Last week, I got an e-mail from Charlie Sykes asking this: “Have you removed your piece on Chris Abele from your website? If so, why?” He seemed quite eager to get his hands on the story.
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| Chris Abele. |
Back in February 2005, Milwaukee Magazine did a controversial, in-depth feature on Abele called “The Billionaire’s Son.” I was not working with the magazine back then, and for whatever reason, the story was never posted online. The feature has suddenly become quite newsworthy, given Abele’s decision to run for Milwaukee county executive, so we have now posted it here.
The story generated a lot of letters, with many complaining it was too negative, and some sources saying their comments had been misquoted or taken out of context. The magazine took the unusual step of allowing Abele an extended reply, to which then-Editor John Fennell replied, and you’ll find these statements at the bottom of the feature story. Abele’s central complaint was that the story suggested no motive for his philanthropy “other than vanity and arrogance.” In addition, he complained, the idea that he had a zeal for the limelight “is expressed not as conjecture but as fact.”
As an outsider to the magazine at the time, I felt the story’s tone was too dark. How can it be a bad news story when an heir to a huge East Coast business relocates to Milwaukee and spends millions of Boston-made money on philanthropic causes here?
But with regard to Abele’s complaint, writer Mary Van de Kamp Nohl contrasts off-the-record quotes criticizing Abele’s motives with on-the-record comments lauding him for truly caring about the causes he funds. One anecdote describes Abele as being in tears when he wrote a check to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee.
The only smoking gun in the story is the revelation that Abele never graduated from college. Of course, that’s true of our current governor as well. When Scott Walker ran for county executive, I raised the issue of his never having finished college, but Sykes and other defenders of Walker hooted that down as a non-issue. Naturally, I’d expect them to do the same for Abele.
Nohl’s story also quoted people complaining that Abele often expects to get involved in the organizations to which he donates. That may be bad or good depending on the results. His decision to fund a study of outcomes at the Boys & Girls Clubs – something other philanthropists had turned down – was not just very helpful to the group’s cause, but became a model for others nationally. And when fellow philanthropist Michael Cudahy refused to budge on his proposed design for Pier Wisconsin, a huge white monstrosity that would have looked awful next to the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Calatrava addition, Abele offered to pay for a design competition. This gave Cudahy an out – one he didn’t have to pay for – and ultimately resulted in the more subdued yet resplendent Discovery World. Abele was also very involved in decisions that helped improve the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, both financially and artistically.
His record certainly isn’t perfect. But I have no doubt his philanthropy has made Milwaukee a better place. But will Abele make a good county executive? One doubter was state Rep. Josh Zepnick (D-Milwaukee), who posted a comment on Facebook declaring that “abele would be a DISASTER!!! never met a more arrogant out of touch person in my life.”
The rap on Abele is that he doesn’t listen much and spends too much time telling you everything he knows. I’ve gotten to know him a bit and he’s always struck me as likeable, bright and well-intentioned.
Shepherd Expresscolumnist Joel McNally more or less compared Abele to the late Dave Schulz in his column last week. Schulz, who served from 1988-1992, was “the smartest Milwaukee county executive in recent memory,” McNally wrote. “He quickly became exasperated with how little he could accomplish butting heads with county politicians he considered – probably accurately – far less intelligent than himself. … What if Abele wins and, like Schulz, finds local politics totally inhospitable to new ideas?”
The comparison between the two is interesting but wrongly framed. Yes, Schulz was very smart, but he knew so much he didn’t feel the need to listen to anyone. And that is fatal for a politician. Big governmental entities like Milwaukee County and the state of Wisconsin are extraordinarily complex organizations to begin with, but they also have unique political cultures fraught with snares for those who don’t try to learn how they work. And you can’t do that without listening – a lot. That goes double if, like Abele, you’ve never served in government.
Who Will Win the Race?
Abele’s entrance into the race has scared off other candidates, like former Democratic state Rep. Sheldon Wasserman, who declared the race Abele’s to lose. Abele is unknown to the average voter, but like Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, he can afford to spend enough on TV ads to turn his name into a household word.
And that’s what has Sykes scared. Sykes and fellow conservative radio squawker Mark Belling both did all they could to promote Walker and later did the same for state Rep. Jeff Stone (R-Greendale), who appeared as a pundit on their TV shows. They will pull out all the stops to help Stone get elected as county executive.
If Stone were running as a Republican, he would have no chance in heavily Democratic Milwaukee County. But in a nonpartisan race like this, he could be just as successful as Walker. How?
No matter how many candidates run, only two will get through the primary. Stone will be the only readily identifiable conservative and will claim the mantle of Scott Walker. That makes him a shoo-in to get through the primary.
The dream scenario for talk radio is that acting County Executive Lee Holloway runs for the position and places either first or second. This leaves Stone running against a man who looks like a classic slum landlord: Holloway’s five apartment houses were cited for 116 building code violations ranging from rodent and roach infestations to loose window trim and moldy walls. There is not a chance Holloway will get elected county executive. But if there’s a strong turnout of African-American voters picking Holloway, he could survive the primary.
On the other hand, if Abele gets through the primary, Stone faces someone who can outspend him and has little public record to criticize. Abele, moreover, worked on a couple of Greater Milwaukee Committee task forces that have called for greatly cutting back and reforming county government. Although Abele has typically backed Democrats for office, he does not come on as a classic liberal. He could have appeal for moderates, while being the only possible choice for liberals.
If former state Rep. Jim Sullivan (D-Wauwatosa) runs, he would provide a classic liberal candidate. But if he has trouble getting campaign donations, he could just take votes away from Abele and Holloway. If he takes more from Abele, he could help assure Holloway gets through the primary.
All of which makes the strategy clear for talk radio: Beat up on Abele, as mercilessly and repeatedly as possible.
The Buzz:
-Another positive thing Abele did was to wrest the Milwaukee International Film Festival away from Publisher/Editor Lou Fortis and the Shepherd Express he owns. The festival has markedly improved under the leadership of the Milwaukee Film group Abele created. But Fortis has reacted by suing Abele and Milwaukee Film, and the case has ground on for years with no resolution. Prediction: Fortis and his newsweekly will not be endorsing Abele for county executive.
-Abele’s candidacy probably also convinced Milwaukee County Parks director Sue Black to not run. Too bad. She would have been a very interesting candidate.
-And was Aaron Rodgers fibbing a little about what the playoff game meant to him? The Sports Nut offers a psychoanalysis.
