Opinion: Editorial
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Amid all the speculation to find out who will replace Ald. Eli Judge, District 8, on the Madison City Council in the past week, there is another public office that has been sorely neglected: that of the Dane County supervisor.
Since being elected in April, District 5 Supervisor Wyndham Manning has kept things under the radar. While we’re not yet sure if that’s because he is still trying to find his foothold on the board or because of sheer laziness, until now we have had little reason to say anything of note regarding his tenure in office, as it has appeared as if he’s done nothing of consequence.
Last month, he had his first chance to define himself as a responsible representative. At the Nov. 17 meeting of the Dane County Board, an amendment to the 2009 operating budget proposed striking five new sheriff’s deputies and moving the more than $250,000 freed up as a result to support a worker outreach program. The amendment was designed as a punitive measure for Sheriff Dave Mahoney’s decision to report illegal immigrants arrested for criminal offenses to federal authorities.
During the meeting, County Board Chair Scott McDonell made a reasoned argument to vote against the reallocation, noting that though he and many of his constituents believe the sheriff’s actions are wrong, this was not the way to hold him accountable.
While that argument seemed to sway 29 members of the board, six still dissented, including Manning.
While we don’t know his exact rationale for supporting the amendment — as the only remarks he made during the meeting other than “aye” or “no” was a tribute to American armed forces before the pledge of allegiance — his interview with us last year revealed a sharp distaste for Mahoney’s policies because, as he put it, they would decrease the amount of diversity in Dane County.
Manning not only does his constituents a disservice by voting against law enforcement increases when crime is on the rise, but he also does himself a disservice by signing on to such a vengeful budget cut without articulating why.
This is not representation. Until Manning decides to either stop engaging in political slap fights or at least explain why he won’t, we still consider District 5 vacant.
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DAAYUUM!!
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“we still consider District 5 vacant”.
Ok. Thanks for letting us know.
Just a quick tip, though: What you fail to consider is that no one actually cares what you think.
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“The amendment was designed as a punitive measure for Sheriff Dave Mahoney’s decision to report illegal immigrants arrested for criminal offenses to federal authorities.”
If this paper is going to continue its obsession with demonizing PD and immigrant rights, at least get your facts straight. The Sheriff reports any undocumented person who comes into his system, including those brought in for questioning and even those who spend the night in prison voluntarily. Further, most of those arrested for “criminal offenses” were taken in for driving without a license (undocumented immigrants can no longer obtain drivers licenses in Wisconsin) or minor offenses like public intoxication. Your (likely intentional) neglect in mentioning either of these only serves to mislead readers.
Of course, correcting your factual inaccuracies is probably a waste of time. I sincerely doubt any clear-thinking person takes the worthless opinions of the Editorial Board seriously.
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This is such idiocy. The Sheriff is WASTING law enforcement resources by enforcing federal civil immigration law instead of LOCAL CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. Mahoney is a dough-faced fool. Manning did the absolute right thing by trying to force the Sheriff to do his job instead of ICE’s
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Spot on. Unless and until that communist hippie explains to and clears with the Badger Herald and the Critical Badger and the Badger Badger and the Critical Herald all of his votes, Manning obviously has no policy positions whatsoever. - Germain Q. Stemme
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Kyle- Thank you for making it clear that the Badger Herald is clearly misleading its readers. This money should be spent in better ways.