Things are rotten in Fitchburg and it is time the people there demand more.
A few weeks ago, the Mayor of Fitchburg, Jason Gonzalez, considered cutting out the $50,000 that they had been giving to the Boys and Girls clubs of Dane County.
Jason Gonzalez, elected in April over incumbent Steve Arnold, said city finances will be too tight next year to afford $50,000 for the club, as the city has provided annually for about the past four years.
After many public battles, it led to the common council meeting last night where Kaleem Caire attempted to speak in the public comments portion of the meeting. Shortly after Mr. Caire started speaking, Mayor Gonzalez started pounding the gavel, ordered Mr. Caire to leave and called the police.
Mayor Jason Gonzalez announced in October that he would cut more than $100,000 from area non-profits. A move that struck a cord with community members, including Kaleem Caire, the founder and CEO of One City Early Learning, and former president of the Urban League of Madison.
“I am tired of the negative politics, and I am tired of people not listening to each other,” Caire explained when asked why he went to the meeting to talk to the council.
He approached the microphone and within a minute of speaking, he was told to leave by the mayor.
Caire addressed Mayor Gonzalez in what the Mayor says was outside of talk about the amendment to the budget. Gonzalez slammed down his gazel and told Caire he was done. He then ordered him to leave, and when Caire continued talking, one of the alders called the police.
Gonzalez temporarily adjourned the meeting and walked out along with several others alders.
This should not come as a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention, as Dylan Brogan in the Isthmus reported recently, Gonzalez was recommended for a public reprimand for misconduct. Gonzalez, never one to be too involved in reality had this to say to Brogan when he was first looking into it:
“If [Isthmus] wants to attack the first Hispanic mayor in Dane County history, the first millennial mayor, you guys can do that all you want,” Gonzalez said at the time. “You better report that I beat the charges when this gets a hearing.”
Gonzalez, let him know he was an innocent victim, when all he really wants to be is the hero.
Unfortunately for Gonzalez, the facts in the case tell a different story:
According to his Nov. 6 report, Boll found that Gonzalez failed to “act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client” and did not “promptly comply with reasonable requests by the client for information.” The referee also found Gonzalez guilty of two professional misconduct charges for providing “misstatements and omissions” to state investigators. Four other charges sought by the Office of Lawyer Regulation were found to lack “clear and convincing” evidence. The referee wrote in his report that he was “troubled” by Gonzalez’s actions in two of the dismissed charges though the allegations did not rise to the level of a violation.
N0w the people of Fitchburg are stuck with a Mayor who is divorced from reality, incompetent and in charge of a $20 million dollar budget that effects their daily lives!
Elections have consequences and there is a heavy price to pay for apathy!
What troubles me even more though, is how can the rest of the common council just sit there quietly?
At least two of them, Tony Hartmann and Julia Arata-Fratta, ran against Rep. Jimmy Anderson(who is quickly becoming my favorite politician in WI) in the Democratic primary and yet sit there watching this debacle like statues. Both wholeheartedly endorsed Gonzalez for Mayor, but that endorsement should end the first time someone threatens to call the police on a community member for speaking while black. I guess Mike Basford Consulting Services, never consulted Hartmann on how to speak up for the people.
Thank Goodness, that neither of these two, are in the Assembly trying to stand up against the primordial GOP.
Well Fitchburg, it looks like you have a mess on your hands, and need some civic leaders to step forward and clean it up!
