Obviously, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett considered the United Auto Workers' luncheon he attended in Oshkosh on Wednesday very forgettable. Barrett addressed 50 UAW union members, but he forgot.
Just a day after being a speaker at the Oshkosh union luncheon, Barrett claimed to have no recollection of where he was. He claimed he wasn't sure what he was doing instead of attending a law enforcement memorial in Milwaukee for officers killed in the line of duty.
Barrett was expected to be at the memorial, but he skipped out.
John Mercure reports:
We have new information about what Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett was doing when he missed the Greater Milwaukee Law Enforcement Ceremony on Wednesday.
The ceremony is a tribute to those officers who lost their lives in the line of duty. It was attended by Governor Walker, Attorney General JB Van Hollen, Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn, and numerous other political and law enforcement officials. Tom Barrett was not there.
Thursday, I showed up at a Barrett press conference to ask him about his absence. He told me that he was traveling the state. I asked him to be specific about where he was the day before. He told me he couldn't remember. He told me he would get back to me after consulting his schedule.
Friday morning I came into work and hoping to have an email or phone message with the information I was promised. There was nothing. As the day went on, there was still nothing. I began to look into it myself and discovered that Mayor Barrett was actually speaking at a luncheon for retired United Auto Workers in Oshkosh at the exact same time that the fallen officers memorial was taking place in Milwaukee. Barrett spoke to a room of about 50 UAW union members.
Friday afternoon I had the chance to speak to Michael Hasenstab. His brother, Steven Hasenstab was killed in a squad car crash in 1989. Hasenstab was at Wednesday's ceremony. "I am disappointed that the mayor wasn't with us at the ceremony," Hasenstab told me. "I guess we know where his priorities are by where he spent his time."
This really is sleazy.
I believe that Barrett lied to Mercure.
One doesn't forget speaking at a union luncheon in Oshkosh just a day earlier.
Barrett had to travel to the Oshkosh event. One doesn't forget going all the way to Oshkosh. He chose to talk to union members rather than honor law enforcement officers who gave their lives protecting the public.
Barrett chose to lie about where he was. He chose to avoid answering John Mercure's very simple question: Where were you?
I'm learning a lot about Tom Barrett as a result of this recall election - all bad.
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Listen to audio of John Mercure's Friday discussion of Barrett's disgrace.
Mercure speaks with Michael Hasenstab, who was at the ceremony Barrett skipped. Hasenstab is the brother of Steven Hasenstab, who was killed in a squad car crash in 1989.
We also hear the tape of Barrett's remarks at the union luncheon. They are nauseating. He criticizes "rock star" Scott Walker for traveling rather than doing his job.
What a hypocrite!
In my opinion, Barrett failed to do his job when he didn't show up at the law enforcement memorial. He belonged there. He didn't show proper respect for the fallen and their loved ones by attending the event.
Inexcusable.
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