tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5583157134881112619.post1150349887366182592..comments2024-03-10T23:44:30.359-05:00Comments on Racine Post: Nine mayoral candidates at Taxpayers' forumDustin http://www.blogger.com/profile/10717778498642473701noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5583157134881112619.post-49724616094676128862009-03-19T19:54:00.000-05:002009-03-19T19:54:00.000-05:00See the forum for yourself at:Racineinsider.blogsp...See the forum for yourself at:<BR/>Racineinsider.blogspot.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5583157134881112619.post-70136310318932908722009-03-19T11:17:00.000-05:002009-03-19T11:17:00.000-05:00If anything that article makes Jim Smith look bad....If anything that article makes Jim Smith look bad. Calling up the Speaker of the Assembly to get someone fired from their job because they are helping someone in their community? That is the epitome of sleazy ethics.<BR/><BR/>If Jim Smith would have done that to me I would have sued his ass so fast he would have had whiplash. <BR/><BR/>Maybe we can all go out for an ice cream.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5583157134881112619.post-80547342194263521202009-03-19T07:41:00.000-05:002009-03-19T07:41:00.000-05:00I'm not bent out of shape and not even sure I'm a ...I'm not bent out of shape and not even sure I'm a Dickert supporter yet. But, digging up ten year old articles is a Smith tactic. I also don't see that the article is an issue for Dickert at all.<BR/><BR/>I hate to see the Smith political machine back in action. Politics had become relatively civil since the end of the Smith era, but now it seems they have resurrected from the dead.<BR/><BR/>I hear Jim Smith is using his sign intimidation techniques again too. Sad, very sad.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5583157134881112619.post-64209773310347042352009-03-19T06:23:00.000-05:002009-03-19T06:23:00.000-05:00Why is it that the Dickert supporters get so bent ...Why is it that the Dickert supporters get so bent out of shape when past incidents are exposed? No one is making this stuff up. To all Dickert supporters, read the blogs, there is mud being slung on ALL candidates in here, not just on Dickert. You all sound like a bunch of arrogant, uppity, cry babies. Get over it. Let the election results speak for themselves.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5583157134881112619.post-38106059344770053152009-03-18T23:25:00.000-05:002009-03-18T23:25:00.000-05:00Oh one more thing, you don't have to get up three ...Oh one more thing, you don't have to get up three hours early to take the train, I have found the train ride to be much faster than driving through traffic, especially during rush hour.<BR/><BR/>My suggestion if you want to be vocal either for or against the train, take the time to experience it so you know what you're talking about at least.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5583157134881112619.post-57138216659550942092009-03-18T23:23:00.000-05:002009-03-18T23:23:00.000-05:00Anon 7:10, why do you say nobody rides the train? ...Anon 7:10, why do you say nobody rides the train? I take it often and it's always full. There have been days taking Amtrak from Sturtevant to Chicago there were not two seats together so my spouse and I had to split up. I've seen people have to stand because it was completely full.<BR/><BR/>There are many arguments for and against KRM, but please don't throw comments which are totally untrue.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5583157134881112619.post-88333165161765779452009-03-18T22:54:00.000-05:002009-03-18T22:54:00.000-05:00Speaking of monopolies, it's nice that we have to ...Speaking of monopolies, it's nice that we have to feed the Time-Warner monster to get to watch things like this. <BR/><BR/>I chose to stop feeding the monster, and now I'm cut out of being able to participate in local activities, as mainly it seems that CAR25 is as corrupt as the City Administration that created it, being unable to provide service outside of the Time-Warner monopoly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5583157134881112619.post-25139131105449351692009-03-18T19:10:00.000-05:002009-03-18T19:10:00.000-05:00FYI Jim Smith is working for Turner I understand. ...FYI Jim Smith is working for Turner I understand. Why Pick such a loser Bob? <BR/>Kim P and Mr. D are NOT running for Mayor but IMHO Ryan's seat. <BR/>I have also heard that Mr. D might be gearing up for Turner's job interesting. Love a good civil war in the Democratic Party <BR/><BR/>Trying to understand Q.A.'s love of RCEDC and the 0 jobs to Racine BUT the no bid contacts for WEB Pages. Do not forget the great job RCEDC has done with West Racine (The try to build a slum project forced on that part of town)and the Uptown (All the Artiest make driving there a pain)a reporter MIGHT want to ask the 6th St Neighborhood watch group when the last time was they have seen Q.A. because of the above I can no longer support Q.A. for Mayor. Still a good guy but not for Mayor <BR/><BR/>Kim P as too lock step with Doyle and the whole pay to play games in Madison. 5 Billion in debit the State is more and more taxes coming and we are not started to see what Obama has for us. No more taxes no more Kim <BR/><BR/>Trying to understand the LOVE for KRM and what the plan might be for when no one rides it? And who is going to get up 3 hours early to take it to the non existing jobs? <BR/>How about we put it to a VOTE of the people who would have to pay for it?<BR/><BR/>And why have a full time Mayor and a Mini Me? <BR/><BR/>And gee are not the last two are issues that the Johnson's been pushing for years. IMHO perhaps J-Wax should buy a third world country and play with that for fun. Racine I feel has suffered too long!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5583157134881112619.post-62586029721503250952009-03-18T18:30:00.000-05:002009-03-18T18:30:00.000-05:00How come Jim Spanenberg can put his signs on Sprin...How come Jim Spanenberg can put his signs on Spring Street on land that is either owned by the City or Lutheran High School on Spring Street? Hard to tell who's land it is but I thought in either case it was not legal to put candidates signs on city or non-profit school property.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5583157134881112619.post-39243187922392189442009-03-18T17:38:00.000-05:002009-03-18T17:38:00.000-05:00I wish Jim and Joyce Smith would quit writing crap...I wish Jim and Joyce Smith would quit writing crap about John Dickert. We get it already - you hate the guy. But give it a rest please. And hey I'm not a relative of Dickert, I just recognize the ugly Smith politics back at work. I thought they were out of the picture. <BR/><BR/>Smiths, please go retire and do something positive with your lives.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5583157134881112619.post-19204379127693928882009-03-18T17:00:00.000-05:002009-03-18T17:00:00.000-05:00I'm slow I guess. So, I will ask straight forward....I'm slow I guess. So, I will ask straight forward. Does the article posted above mean if you vote for Plache or Turner you will get another Jim Smith who almost gave the city away in debt and in caving to all the union's demands. And, if you vote for Dickert you get another Becker minus the perv part?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5583157134881112619.post-14764524965192182932009-03-18T16:36:00.000-05:002009-03-18T16:36:00.000-05:00Unfortunately, poor political/ethical decisions st...Unfortunately, poor political/ethical decisions stick with you forever.<BR/><BR/> Tip toe, through the tulips......<BR/><BR/><BR/>Mayor's phone call irks friends of challenger<BR/>By JB<BR/>Thursday, November 1, 2007 2:18 PM CDT<BR/><BR/><BR/>BY JOE BUTTWEILER<BR/><BR/>Journal Times<BR/><BR/>RACINE - Supporters of Racine mayoral candidate Mark Eickhorst are crying foul over a supposed attempt by Mayor Jim Smith to oust an Eickhorst campaign worker.<BR/><BR/>Smith, however, said his opponent's campaign has blown way out of proportion a call he made late last year to the office of state Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen, R-Waukesha, to find out whether a lobbyist can legally work on a mayoral campaign.<BR/><BR/>After a subsequent call by Jensen to the lobbyist's employer, campaign worker John Dickert stepped away from the political race.<BR/><BR/>"I think there was a definite attempt to make him leave my campaign, if not lose his job,'' Eickhorst said this week.<BR/><BR/>Smith said he had no intention of getting Dickert fired. He said he called Jensen's office to speak with Steve Baas, who is a family friend, to check on the legality and whether it is ethical for a registered state lobbyist to be involved in a local campaign.<BR/><BR/>Baas said he told Smith he didn't think there was any problem but would double-check. Baas, who grew up with Smith's sons, said Jensen mentioned Dickert's campaign work in a subsequent conversation with Dickert's boss at the state Credit Union League, Tom Knabel.<BR/><BR/>"The extent of it was Tom asking how the credit union's lobbying team was doing,'' Baas said. " The speaker told him it was doing quite well, and that the only thing he had heard that was remotely negative was people wondering why Dickert was involved on Eickhorst's team when Smith had such a broad coalition and was so well supported and Eickhorst didn't seem to have a whole lot of credibility.''<BR/><BR/>Asked why he called Jensen's office instead of the state election board, Smith said there was no particular reason.<BR/><BR/>He said he regularly calls legislators such as Sen. Kim Plache, D-Racine, and Rep. Robert Turner, D-Racine, often to ask questions. "I guess I wondered what this came under,'' Smith said. "I figure that's the reason legislators are there.''<BR/><BR/>Dickert, who has since joined a new lobbying branch of the Foley and Lardner law firm, said he withdrew from Eickhorst's campaign because he didn't want it affecting his clients.<BR/><BR/>Alderman Jody Karls, an Eickhorst supporter, called Smith's action a case of "using your political clout to get someone fired just for helping out on someone's campaign.''<BR/><BR/>He, Eickhorst and Alderman Gary Becker, another Eickhorst supporter, called the move typical of the Smith campaign.<BR/><BR/>Baas characterized the controversy as a "Hail Mary-type attempt by Eickhorst to get some sort of traction on his campaign.''<BR/><BR/>"If Scott had it in for John Dickert for being in this race, he (Dickert) would not be in a better position in a law and lobbying firm managed by some of Scott's closest political allies."<BR/><BR/>Dickert, who is a former aide to former U.S. Rep. Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, was asked if he felt he was influenced away from working for Eickhorst. Dickert said he could not comment.<BR/><BR/>He said he was concerned that the work for Eickhorst would affect his clients, so he stepped back.<BR/><BR/>"I didn't want my personal life affecting the Credit Union League so I took a step back, and now that I've taken a different job I have stepped out,'' he said.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5583157134881112619.post-21024421049987200462009-03-18T16:18:00.000-05:002009-03-18T16:18:00.000-05:00The dickert relatives blogging in here are patheti...The dickert relatives blogging in here are pathetic. I notice Sheila and Sherri always post together in here. You want 4 more years of Gary Becker, then vote Dickert for mayor.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5583157134881112619.post-90460458774836440552009-03-18T15:39:00.000-05:002009-03-18T15:39:00.000-05:00I met John Dickert in the fall of 2002. He was wo...I met John Dickert in the fall of 2002. He was working at the Art Walk on 6th St in downtown Racine. I found it inspiring that we would work so hard to help 6th Street Businesses when he didn't have a business of his own in the downtown. Art Walk is still an annual event downtown thanks to John and people like him.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5583157134881112619.post-54774621467973160672009-03-18T14:05:00.000-05:002009-03-18T14:05:00.000-05:00Dickert was a lobbyist. I thought all the Obama p...Dickert was a lobbyist. I thought all the Obama people disliked lobbyists?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5583157134881112619.post-47397939666046838152009-03-18T13:59:00.000-05:002009-03-18T13:59:00.000-05:00anon 12:40 - so we should be worried that a laundr...anon 12:40 - so we should be worried that a laundromat would bring in low income people? You think that Racine needs to worry about (more) low-income people suddenly moving here because someone builds a laundromat? I'm sorry but are you high? <BR/><BR/>On a related note, won't the new train allow all those low-income people to take jobs in Illinois, or was it low-income people in Illinois could take jobs here, or was it new businesses would build here, . . .<BR/><BR/>There is another old saying about beggars not being choosers. What if the laundromat sold art and had an artist in residence? What if they had condos upstairs only for artists and those artists really really really promised to wash all their clothes there?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5583157134881112619.post-38598370589199423512009-03-18T13:50:00.000-05:002009-03-18T13:50:00.000-05:00I love the picture. It speaks volumes. Look at t...I love the picture. It speaks volumes. Look at that body language! One of my favorite moments was when QA tried to prop up his sign which kept falling over and would not fit because of the sardine situation. Reporter Pete once again performed in stellar fashion by reporting what candidates said. Definitely, there is a PR machine. It is so transparent. Voters need to know where candidates stand on the issues. Thank you, Taxpayers Association. Thank you, reporter Pete.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5583157134881112619.post-57601131416971913032009-03-18T13:41:00.000-05:002009-03-18T13:41:00.000-05:00Dickert = PoisonDickert = PoisonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5583157134881112619.post-82437674849258127872009-03-18T12:59:00.000-05:002009-03-18T12:59:00.000-05:00I attended the Racine Tax Payers forum. I was ver...I attended the Racine Tax Payers forum. I was very impressed. I wish alot more people could have attended. I felt this was a great way to see the candidates for yourself. The audience even had the opportunity to submit the questions. <BR/><BR/>I like Pete Karas's public utility. WE energies is a monopoly. Would be great to have a choice. However he really turned me off with his answer to regulating the rummage sales. I wonder what else he will see fit to over regulate, protect us from....<BR/><BR/>QA Shakoor impressed me with his logical answers. He was level headed and well thought. <BR/> <BR/>Jody is rough around the edges, but she I think she has the courage to make the tough decisions and get us in a better position finacially. <BR/><BR/>I was not impressed with Kim. I have to disagree with the other posters. She did not look mayoral. She touted her accomplishments with WHEDA, I didn't verify them yet and asserted she was the only one qualified having a track record. I disagree. She too is rough around the edges. <BR/> <BR/>Turner didn't even show up. What more can I say. <BR/><BR/>Dickert had some great answers. I wonder if he will deliver what he is promising?<BR/><BR/>That is the short of my take on the forum. I am going to make it to the next one, March 23rd at Gateway. I think this is an important vote for us all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5583157134881112619.post-69796120127974893732009-03-18T12:53:00.000-05:002009-03-18T12:53:00.000-05:00All but Harding are promoting welfare and more soc...All but Harding are promoting welfare and more social services. Why is everyone else promoting irresponsibility? The work force here sucks. They're unskilled and uneducated. Why is that ok with the rest of the candidates? Why are so many young black men unemployed (not counting drug dealing as an occupation)?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5583157134881112619.post-69072209297587246802009-03-18T12:40:00.001-05:002009-03-18T12:40:00.001-05:00Anon 9:56 -Here is a quick lesson for you: 0% of ...Anon 9:56 -<BR/><BR/>Here is a quick lesson for you: 0% of a good development is better than 100% of a crappy one.<BR/><BR/>A laundromat on Sixth Street? How many more ways can Racine find to scream "Move here if you are low income!"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5583157134881112619.post-28214066675132322222009-03-18T12:40:00.000-05:002009-03-18T12:40:00.000-05:00Anon 9:20 I think John gets a lot of positive blog...Anon 9:20 I think John gets a lot of positive blogs because he has a lof of people following him because they know him and trust him. He is a great leader, very well presented. There is no PR machine. Supporting someone and have the courage to say it is a positive thing. Don't make it negative. You could better serve your world if you would spend your energy doing something good. Being negative isn't going to fix anything. Join us who support John Dickert if you need help with faith in your future !Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5583157134881112619.post-69151676899923917162009-03-18T11:47:00.000-05:002009-03-18T11:47:00.000-05:00Want Pete Karas to be Racine's next mayor? Find ou...Want Pete Karas to be Racine's next mayor? Find out how you can help People for Pete Karas at<BR/><A HREF="http://tinyurl.com/PeteKaras" REL="nofollow">http://tinyurl.com/PeteKaras</A>Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15191765471206225563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5583157134881112619.post-10940467128967064832009-03-18T11:18:00.000-05:002009-03-18T11:18:00.000-05:00It says a lot that Turner didn't even bother to sh...It says a lot that Turner didn't even bother to show up. Probably afraid to have someone ask why he is trying to move from a job that requires him to do actual work to one that would let him rely on a city adminstrater so he could take more personal time. <BR/><BR/>It also says a lot that Dickert, Shakoor, and Fay didn't bother with a response to the rsvp. I guess they feel entitled to just show up when they feel like it.<BR/><BR/>Plache probably did sort of good because her is so full of herself she doesn't think she can make a mistake. Her first answer seemed like she didn't hear the question. <BR/><BR/>Harding is really delusional. like medically delusional and needs some help. <BR/><BR/>Helding is way out of his league. Once people figure out he's just bluffing at knowing anything or having any original ideas he's going to be gone.<BR/><BR/>Karas is trying to play fair and nice in a very dirty business. He's naive if he thinks people are going to be nice to him if he wins. He's going to be getting attacked by both the democrats and republicans at the same time. <BR/><BR/>Charon and Fay are doing this on a whim because they don't have a clue as to what they are going to feel like when they end up with 100 votes between them. I hope they stock up on tissue now.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5583157134881112619.post-26930192064104968022009-03-18T09:57:00.000-05:002009-03-18T09:57:00.000-05:00Anon 7:19: ("The 4 candidates on the right are tak...Anon 7:19: ("The 4 candidates on the right are taking up half the table and the rest of the candidates on the left are squeezed together like sardines!")<BR/><BR/>The table was set for six, and those already there made room for the three who had not RSVP'd: the two on the far left, Dickert and Shakoor, and one at the right, Fay.Petehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17542901376907047448noreply@blogger.com