VETO FALL-OUT

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's editorial board is mad.

Just when it appeared that electric buses would one day roll down the streets of Milwaukee, Mayor Tom Barrett went and spoiled everything.

According to them, Barrett lacks vision and courage.

He betrayed them. How could he?

Mayor fails to lead

Now is not the time for this city to retreat once again into its cautious mode and refuse to push ahead with plans to create a fixed transit system. But that's exactly what happened Wednesday when Mayor Tom Barrett vetoed a Common Council resolution endorsing the idea. The resolution, passed 9-6, by the council on Tuesday, would have supported preliminary engineering for the connector, a $300 million, 13-mile system of rail-guided buses powered by overhead wires. The vote was one short of what is necessary to override a mayoral veto.

A "fixed" transit system?

That's the problem. The Connector project is not a "fixed" system. In fact, it would be a mess.

Barrett didn't veto mass transit. He vetoed a seriously flawed project. That nuance is lost on the JS editorial board.

Barrett said in his veto message that while he thought the current transit system needed to be upgraded and "Milwaukeeans deserve a first-class system," the connector plan had too many unanswered questions. He said backers had not detailed where the money would come from for the $57 million local share or what they would do if the necessary federal money failed to materialize.

...Regrettably, we think the mayor's veto wasn't just a cautious overreaction but a cop-out. At a time when bold leadership is needed, the mayor chose to play it safe politically.

How did Barrett play it safe politically? Does the board believe there would be a backlash from angry taxpayers if he didn't veto the measure?

That appears to be the board's assumption. I guess that shows there must be at least a little recognition by the board that taxpayers are fed up.

...As Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, pointed out, the questions the mayor raised can't be answered without moving the project forward to preliminary engineering. Yes, the project needed to be properly vetted by experts, elected officials and the public, but now it's in limbo.

It makes more sense to not go forward, given the many drawbacks to the community.

If the legitimate questions raised by the mayor can't be answered before committing to the project, then it should be in limbo.

... as Ald. Mike D'Amato, who supported the connector, correctly observed Wednesday after Barrett's veto: "You're either a leader or you're not. You don't let the county executive determine what happens in your city" if you support a project such as this, which Barrett said earlier that he did.

D'Amato's right when he says, "You're either a leader or you're not."

In this case, Barrett is being a leader by showing some backbone and doing what's right. I suppose in D'Amato's world, the mayor can't be considered a leader unless he's marching in lockstep with the liberal agenda.

D'Amato says that the county executive shouldn't determine what happens in the city.

By far, I think Barrett is smarter to align himself with a wise county executive than to kowtow to some goofy aldermen and the misguided libs on the JS editorial board.

Also, isn't it possible that Barrett came to the conclusion on his own that he had to veto the resolution? Just because Barrett is agreeing with Walker's opposition doesn't mean that Walker is calling the shots.

...Unfortunately, Milwaukee may not get a chance to find out for itself what a connector might have done because of Barrett's lack of vision and courage.

Oooh, getting personal! Barrett is a wimp!

Let's hope aldermen can provide the leadership that the mayor didn't - and muster enough votes to override his veto.

Let's not.

Let's hope aldermen have the good sense to agree with the mayor that the brakes must be put on the Connector project, and any other project that would burden the community in so many ways.