Walker’s Record of Failure, Mismanagement Warehoused at ScottWalkerFailureFiles.com

MADISON, Wis. — Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker’s long record of failed leadership, mismanagement and skewed priorities are featured on a new interactive and multi-media website www.ScottWalkerFailureFiles.com, researched and produced by One Wisconsin Now.

“From Scott Walker’s budget mismanagement to taxes and spending to gimmicks and hypocrisy, all are featured,” said Scot Ross, One Wisconsin Now Executive Director. “The Scott Walker Failure Files document the damage Scott Walker’s failed leadership has caused the people of Milwaukee County and his continuing support for those destructive policies.”

The Scott Walker Failure Files includes documented fact sheets on a range of Walker’s failures, a fully-active blog, videos and social networking tools. Walker’s major failings have been cataloged into six major categories. Featured topics include:

• Budget Deficits. Walker racked up budget deficits in 2003 and 2004 and Milwaukee County has also faced huge mid-year budget deficits every year Walker’s been in office. Walker’s deficits have resulted in draconian cuts and big fee increases to vital services like public transportation, and the county’s public institutions have also faced neglect and closures. The non-partisan Public Policy Forum has predicted Milwaukee County faces five more years of budget deficits, totaling over $495 million.
• Taxes and Spending Increases. Walker’s proposed budget spending as county executive far exceeded Governor Doyle’s proposed spending over the same period “¢ 35 percent to 21 percent. County property taxes have increased 20 percent and Walker also created a mountain of deferred costs that future generations will have to pay for, like the $200 million needed for the county parks system, the $400 million pension borrowing scheme, and untold millions to prop up the nearly bankrupt public transit system.
• Broken Promises and Hypocrisy. Walker gave himself a $50,000 pay raise after his successful 2008 re-election and his top staff has received generous increases. Walker proposed cutting public safety officers, sheriff’s deputies and corrections officers every year he’s been in office, and he shortchanged the Sheriff’s budget for 2010 by $5 million. Walker also suggested hiring more prosecutors to cut prison over-crowding, though he proposed cutting judges and court staff just a few years earlier, and he’s awarded private contracts to a security companies that knowingly employed sexual predators.
• Mismanagement and State Takeovers. Walker’s mismanagement has resulted in the state takeover of the county welfare office and call center, the House of Corrections, the nationally-recognized health care program, GAMP “¢ for the low-income and homeless “¢ and an economic development office was turned over to Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett by Governor Doyle. Walker has proposed eliminating county government completely, urged the state to take over the county court system, and offered up privatizing the successful and income-generating Milwaukee County airport.
• Gimmicks. Walker did the right wing media circuit to crow about claims he would refuse federal Recovery Act funds “¢ until Milwaukee County was provided with Recovery Act funds. The billions of dollars in aid received by Wisconsin included Recovery Act funds for unemployment aid for 125,000 families dealing with job loss, health care coverage for 245,000 low-income children and families, and food assistance for more than 175,000 low-income adults and children to boost our economy and help families get through this recession.
• Job Loss and Economic Meltdown. Walker’s failure to prioritize job creation and economic development has devastated Milwaukee County’s workers. In 2009, Milwaukee County lost 30,000 jobs. Walker has punted responsibility or mismanaged three job creation and economic development offices. After several years of Walker cutting funding by almost 50 percent to the Office of Community Business Development Partners, the County Board took control of the division in 2006. In his 2007 budget, Walker first stripped millions of dollars from the Department of Administrative Service’s Economic and Community Development Division, and then completely eliminated the division in 2009.

“Scott Walker doesn’t have much more he can fail on for the people of Milwaukee County,” said Ross. “But it’s pretty clear from his record, if he tries, he can always find something else to do wrong for Milwaukee County.”

The Scott Walker Failure Files research was compiled by One Wisconsin Now’s research team, led by Research Director Anna Landmark and Deputy Research Director Cody Oliphant. The state-of-the-art website was designed by One Wisconsin Now’s Deputy Director Robert Doeckel.

A video promoting the Scott Walker Failure Files, is available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE8s0jXRif0.