Becker, Mason holding Obama party on Super Tuesday

State Rep. Cory Mason and Racine Mayor Gary Becker are holding a Barack Obama watching party Tuesday as results come in from primary elections across the country.

The two local leaders will be watching the results at Buckets Pub, 2301 Lathrop Ave., from 7 p.m. into the night.

"State Representative Cory Mason and Mayor Gary Becker invite you to watch as the returns come in and Barack Obama makes history on Super Tuesday," read the announcement sent out Monday.

Sen. Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton are expected to split the 24 states up for election on Tuesday. Obama has been surging in recent days, and he's expected to do well. But Clinton remains the front-runner in a number of states, it's likely the Democrats' primary won't be decided for a couple of weeks.

That's at least interesting news for Wisconsin voters, who will head to the polls on Feb. 19 to vote in the presidential primary and local elections.

RacinePost poll

If you haven't seen the poll results in the upper right corner, Obama was the runaway winner among our readers for president. He nabbed twice as many votes as Hillary in our highly scientific and researched poll. On the Republican side, it's Romney over McCain by 3.

Vos pushes referendums on KRM, but opposes direct legislation

So is Rep. Robin Vos interested in direct legislation? Last week it seemed he was when he announced his support for Regional Transit Authorities that would be created through referendums. In short, if communities want to increase their sales tax to fund buses and commuter rail, they can vote to do that.

Throughout the debate over KRM, Vos supported sending the issue to voters instead of implementing a tax increase on rental cars to pay for the system. It was a courageous stance given the pressure from the business community and the fact that his district would be one of the primary benefactors of a commuter rail line connecting Kenosha to Milwaukee with stops in Racine and Caledonia.

While Vos supports voter input on KRM, he opposes it on most other issues. That became clear this week when he voted in favor of AB363, which would significantly limit the state's direct legislation law.

Under current law, people who live in cities and villages can force a referendum on an issue by circulating petitions and collecting signatures equal to 15 percent of the number of people who voted in the last election for governor. Residents in Appleton used the law to ban smoking in the city, while several other communities used to limit municipal spending and to voice disapproval of the Iraq War.

AB363 would allow local governments to ignore direct legislation petitions if the proposed resolution does not "substantially relate" to a local governmental function or responsibility, or if the proposal is primarily "ceremonial or aspirational."

The bill passed the Assembly 50-46 on Tuesday. Reps. Cory Mason and Bob Turner, both D-Racine, voted against the bill.

It's hard to say how the bill would be used, but as it's worded, it seems local governments could ignore direct legislation on smoking, Iraq and ... commuter rail, which one could easily argue doesn't "substantially relate" to local government.

It's easy to understand the need to limit direct legislation. The petitions are an added expense for local officials, and likely a nuisance, especially for smaller villages and cities.

Based on the 2006 governor's election, it would take about 10,650 signatures to force a county-wide vote. In Racine, it would take about 4,736 signatures. In Caledonia it would take 1,715. In Elmwood Park it would take 40.

But it's interesting to see Vos support a referendum on legislation he's working on, while opposing a process that encourages a swell of voter participation. If legislators are concerned about frivolous referendums, increase the number of required signatures.

It's also odd that the vote was partisan, with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed (meaning it won't get through the Democrat-controlled Senate). Are Democrats more likely to push direct legislation? Who is pushing the need to shutdown this process?

Commuter rail funding in state budget limbo

As the state budget negotiations drag on, I've spent the past two days trying to gauge where the funding proposal for KRM, the commuter rail expansion to Racine and Milwaukee counties, stands.

To recap, the Senate passed included in its version of the new state budget a hike in southeastern Wisconsin's rental car fee to pay for annual operation of the system, which could start as soon as 2011. The Assembly didn't include the fee increase in its budget. The result: a conference committee will decide the proposal's fate.

It's unclear how big of an issue the KRM funding is for either side. It's certainly not on the level of the cigarette tax, education funding or the tax on big oil. But it's not a small item, either. Local legislators on both sides of the issue confirmed that commuter rail is getting attention - it's just hard to say what, exactly, is being said.

Here's what we heard from local legislators on the issue:

State Rep. Cory Mason, D-Racine

Mason said he gets the senseKRM funding is a tier 2 issue that will come up once the big issues are resolved. He couldn't say what direction the committee was
leaning.

He did say he's pushing State Rep. Jim Kreuser, head of the Assembly Democrats, to fight for commuter rail. Kreuser, who represents Kenosha, is sympathetic to the issue.

Mason added that a recent letter from Racine CEOs backing KRM was a boost for the proposal. The business leaders continue to press the issue, and that's helping commuter rail's chances in the budget process.

State Rep. Robin Vos, D-Caledonia

Vos clearly says he's not opposed to KRM. He is, however, opposed to using the rental car fee increase to fund the annual operation. He's pushing for alternatives, and his opposition to the current plan could influence the conference committee. After all, his district would get a commuter rail station - if he's opposed,
why should legislators from around the state support the plan?

Vos said Wednesday he favors a two-tiered referendum on funding for commuter rail. First, local governments vote on whether they want to hold a referendum on joining a regional transit authority that would fundKRM with a sales tax. Then, residents in each community would vote on commuter rail. Vos said a similar system worked in Michigan, and he feels it's the fairest way to implement commuter rail.

He also suspects the proposal would go down, at least in his district. Vos said he's heard overwhelmingly negative comments from constituents, which makes it easy for him to stand against Racine business leaders.

He added that he believes mostKRM supporters are so desperate to get commuter rail they're backing a flawed funding plan that will lead to deficits in the future.

State Sen. John Lehman, D-Racine

A strong supporter of commuter rail, Lehman pushed theKRM funding through the Senate's budget. Now, he's working with the conference committee to get it included in the final draft.

In an e-mail Wednesday, Lehman said KRM is still on the table and the rental car fee remains the most viable funding option for commuter rail. He also noted that in the last week that leaders from Milwaukee, Racine andKenosha counties failed to reach consensus on a broader proposal to fund regional transit. That could clear the way for KRM funding - a possibility Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker discussed on
Wednesday.