revealing at election time it will be too late.

    I find him as arrogant and power hungry as Becker. He doesn't miss a photo op. But where is the meat?

    ReplyDelete
  38. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  39. He also worked over the girls at Out of the Pan, so they had to move. He has really hurt the downtown area.

    ReplyDelete
  40. So why not just change the deal? Why did Dickert have to alter minutes and vote secretly via email? The cover up is going to cost us a lot of money, not the actual act. Thanks Dickert!

    ReplyDelete
  41. "It's Good To Be The King" Must have been the way he ran his business before, it's showing now that the public has a say about it. Doing it thru intimidation and bullying, except now he is doing it to the common council and anybody that gets in his way. Thats just the short end of it, in the long run, it just corrupts the position more. Truly sad.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Hmmm... Who decides what is small stuff and what is big stuff? After reading the comments I think that is an interesting question. Not everyone feels the same about everything.

    So, go on and continue to badger your favorite subjects.

    ReplyDelete
  43. This is an excellent article and I hope the Mayor reads it as advice and not a flat out attack as some of the comments seem to have tried to twist it into.
    The Mayor didn't create all the problems in Racine and probably underestimated the scrutiny of residents for things like hiring friends and family.

    Talk about putting the horse before the cart. Local TV is a luxury many successful cities survive and thrive without. I would think that city residents would be unhappy if he spent his time concentrating on things like that instead of jobs and crime.

    He should have started with a better staff. Hiring friends and relatives is not the best idea in business and I would guess in politics it could turn on you too.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Anon 9:41, you don't run this site and P & D have a limit set as to how long a response can be. If you don't like it, don't read it, jerk.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Graham - why don't you jerk off and keep them short.

    ReplyDelete
  46. His challengers have a leg up on him now. They have the 10 year plan fiasco and the hiring fiasco's. He may have a big campaign chest but that doesn't get people to color in the arrow next to his name. He better take some sort of action to redeem himself or it is wasted money.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Man, I don't see any of you haters stepping up to make the world a better place. Build another bonfire and bring back Joe-the-not-really-a-Plumber and tell us some more "truth", but please don't get off your keister and work for any real change, it'd be too much for ya, I'm sure.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Somebody tell Da Mire that our votes aren't for sale. I don't care how much Waxcash he cadged, we're not casting our ballots for a Waxstooge.

    ReplyDelete
  49. The above message was brought to you by The Wicked Good Militia and the Waxbashers.

    ReplyDelete
  50. The Sons of Khem and The Alliance support The Wicked Good Militia and the Waxbashers in their crusade for clean government.

    ReplyDelete
  51. So do the Lords of Creative Chaos, the Morelians and Progress Unlimited.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Ditto The Central Committee of Proletarian Delegates.

    ReplyDelete