La Crosse Under Cover Cop Doing A Seat Belt Sting Over By Taco Johns Northside

Tommy Thompson Opposed Concealed Carry When Governor

Tommy Thompson opposed a concealed carry bill when he was governor. This from an article from the New York Times on Sept 4, 1999. The article was titled:

Many G.O.P. Governors Now Pushing for Greater Gun Control

Gov. Tommy G. Thompson of Wisconsin has vowed to veto any concealed-weapon bill.

Rand Paul on the Surveillance State

How To Get On A City Government Committee

Apply! Contrary to what you might think it is rather easy to get appointed to a city government committee. Currently the city committee vacancies include:

1. Board of Review
2. City Planning Commission
3. Equal Opportunities Committee
4. International Committee 
5. La Crosse Center Board
6. Public Facilities Designation Committee
7. Redevelopment Authority 

All you need to do is print off this application and send it in the mail. We need better representation on these committees!

My Letter To The Lax Trib On Steve O'Malley Ethics Opinion

The La Crosse Tribune has published my letter to the editor regarding my thoughts on the outcome of the Steve O'Malley ethics opinion. Letter below. 

Unfortunately the La Crosse County ethics board has made it clear that they believe it is OK for La Crosse County to employ a paid political campaign worker/fundraiser in Steve O’Malley.

According to its ethics opinion, it is OK as long as it can be argued that the campaign work is part of the official duties of the county administrator.

Through open records request we (LaCrosseWatchDog) uncovered that not only was O’Malley soliciting funds ($5,000) from the ICMA that went directly to the campaign coffers of the Administrator Yes political action committee, but also organizing campaign strategy for the political action committee — all while using his county e-mail address.

The outcome of the ethics investigation sets a horrible precedent for future local government employees who may decide it is within their job duties to use taxpayer funded resources as campaign instruments.

This outcome is all very disturbing. There seem to be no checks on the county administrator position.  State and county board Rep. Steve Doyle stated that O’Malley has been given “free rein” to do what he wants by the county board.

This free rein allows for corruption. O’Malley using taxpayer-funded resources to aid in the campaign for a hugely unpopular city administrator position is corruption.

Government employees should not be electioneering while at work or using government resources.

Attorney Bernardo Cueto: Steve O'Malley Was Wrong To Campaigning On County Time

Letter to Editor From Bernardo Cueto (Attorney Representing Case Against O'Malley)


As the attorney who volunteered to represent the complainants at the ethics hearing against County Administrator Steve O’Malley, I want to thank the Ethics Board for its hard work and dedication.
The Ethics Board  agreed with the complainants that O’Malley used his position as a county employee to assist a Political Action Committee on county time and using county resources.  How did the complainants lose?


The Ethics Board came to three conclusions: 1) Although not part of his written job description, it was part of his unwritten job description;


2) His actions were implicitly authorized by the board. O’Malley specifically named Tara Johnson, Donald Meyer, Maureen Freedland and Sharon Hampson as having knowledge of his involvement; and


3) O’Malley did not receive personal gain from assisting the Administrator Yes PAC.  The Ethics Board was restricted to the Ethics Code and did not address other statutes or ordinances that restrict political activity using county resources.  


At the hearing, State Assembly member Steve Doyle stated that the position of county administrator, created just a few years ago, gave Mr. O’Malley “free rein.” In other words, the county board will tell him whether he did anything wrong after the fact.


A highly paid and unelected county official cannot be involved in elections using county resources just because he believes a result would be good or bad for La Crosse County.


The Government Accountability Board may choose to issue an advisory opinion on the political issues raised at the hearing. If they choose not to take on the issue, I hope the county board will.

City of La Crosse Auctioning Off 7 Droid Smartphones and One LCD Flat Screen Monitor

The city of La Crosse is auctioning off seven Droid smartphones and one 17" LCD computer monitor. So why does the city have droids to begin with? Who authorized such a purchase? Why in the Hell would they sell a perfectly good 17" LCD monitor? The city wants to hire an efficiency consultant at a rate of $125,000. Well how about the city officials stop buying smartphones and upgrading from perfectly good computer monitors? Here are some suggestions for the city to save money. 

1. Get rid of all smartphones/cellphones for City employees.
2. Stop selling and upgrading worthwhile equipment. (the only way to enforce this is to give the IT department 20% less budget than last year).

Rep. Steve Doyle Parses Definition of The Word Fundraising At (Steve O'Malley Ethics Trial)

WI Rep Steve Doyle Crossed Examined (Ethics Hearing Steve O'Malley)

 Full Testimony Below (30 mins)

La Crosse County Admin Steve O'Malley's Ethics Testimony

County Ethics Board Clears O'Malley

Well the ethics board has made it clear it is okay for La Crosse County to employ a paid political campaign worker/fundraiser in Mr. O'Malley. What a horrible precedent the board has set. Very disturbing.  There are now no checks on the county administrator position. As Steve Doyle put it Mr. O'Malley has "Free Reign" to do what he wants. Corruption in La Crosse County government is greater then I imagined. Below is an interesting comment from the La Crosse Trib comment section. 

Steve Doyle stated during the ethics hearing that O'Malley has "free reign" to do anything he feels necessary outside of his job description/contract. Is that what county taxpayers want? An un-elected official with "free reign"? How come there wasn't a binding referendum on this topic over ten years ago? Answer: Steve Doyle didn't want the unwashed public, the unprofessional government of elected officials to have an input to county government. That's right. Steve Doyle hand-picked a CZAR County Administrator who doesn't even live in La Crosse county. O'Malley lives near the twin cities. So the County Administrator with "free reign" to blow your tax dollars doesn't even live anywhere near the county. Who knows where he's sending your tax dollars? He has "free reign." No matter what, your money will always leave town, the county taxes will increase, the county debt service will increase. But don't worry because you'll have a "sustainability coordinator" to prevent global warming thanks to your County Administrator.

Steve O'Malley Ethics Hearing On Friday July 6th

The county ethics board will be conducting La Crosse County Administrators Steve O'Malley's ethics hearing this Friday, July 6th at 10AM in the basement of the County Administration building Room B190. We have very little details about how this hearing will be conducted other then  Attorney Kerry Sullivan-Flock is representing the Ethics Board and Mr. O'Malley is being represented by La Crosse Criminal Defense attorney Keith Belzer.