Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele asked a good question the other day: Just who is the County Board listening to? Given a budget that contained a zero tax levy increase, a majority of supervisors added enough spending to require a 2.3% hike in the levy and a more than $3 increase for the owner of an average-priced home in the city of Milwaukee, and more in the suburbs.

That may not seem like much to supervisors, and some of the hike may be justified. But a hike of 2.3% is not what homeowners want to see on their property tax bills this year. At a time when other governments are at least trying to hold the line on taxes, and when the executive was elected on a promise of a no-tax-increase budget, the County Board is going the wrong way.

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With your hard work and strong support, our campaign to bring real change to Milwaukee County scored a great victory on Tuesday, April 5th.

I could not be more honored or humbled by the faith you have entrusted in me. My promise to you is I will work hard every single day as your Milwaukee County Executive to bring the reforms and change our County government urgently needs.

There is much work ahead of us — we must do more to create jobs and economic opportunity, tackle out of control debt, and preserve vital services that people use every single day — like transit, parks and mental health.

As I said throughout the campaign, I will work with anyone — Democrats and Republicans, business and labor, state and municipal officials — to get things done for Milwaukee County. I know that by working together, we can overcome the challenges that face us.

And I will continue to rely on the strength and dedication of you, the people of Milwaukee County, as we work together to move our great County forward.

THANK YOU!

Chris Abele

WHAT:
Chris Abele for Milwaukee County Executive Watch Party

WHERE:  
Historic Pabst Brewery
901 W. Juneau Ave.
Milwaukee, WI

WHEN:   
Tuesday, April 5th, 2011
Doors open to the public 8:01 PM

That’s the summary of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s endorsement of Chris Abele for Milwaukee County Executive.

With just two days until Election Day on Tuesday, April 5th, we’re doing all we can to talk to as many voters as possible.

Your help in the final hours could make the difference between charting a new course for Milwaukee County, or more of the same of Scott Walker’s failed policies and divisive politics that caused the mess at Milwaukee County to begin with.

• A gift of $50 will help keep our television ads running through Election Day.
• A contribution of $25 will help fund our phone banks where our volunteers are calling people to get-out-the-vote.
• A donation of $10 will help pay for the literature our volunteers will drop at voters’ doors, reminding them to vote on April 5th.

The Journal Sentinel supports Chris Abele because he is the best candidate to bring the transformative change Milwaukee County desperately needs.

Please help our campaign to elect Chris Abele Milwaukee County Executive on Tuesday, April 5th with a contribution today and share the news of this endorsement with your friends and family.

Milwaukee – County Executive candidate Chris Abele today released the second part of his one-year agenda to bring real change to Milwaukee County.  Abele is running in a special election on April 5to complete the final year of the current County Executive term.

“Whether you live in Cudahy, Wauwatosa, Milwaukee or Brown Deer, you know the status quo isn’t working for Milwaukee County government, and the time for real reform is now,” said Abele.  “Together we can focus on creating jobs, preserving services and taking Milwaukee County in a new direction.”

The first part of Chris Abele’s one-year agenda can be found here.

Below are details of Chris Abele’s One Year Agenda to Change Milwaukee County – goals he will accomplish over the next year if elected County Executive by working together with the County Board, neighborhood groups, nonprofits, organized labor, the business community and anyone interested in strengthening the future of Milwaukee County:

• Focus on accelerated debt repayment. For years, debt problems were allowed to accumulate while politicians bickered and kicked the can down the road. Chris will convene leaders from public and private companies to identify a long-term plan to tackle the County’s long-term debt program. Chris Abele will also use the proceeds from the sale of underused county facilities to help accelerate debt repayment as part of his Milwaukee County facilities and energy reform plan.

• Protect the Milwaukee County Transit System, starting with developing a long-term plan for the $36.6 million in federal transit money for Milwaukee County. Once a national model, the Milwaukee County Transit System has suffered from route cuts and fare hikes for years.  A vibrant transit system is critical to growing our economy and connecting workers to jobs, with 35,000 workers relying on the system each day to get to work. Abele will focus on ensuring the transit system connects the highest density of workers to the highest density of employers.  And over the next year he will work with key stakeholders to finally develop a plan to invest $36.6 million in federal transit funds designated for Milwaukee County that have for too long sat idle as a result of partisan bickering.

• Establish an official framework to guide consolidation of services and functions between County, State and local governments. Milwaukee County has multiple government agencies that handle routine tasks such as vehicle maintenance, landscaping, parks maintenance and building maintenance, to name a few. As a business leader who has experience bringing organizations together to collaborate, Chris will bring stakeholders from the public and private sector together to identify the best ways to implement consolidation ideas focused on the most efficient delivery of service to taxpayers.

Chris Abele is a business owner, civic leader and community advocate who is running for Milwaukee County Executive to work with anyone to create private sector jobs, get County debt under control, and protect vital services. He has worked to strengthen Milwaukee County by helping to build and grow programs in education, the environment, community development, health services and the arts. Chris is a champion of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, creating hope and opportunity for young people in our community. And he helped lead an outside audit of the county’s pension problems, and identified an idea that will save taxpayers millions of dollars.

Chris proudly lives in Milwaukee County with his wife, Miriam and their daughter, Lauren.

Milwaukee – County Executive candidate Chris Abele today released the first part of his one-year agenda to bring real change to Milwaukee County.  Abele is running in a special election on April 5 to complete the final year of the current County Executive term.

“Whether you live in Cudahy, Wauwatosa, Milwaukee or Brown Deer, you know the status quo isn’t working for Milwaukee County government, and the time for real reform is now,” said Abele.  “Together we can focus on creating jobs, preserving services and taking Milwaukee County in a new direction.”

Below are details of Chris Abele’s One Year Agenda to Change Milwaukee County – goals he will accomplish over the next year if elected County Executive by working together with the County Board, neighborhood groups, nonprofits, organized labor, the business community and anyone interested in strengthening the future of Milwaukee County:

• Introduce a no-tax increase County budget. Chris Abele is committed to not raising taxes, and he’ll consider all options — including freezing the executive office budget, eliminating perks for politicians and bureaucrats, consolidating services, implementing a hiring freeze, and ensuring county consulting contracts are competitively bid, among others – to save taxpayer money.

• Implement a real jobs strategy for Milwaukee County, including establishment of a final Park East Plan that will turn the vacant land into job-generating development.  Milwaukee County has for far too long played only a minor, if any, role in economic development.  Chris Abele is the only candidate for County Executive to introduce a comprehensive jobs plan, which includes holding the line on taxes, streamlining and coordinating the regulatory process and leveraging unused and underused County assets to help create jobs and boost business growth.  Chris has also proposed merging the City and County economic development offices to better plan and coordinate job-generating initiatives, and he will work with the City to make redeveloping the Park East corridor — that for far years has been vacant — a top priority.

Chris Abele is a business owner, civic leader and community advocate who is running for Milwaukee County Executive to work with anyone to create private sector jobs, get County debt under control, and protect vital services. He has worked to strengthen Milwaukee County by helping to build and grow programs in education, the environment, community development, health services and the arts. Chris is a champion of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, creating hope and opportunity for young people in our community. And he helped lead an outside audit of the county’s pension problems, and identified an idea that will save taxpayers millions of dollars.

Chris proudly lives in Milwaukee County with his wife, Miriam and their daughter, Lauren.

County Exec Candidate Proposes Combining Municipal, County, State and School District Employees into One Health Care Pool; Change Would Save Taxpayer Money by Creating Greater Purchasing Power to Negotiate Lower Health Insurance Prices

Milwaukee — Milwaukee County Executive candidate Chris Abele announced that he will seek to create a combined public employee health insurance purchasing pool to drive down governments’ skyrocketing health care costs.

Abele pledged to work with stakeholders from all sides to combine employees from Milwaukee County, the State of Wisconsin, local municipalities, school districts, and other government entities to establish and focus on growing a purchasing pool large enough to negotiate lower costs in the health care marketplace.

“There is no question that health care costs are placing an enormous strain on government budgets at every level, but there is strength in numbers,” said Abele. “By creating as large of an employee health insurance pool as possible through combination and coordination, we can leverage larger numbers to reduce health care prices. I will work with state, municipal, and other officials – regardless of party – to bring about the change Milwaukee County needs to save taxpayer money.”

The plan would lower the cost to taxpayers of government health insurance by placing a very large number of employees into a single purchasing pool, and inviting competing private health care plans to submit their lowest bids. This will help hold down the taxpayers’ share — the employer share — of health insurance because it offers the competing health care plans such an enormous market share to bid on, as well as a strong incentive to hold down premiums and medical costs to gain a competitive advantage.

Abele’s plan would utilize a variety of incentives to attract participants from different governments, including linking participation in the pool to increased state aid levels or employees’ share of health insurance premium costs. By leveraging a series of innovative incentives, the plan would still allow for any local government to participate at the benefit level it chooses.

“Milwaukee County, like most levels of government, faces serious budget challenges, and we need major new reforms to get the County’s fiscal house in order,” said Abele. “A large purchasing pool creates powerful incentives to health care plans to hold down their premiums and there is no question that a bigger health insurance purchasing pool—like other bulk purchases—will lower our tax burden and address County debt by reducing employee costs. This is a change Milwaukee County needs to move forward.”

Abele’s proposal has already shown success in reigning in health care costs and delivering taxpayer savings. In Dane County, where the State of Wisconsin alone has a purchasing pool that accounts for over 20% of the health insurance market (excluding Medicaid and Medicare), the state has been able to lower its health insurance costs by approximately $1,000 for single coverage and approximately $3,000 for family coverage.

Chris’ plan to combine the County’s and other governments’ employee health care plans into a single purchasing pool is his latest consolidation idea to save taxpayer money, preserve services and get the County’s fiscal house in order. Chris has pledged to continue the work with the City of Milwaukee to improve the quality and efficiency of responses to 911 emergency calls by eliminating the need to transfer calls between the City and the County. Chris will explore ways to consolidate other functions, such as public works and health department services, between the County and municipalities. Abele also announced a plan with Mayor Tom Barrett to move Milwaukee County’s economic development team to the Department of City Development so the two departments can work cooperatively together develop the County’s long vacant Park East parcels.

Chris Abele is a business owner, civic leader and community advocate who is running for Milwaukee County Executive to work with anyone to create private sector jobs, get County debt under control, and protect vital services. He has worked to strengthen Milwaukee County by helping to build and grow programs in education, the environment, community development, health services and the arts. Chris is a champion of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, creating hope and opportunity for young people in our community. And he helped lead an outside audit of the county’s pension problems, and identified an idea that will save taxpayers millions of dollars.

Chris proudly lives in Milwaukee County with his wife, Miriam and their daughter, Lauren.

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The battle over worker rights in Madison over the past several weeks is a dramatic example why we need to elect leaders who will fight for us and stand up for our shared values.

That’s why I enthusiastically endorse Chris Abele for Milwaukee County Executive, and urge you to do everything you can to help elect him on April 5th. He will bring the change and reform Milwaukee County desperately needs, and he will stand up for what’s right.

Your help can make the difference in this critical election on April 5th. Join us as we launch a major canvass to talk directly to voters on Saturday, March 26 at 10:00 am.

Chris knows Milwaukee County government needs a new direction. He will work hard to undo the damage caused by eight years of Scott Walker’s polarizing politics and fiscal mismanagement.

And Chris understands how important it is to protect and strengthen vital County services that people depend on every day. Chris will reverse the decline of our once-proud transit system, and restore the bus system’s ability to connect workers to jobs and help people move around our community.

Chris knows that our parks are treasures that must be preserved, and that we cannot tolerate the scandals that have plagued our mental health system.

But we all need to do our part to make sure Chris Abele is elected Milwaukee County Executive on April 5th. You can do your part on Saturday, March 26 as we knock on doors and talk directly with voters about the need for change at Milwaukee County after years of Scott Walker’s failed policies.

The past several weeks have shown us why it’s so critical to stay active, and stand with leaders who stand with us. I’m proud to endorse Chris Abele for Milwaukee County Executive, and I urge you to do everything you can to help him get elected on April 5th.

Thank you,

Jim Sullivan

We have less than three weeks to make sure we send Chris Abele to the Milwaukee County Executive’s office on April 5th. Your help can make the difference — join us at our canvass on March 26 as we deliver Chris’ message of change and reform directly to voters’ doorstep.

Improving Efficiency and Reducing Wasteful Duplication Can Preserve Services, Save Taxpayer Money ; Abele Calls Moves a “No-Brainer,” Jeff Stone Shortsightedly
Blasts Consolidation Efforts

Greendale — Milwaukee County Executive Candidate Chris Abele today pledged to work with every one of the County’s 19 municipalities to find ways to consolidate services and functions in order to save taxpayer money and deliver vital services more efficiently.

“With municipalities and the County facing serious fiscal challenges, we can’t afford to pass up any opportunity to reduce costs and maintain the services our citizens expect,” said Abele.  “As County Executive, I will make sure Milwaukee County is aggressively involved in partnerships with all of the County’s municipalities to find ways for every entity to do more, do it better, and do it for less.”

Abele attended today’s meeting of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Council of Milwaukee County – a collaborative committee comprised of every one of Milwaukee County’s 19 municipalities – to pledge Milwaukee County’s involvement if he is elected in comprehensive consolidation and efficiency reforms.  Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett also attended the ICC meeting to propose a process for Milwaukee County’s municipalities to explore ways to consolidate health department functions.

Among the consolidation plans already released by Abele:

·        Abele has already reached agreement with Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett to relocate County Economic Development staff to Department of City Development so the teams can jointly work together to create jobs and redevelop the vacant Park East land.

·        Abele’s facility and energy reform plan calls for a space audit of all county space to seek areas where county can consolidate space with other local governments, and consolidate joint services such as sustainability efforts. Abele’s facility and energy reform plan also calls for combining services such as vehicle purchasing and maintenance.

“I strongly support establishing a formal framework for local governments to work together to find efficiencies,” Abele said.  “Milwaukee County will be an active leader in this effort if I’m elected County Executive. The status quo isn’t working, and we have a real opportunity to collaborate creatively and change the way governments in Milwaukee County provide services.  If we seize this moment, we all can provide taxpayers with better services while saving resources. This is a no-brainer.”

While Abele has been a longtime supporter of harnessing consolidation to find greater efficiencies, his opponent Jeff Stone has strangely mocked such efforts.

At a candidate forum in West Allis last week, Stone derisively dismissed Abele’s idea for governments to pool the purchase of equipment and supplies as focusing on “paper clips.”  And last month, Stone blasted Abele’s plan to merge the economic development offices of Milwaukee County and City of Milwaukee in order to jumpstart job creation in the long dormant Park East and other vacant areas as “changing the color of the carpet.”

“Milwaukee County needs an Executive with real vision, not a career politician who reflexively rejects ideas because he campaigns on sticking to the old way of doing business,” said Abele.  “By working together, we can bring real change and bold reform to Milwaukee County that improves service delivery and saves taxpayer money. This is the leadership Milwaukee County needs in these tough economic and budget times, and it is the leadership I’ll provide as County Executive.”

Chris Abele is a business owner, civic leader and community advocate who is running for Milwaukee County Executive to work with anyone to create private sector jobs, get County debt under control, and protect vital services. He has worked to strengthen Milwaukee County by helping to build and grow programs in education, the environment, community development, health services and the arts. Chris is a champion of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, creating hope and opportunity for young people in our community. And he helped lead an audit of the county’s pension problems, and identified an idea that will save taxpayers millions of dollars. Chris proudly lives in Milwaukee with his wife Miriam and their daughter, Lauren.

For more about Chris Abele, visit www.chrisabele.com