Will Wisconsin Ever Have a Vote on Legalizing Marijuana?

Two states now permit recreational use, following referendums in Tuesday's election.

Wisconsin voters had little to consider on Tuesday outside of state and national races for office, but in many other states citizens were asked to consider marijuana-related ballot measures. Colorado and Washington approved recreational marijuana use, becoming the first states to do so. Oregon defeated a similar measure. Massachusetts, meanwhile, became the 18th state to approve the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Arkansas voters said no thanks, while Montana voters supported a measure placing strong restrictions on an earlier medicinal marijuana law. The Badger State appears to be a long way from any kind of a vote on either type of use. Two Democratic legislators could not even get a hearing on a medicinal marijuana measure in …

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April 2012 Election: City Voters to Advise on Council Size

Referendum to take community pulse of age-old debate: Is 16 aldermen too many? Is eight enough? How about 12?

  A nonscientific poll says most Wauwatosans want a smaller Common Council. Tuesday, a more scientific poll will take place via a nonbinding referendum on the spring election ballot. The question being put to city voters: Should the Wauwatosa Common Council reduce the number of representatives on the Common Council? The question has been debated among council members at least four times within the past decade. The most recent debate led to a 9-5 decision to put the question to voters, a decision that came after the council first deadlocked on a motion not to put the issue on the spring ballot.   Although council members may be divided on the issue, there is consensus that reducing the size of the council is not a fiscal issue. Slashing the…

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Referendum on Council Size Passes After New Mayor's Tie-Breaking Vote

Voters will have a say in April on whether to reduce the size of the Common Council.

Citizens will get an opportunity to tell their government what they think about reducing its number of representatives, thanks to a single, somewhat surprising, somewhat reluctant vote. It came from Mayor Eric Meaux, appointed to the office Tuesday night to complete Jill Didier's term and almost immediately put to the test. A vote not to call an advisory referendum on the contentious issue of reducing the size of the Common Council ended in a 7-all tie. The mayor does not vote along with the council except to break a tie, and for Meaux, it came down putting the matter to rest. "This issue keeps raising its head," he said before casting the deciding vote against a motion by Ald. Michael Walsh to put the question on file — which amounts to …

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One Referendum Wins Applause, Another Gets Hisses from Committee

Panel of aldermen unanimously support an advisory vote on downsizing Common Council, reject one on cutting County Board.

It was an emphatic thumbs up for one referendum and a forceful thumbs down on another. Of six Tosa aldermen present on a Common Council committee Tuesday, and another half-dozen standing by to speak, none was strongly opposed to giving city voters a say in resetting the council's numbers. The same group of aldermen later in the evening were unanimously against seeing Wauwatosa take part in a referendum on the size of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors. The Committee on Legislation, Licensing and Communications voted 6-0 to recommend an advisory referendum on the April 3 ballot asking voters their opinions on whether 16 aldermen is too many. Ald. Dennis McBride had proposed a binding referendum last week that would have required the …

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Alderman Will Seek Advisory Referendum Instead of Binding One

After first debate on putting the issue of the size of the Common Council to the public, Ald. McBride feels a binding ballot question is too much, too suddenly.

Halving the size of the Wauwatosa Common Council is now unlikely to go to binding referendum in April. But voters could still have the chance to share their opinions in an advisory vote. Ald. Dennis McBride supports reducing the number of aldermen from 16 to eight. He proposed on Tuesday a binding referendum for the April 3 ballot, but feedback in committee and from the city attorney persuaded him to reconsider. "In listening to comments in committee, it seemed there was a sentiment to let the voters decide," McBride said. "At the same time, I could tell there was a lot of difficulty with moving so fast. "This would give us a chance to take the temperature of the electorate and see if there's a clear sentiment one way or the other." …

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Wild Wauwatosa

Have a Voice – Don't Let More Parks Budget Cuts Go Unchallenged

The quality of our parklands is in our hands, as further major reductions are proposed while system is already visibly suffering.

Wauwatosa has the great fortune to be a city full of parks and parkways. Wherever you live in Wauwatosa you are always near open green space. That the city government values its parkways was made clear last June when it was announced that a new marketing plan would brand Wauwatosa as “Innovation Parkway.” And a walk in the park is all it takes to see that the citizens value their beneficence. The problem for Wauwatosa is that most of its parklands belong to Milwaukee County. The parks are infested with buckthorn and other invasive species. Trees that fall into park lawns used to be cut up and hauled away, but now county crews mostly mow around them. And if you’ve been following Wild Wauwatosa you know how I feel about the condition of the …

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