Gov. Scott McCallum refrained from name-calling in Tuesday’s State of the State Address and pledged to play nice with city officials by including local government in his decisions, but his address was less than stellar judging by the reactions of some legislators and city officials. City officials remain unhappy with McCallum’s treatment of the deficit and were not impressed with his address.
“Frankly, I am very disappointed; it would have been and opportunity for the governor to admit his initial plan won’t work out. He just read from the same book, only he was a little kinder and gentler about it,” Ald. Mike Verveer, District 5, said.

McCallum lessened the tone of his rhetoric by not calling city officials “big spenders” and avoided calling reporters names, but he offered no solution for the deficit other than cutting shared revenue, a plan that could potentially devastate some municipalities.
This may cause confidence in McCallum, and his policies to falter in a time when popularity is key: the onset of the gubernatorial race.

The Capital Times said McCallum’s speech was dismal; they longed for the days of Tommy Thompson and said, “It was hard to figure out why he bothered delivering the long-delayed talk.”
Despite partisanship, Rep. John Gard, R-Peshtigo, told the Capital Times, “Somehow, Tommy was better.”
Others offered more constructive criticism, pointing out McCallum’s seeming effort to mend differences with city officials but also his lack of a change in his plan, which may be necessary to gain the support he needs.

The speech was filled with the usual fluff these speeches entail. McCallum spoke of the “true Wisconsin spirit,” Wisconsin basketball and, of course, the Packers. After all, he has to please sports fans and make the speech interesting for those not politically savvy, but he still wasn’t received warmly.
McCallum could not stay away from his now classic “live within your means” analogy of comparing the state to a family.
“Government must do what all Wisconsin families do when they gather around the kitchen table and look at their budgets ? live within its means,” McCallum said.

Despite McCallum’s desire to work together, local officials don’t think it is possible with the current budget-repair plan. McCallum played nice with a group of mayors today when he met with them to discuss ways to alleviate the pain cities are feeling because of cuts.
The bitter debate between McCallum and city officials comes with the elimination of shared revenue. Both the governor and city officials are entrenched in their respective side of the debate.

McCallum may be taking steps to please city officials, but without a change in his plan (or at least a compromise), it seems unlikely city officials will stop criticizing and McCallum’s popularity will not bolster.

Morgan Felchner ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in political science. She is the news content editor at The Badger Herald.