Columnist Jim Stingl talks to both sides at Trump protest.

2 face off Tuesday for county executive

Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele and state Sen. Chris Larson, his challenger for the office, were asked Thursday during a debate if they would serve the full four years if elected next week.

Debate moderator Jeff Mayers of WisPolitics.com said both Abele and Larson were being discussed in Madison as possible contenders for governor in two years, so he asked them if they would pledge to complete the term as executive.

Abele said yes, he would make that pledge and complete the term.

Larson did not say yes or no. “That’s the plan,” he said.

On the closed Domes at Mitchell Park, Larson said he is an advocate for listing the three domes on the National Register of Historic Places and fully renovating the aging structures.

Abele said the Domes have been in need of major repairs for a few decades. He restated his willingness to allow the public to decide on either major renovation or construction of a new horticultural conservatory.

The debate, held at the Zelazo Center on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus, was sponsored by WisPolitics.com, UW-Milwaukee, the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Police Association and The Firm Consulting.

Members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 998, representing bus drivers and mechanics for the Milwaukee County Transit System, joined representatives of other unions and community groups in a protest of Abele’s policies inside the Zelazo Center before the debate.

ATU approved a three-year contract with MCTS last October after several months of contentious negotiations that included a July 1-3 transit strike, the first since 1978. Union members had rejected two other offers in 2015, and the impasse was not broken until Abele agreed to drop the transit system’s plans for hiring 45 part-time drivers in 2016.

Abele has asked voters to hire him for another term based on his record. One accomplishment he frequently lists is creating new job training opportunities, such as UpLift MKE.

At the debate, Abele announced the opening of the American Job Center at the county House of Correction in Franklin, where it will serve 1,000 people a year. The center was funded with a special grant from the U.S. Department of Labor received by only nine other communities in the country, he said.

The center is a “re-entry training program” for inmates, offering training and workforce preparation services based on individual needs, according to Abele.

Larson said he decided to challenge Abele for the job so county residents would have “a leader who listens.” He says Abele has not communicated with the public on major issues in county government. One recent example, he said, is that Abele has not scheduled a public meeting on the Domes even though they were closed for repairs in early February.

Abele, 49, was first elected in 2011 in a special election to fill the final year in Scott Walker’s term after Walker was elected governor. Abele was re-elected to a full four-year term in April 2012.

For his re-election bid this spring, Abele has been endorsed by state and local leaders: former U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, former Gov. Jim Doyle, state Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha), Milwaukee School Board President Michael Bonds and Milwaukee aldermen Ashanti Hamilton and Jim Bohl.

From Feb. 2 to March 21, Abele spent more than $1.3 million on all media services, including production, advertising, online videos and buying spots on television and radio, according to the latest campaign finance report.

Abele gave his self-funded campaign a loan of $1.17 million on March 9, boosting total loans since August to $3.92 million.

Larson, 35, a former county supervisor, was elected to the Senate in November 2010. He was re-elected to a second term in November 2014.

For his campaign to unseat Abele, Larson has been endorsed by: U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.); state Sens. Tim Carpenter and Nikiya Harris Dodd; and state Reps. David Bowen, Fred Kessler and Leon Young.

Larson spent $35,480 onmedia between Feb. 2 and March 21. He reported contributions of $166,225 in that period, including a $10,000 personal loan to his campaign.

The Milwaukee County executive is paid an annual salary of $129,114.