Well Done

Kudos to the ten Milwaukee county board supervisors who had the guts to take on the king.

We're far from over, but this is a significant development.

THURSDAY, Feb. 2, 2006, 11:42 a.m.
Supervisors push move to oust Holloway
A 10-member majority of the Milwaukee County Board today will request a special meeting on Feb. 20 to hold an election that some supervisors hope could force out Supervisor Lee Holloway as chairman of the board.

Holloway is fighting ethics charges and has refused to step down until the matter is settled, as some supervisors have requested in the past.

The 10 supervisor planned to present County Clerk Mark Ryan with the request for a special during a lunch break in today’s County Board meeting.

The legality of holding a mid-term election for chairman when the office is not vacant is in doubt; even some supervisors leading the effort concede that.

Supervisor Lynne DeBruin said the move would be without precedent in Wisconsin. But the supervisors say it is worth taking the chance in court to replace Holloway, whose ethics case in their view has become a major distraction.

Asked about the supervisors’ planned action, Holloway said he would not back down. He said he believes he has been denied due process in the Ethics Board prosecution against him.

“If I have to go, I have to go, but as long as I’m here I’m going to fight it to the end,” he told a reporter. “I’ll play hardball.”

Supervisors who have resisted trying to force Holloway to step aside have said such efforts are premature while the ethics case is pending.

The 10 supervisors seeking the special meeting are: Mark Borkowski, Lynne DeBruin, Roger Quindel, Jim Schmitt, John Weishan Jr., Ryan McCue, Paul Cesarz, Gerry Broderick, Dan Devine and Joseph Rice.

Here is the letter.