Don't Go Away Mad Jennifer, Just Go Away

This column appeared on WisPolitics.com on December 29, 2005

Whether or not you approve of the first budget Dan Vrakas signed as Waukesha County executive, it was his budget. He won the election fair and square.

If Jenifer Finley wanted to be county executive, she should have run. Instead she stayed out of the race because her friends, and probably even her husband (the former county executive, Dan Finley), didn’t think she could beat Vrakas, and they did not want to deal with a potentially nasty Republican primary.

In the end, Jenifer Finley didn’t run because she didn’t want to lose. But before she dropped out, a deal was struck that gave her a graceful way out and the promise of a new position. Perhaps Mrs. Finley believed she really was making a sacrifice. But once she accepted the job as Vrakas’ top aide, Finley agreed to support his decisions.

We all know what it’s like to be certain that our way is the best way. But since it’s the boss’ name on the line, good staffers makes their case and support the final decision. If it does hit the fan, keep a lid on “I told you so” and make yourself as useful as possible until the situation is resolved. And when you can no longer be helpful, you resign, taking your resentments with you to be shared only with your close friends, your spouse and if necessary, a good therapist.

Thoughtful people understand that sometimes things just don’t work out between two people; it doesn’t necessarily reflect badly on either one. But Jenifer Finley, who was probably reacting to the courthouse rumor mill, decided that she needed to defend her honor. In attempting to do so, she showed us that she had no honor.

We’ll never know for sure what really happened in the office of the Waukesha County executive. Maybe Jenifer Finley did try to convince Dan Vrakas to veto more spending, or maybe she didn’t understand the choices that were presented to him in the budget. Either way, we now know more about Jenifer Finley’s tenure in county government than Dan Vrakas’, and that just shouldn’t be.