All content, of both the original Brookfield7.com and this blog, is written from my point of view and is my opinion. I believe it to be accurate at the time it is written. ~ Kyle Prast, Brookfield resident since 1986
New Elm Grove Culver's is hiring: Saturday, Aug. 25th Noon - 4pm
Elm Grove's new Culver's restaurant is conducting interviews at their new location on Bluemound Road on Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012, from noon to 4pm. Or as Culver's would say, "Come join our True Blue Crew as a Team Member!"
If the major road construction on Bluemound Road, just east of Pilgrim Road and westward, has kept you from the area, you might not have realized a Culver's sprang up from the rubble of the razed UNO's restaurant this summer.
It has been fun to watch the building progress. I snapped the above picture on Aug. 9th; they are now working on finishing the exterior.
The new Culver's is on the northeast corner of Pilgrim and Bluemound, just east of Baker's Square. (Brookfield Square is on the opposite southwest corner.)
What a great first week Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan had.* In fact, I would say, adding Paul Ryan to the ticket has reset the Romney campaign: Picking Paul Ryan as VP has removed all doubts about Mitt Romney's resolve to scale back big government and cut our out of control debt.
It is clear Romney and Ryan don't want to get into the gutter of negative campaigning, rather, they just want to talk about the real issues threatening America's future: jobs, the economy, entitlements, etc.
It is exciting to see Americans responding to their message in such a positive way. I saw this excitement for myself at the Romney / Ryan rally at the Waukesha Expo last Sunday. True, this was in the heart of Republican Waukesha County, but not everyone of the 12,000+ was from Waukesha. I heard some in line talking about how they came from Wausau, Racine, and West Bend.
The place was packed. I was close enough to catch a glimpse of the candidates, and it was plain to see Mitt Romney truly admires Paul Ryan. I can only compare it to maybe a father proudly looking at his son.
The Ryan pick has boosted a cautiously hopeful Romney campaign to one that Republicans and Independents can be energized about. I saw a little bit of that energy even on election eve 4 years ago. Excerpts from It made me feel better: Palin 2012 Ryan, a past post will explain:
"On
election eve, I quickly made this campaign button to illustrate my
hopes for the 2012 ticket. I wore it to the Waukesha Republican Victory
Party.
"Barely there 2 minutes, a few women from the Waukesha
Republican Party and I started talking. ...Then they spotted my button, and their
eyes lit up. Where did you get that? I said I made it. They definitely
liked the idea. These ladies were not alone. In the course of the
evening, my humble button received enthusiastic support.
"I know
many blame Governor Sarah Palin for McCain's loss on Tuesday. But that
sentiment shows how little those naysayers understand conservatives. It
was very clear to me that fellow volunteers at the phone bank were there
only because of Sarah, not McCain. Same with rally attendees.
"As
Senator John McCain gave his concession speech that night, he took the
full blame for his failure to win. Amongst the Waukesha Republican
faithful watching on the big screen, there was no murmur in the audience
to the contrary. When McCain thanked Governor Palin, the audience
cheered. You would think BBC reporter Ali Reed was there in the room
with us. ...he reported the same reaction:
'The sombre air at Senator John McCain's concession speech was
momentarily pierced by cheer as Mr McCain spoke about Alaska Governor
Sarah Palin.'
"The
Wall Street Journal would like to see Congressman Paul Ryan become the
House Minority Leader. (Ryan is not interested.) But they see Paul Ryan
as many of us do, a rising star on the Republican horizon. Ryan for the Republicans, The party needs an economic spokesman:
'... the Republican
Party faces a choice. It can put the loss down to the country's fatigue
with the Bush Administration and the bad luck of running amid a
financial panic and shrug it off. Or it can choose a new direction,
with new leadership, and retake the high ground it once occupied,
especially on the economy.
...Mr. Ryan's economic knowledge and
youthful energy make him the best choice [for Minority Leader] to pull
his party in a more promising direction.'
"Sad to say,
persona matters in politics. Obama's youth and charisma made him more
attractive than McCain's old, tired warhorse manner. It has been said
that if radio were around in 1800, Thomas Jefferson would never have won
the presidency. Jefferson was brilliant on paper but not a great
orator.
The Romney / Ryan 2012 ticket is a much stronger combination than my impromptu offering in 2008. Mitt Romney combines years of business experience, a governorship, and his love of country and liberties our Founders secured for us.
Romney and Ryan are drawing huge crowds wherever they go and are boldly addressing the issues that matter to Americans. It should be an exciting 3 months.
Aug. 14, 2012 Primary picks--it's still Eric Hovde, Rob Hutton, plus others
Listed below are my picks for the major races on today's Partisan Primary Ballot for the southern half of Brookfield. You can find your sample ballot, voting place, and status by filling out your information here, then click on your name, and then click on the View sample ballot link toward the bottom of the next page.
Since this is a partisan primary, a party preference must be declared. Crossover voting will not be allowed.
First race on the ballot and on everyone's mind is the US Senate race, so I will start there.
US SENATOR - REPUBLICAN - Eric Hovde
A month ago, I was pretty sure I was voting for Eric Hovde for U.S. Senate. Now it is the big day, and Eric Hovde still has my vote. If you still are undecided, the following is for your consideration. Not only is he the most likable of the 4 men running, I believe he is the best equipped to do the job in the US Senate and deal with the difficulties our nation faces. His strong business bent will compliment the Romney / Ryan ticket well.
A few days ago, I heard the first airing of Wisconsin State Senators Leah Vukmir and Glenn Grothman's radio ad endorsing Eric Hovde for U.S. Senate. I knew Vukmir was backing Hovde for months; Glenn Grothman's support was news to me. Since I consider Leah Vukmir and Glenn Grothman 2 of
Wisconsin's leading conservative Senators in Madison, I value their
opinions. Here is their radio ad:
Grothman also stated: "'I have gotten to know Eric Hovde quite a bit during the past eight
months... His knowledge of
the issues is amazing. His interest in small community banks gives him a
special understanding of some of the bailouts of reckless and
well-connected institutions. It also gives him knowledge of our monetary
system that is probably unmatched in Congress. Simply put, we need Eric
Hovde,' "
We need people who are well versed in banking and business practices in Washington. For example, Hovde has been criticized for not signing Grover Norquist's anti-tax "'Taxpayer Protection Pledge' which
commits candidates to opposing any legislation that would result in any
type of tax increase." The other 3 candidates have signed it. But when Hovde explained his reasons for not doing so, I realized just how complex this issue is and how right he was to reject it.
“Behind the story with Grover Norquist is he’s funded by
giant corporations that have created loopholes in our tax system,' said
Hovde. 'We need to lower the rates, but we also have to get rid of the
corporate welfare. How is a small business going to compete if they’re
trying to compete against General Electric, that in some years, pays
nothing because they can buy off Washington politicians?' "
The thing that really made me shake my head in disgust was when Hovde cited this example: "...last year... Senate Republicans pushed to
eliminate $6 billion in ethanol tax credits. ...but Norquist insisted that eliminating any type of tax credit
amounted to a tax increase and thus opposed the measure."
WISN's Jay Weber interviewed Eric Hovde on his radio show last week. The interview was about 15 minutes long. Listen I think it will help voters gain a better sense of who Eric Hovde is, what he stands for, and how he is best suited for the job.
So by this time tomorrow, we should know who our candidate is for the November election against liberal Tammy Baldwin. The good news is that any one of the 4 Republicans running will be vastly better than Baldwin and than our current Senator Herb Kohl. But I hope Wisconsin doesn't just settle for the better when they could have the best.
CONGRESSIONAL - DISTRICT 5 - REPUBLICAN- F. James Sensenbrenner Jr.
Jim Sensenbrenner is running unopposed, but he still gets my support!
ASSEMBLY - DISTRICT 13 - REPUBLICAN - Rob Hutton
This is an open seat due to redistricting. The district now includes southern Brookfield, Elm Grove, Wauwatosa, West Allis and Milwaukee. In Brookfield, it combined the southern half of the former 98th and former 14th Districts..
As I wrote before, I was not too pleased when I was redistricted out of the 14th Assembly District, because that meant I lost my Rep. Dale Kooyenga. But Conservative Rob Hutton seems to be a very worthy replacement. He is in fact endorsed
by Representative Kooyenga, as well as former State Senator Ted Kanavas. And like Dale Kooyenga, Hutton is getting to know the residents in this newly drawn district by going door to door. Hutton has visited over 7,000 homes, because he believes that "The times we live in are difficult and people are weary of negative television and radio ads [and repetitive Robo-calls]. Physically talking to people and really listening to what are their top-of-mind issues brings our whole system into perspective."
For constituents who live outside of Brookfield and don't know much about Hutton's more prominent opponent, Tom Schellinger, let me just say he is Brookfield's perennial candidate, often running for multiple races--sometimes 3 at a time! In 2005, his antics captured the attention of Journal Sentinel columnist Laurel Walker. She poked fun at his efforts in a piece titled, If at first you don't succeed, run again. She referred to Schellinger as "Waukesha County's own Harold Stassen."
Things haven't changed over the years. This year he ran unopposed for Waukesha County Supervisor and Brookfield Alderman. Though there was little chance he would regain his twice lost Alderman seat, I believed if he won, the dual role would be a conflict of interest. So I wrote: Conflict of interest? Schellinger for County Supervisor & Brookfield
I believe being my County Supervisor AND Wisconsin Assembly Representative would also create a conflict of interest. Plus, what kind of person would run unopposed for County Supervisor, knowing he would win that race, and run for Alderman in that same spring election, while planning all along to also run for the Wisconsin Assembly?
But conflict of interest and misleading campaign literature aside, just what kind of Assembly Representative would Schellinger make? Perhaps his failed 2010 bid for Mayor of Brookfield might give you some insights. (He again was running for multiple races that year.) The Candidate Forum consisted of the 4 men in the race and questions were put to each one. I remember it became almost laughable when Schellinger answered many times that his idea, his solution to whatever the question was tostudy the issue.
For example, when the question was whether a high speed rail stop in Brookfield would have a positive or negative impact on our city, he answered, "'I think this is going to be a very interesting debate for the community.' He says he'd like to appoint a task force with voices from across the
community to look at the positives and negatives.'" He couldn't give his opinion. Knowing what our Republican legislators went through in Madison this past term, the death threats, the occupation, the tension, I cannot imagine Schellinger being a good fit for the task.
ASSEMBLY - DISTRICT 22 - REPUBLICAN - Don Pridemore
Don Pridmore is a solid conservative: pro-life, pro-family, fiscally responsible and stood with Gov. Walker during the Act 10 ordeal. He represents the Menomonee Falls/Lisbon/Richfield area. Pridemore is endorsed by the Menomonee Falls Taxpayer Association MFTax.org Don Pridemore for Assembly
WAUKESHA COUNTY CLERK - REPUBLICAN - Gina Kozlik
Gina Kozlik is endorsed by the Menomonee Falls Taxpayer Association MFTax.org GINA KOZLIK The Right Choice REGISTER OF DEEDS - REPUBLICAN - Michael Starich
Michael Starich is endorsed by the Menomonee Falls Taxpayer Association MFTax.org
There are a number of other races on the ballot unopposed. With little exception, I usually leave them blank unless I know who they are and support their candidacy.
I am curious what voter turnout will be compared to our spring primary. Polls close at 8pm., we will know soon after that.
Elm Grove's new Culver's restaurant is conducting interviews at their new location on Bluemound Road on Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012, from noon to 4pm. Or as Culver's would say, "Come join our True Blue Crew as a Team Member!"
