Groups Aim to Recall Mayor By Katherine Thompson
October 11, 2005 On the morning of Monday, October 10, Heather Mees filed the paperwork to begin the official process of forming a committee to begin collecting signatures for the recall of Mayor Dave Cieslewicz. Momentum behind this petition began to gather on August 24, when Rolf Lindgren posted an article on several conservative Wisconsin websites, including www.widigest.com, entitled Recall Cieslewicz? Madison Smoking Ban and Mayor Must Go. In his article, Lindgren claimed that the Madison smoking ban is destroying jobs and eroding basic property rights. He said that the referendum on this topic promised for the April ballot was nothing more than a delaying tactic to dissipate public anger. He concluded that the best thing opponents of the ban could do to overturn it was to recall the mayor, and laid out tactics to do so. After receiving some attention from the press, Lindgrens plan faded from the limelight, until a City Council meeting of September 20. A few days before the meeting, Lindgren mailed a copy of his article to 120 area tavern owners. One of the recipients was Heather Mees. Mees is a local woman, married with three children, and also the manager of Burke Station, a tavern outside Madison city limits. After the city council voted 10-9 in favor of keeping the ban, Mees contacted Lindgren to set up a meeting. On October 7, 24 people interested in recalling Mayor Cieslewicz met at Boulevard Lanes and discussed the situation. Among the people there was a representative from the Citizens for Responsible Government (CRG). The CRG is responsible for the recall of about 20 Wisconsin officials. Some of the people present at the meeting were wholly in favor of the proposal, and while others were hesitant, they ultimately decided that Mees should file the paperwork. These concerned citizens are not only concerned about the effect this ban will have on Madison, but are also troubled philosophically over the direction the ban leads. They are upset over the way the City of Madison is setting up business regulation after business regulation. Small businesses in general are getting sick with the mayor, says Lindgren. Lindgren also worries that as laws inflicted on relatively harmless behavior mount, fewer and fewer major crimes will be prosecuted. About ten percent of the Madison population is arrested every year on petty crime charges. Lindgren fears what the overflowing quantity of petty infractions will do to the already overburdened court system. For Lindgren, this smoking ban was the trigger on a cocked gun. The smoking regulation gets people riled up, he says. Around this, they can rally. So on Monday, October 10 the process began. After Heather Mees filed the EB1 forms that begin the process of setting up an official recall committee, this effort needs 35,000 valid Madison signatures. Lindgren is now looking for a backbone of about 80 taverns, as well as volunteers to stand outside football games and go door to door. Lindgren is also working with the College Republicans and college student volunteers. Katherine Thompson may be reached for comment at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Groups Aim to Recall Mayor Post your feedback on this topic here Date Subject Posted by: No feedback has been posted yet. Please post yours! Feedback will open in a new window. http://www.mendotabeacon.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/10/11/434bbb9c6d869 __________________________________ Yahoo! Music Unlimited Access over 1 million songs. Try it free. http://music.yahoo.com/unlimited/ ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Fair play? Video games influencing politics. Click and talk back! http://us.click.yahoo.com/VpgUKB/pzNLAA/cUmLAA/XgSolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/badnarik2008/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
