Palmeri's Oshkosh Newsmakers of 2004
by Tony Palmeri
December 22, 2004
Presidential election years have a tendency to bring out the worst and best in any community. The year 2004 was no different. Oshkosh was no different. Apathy on the part of too many citizens, inane and insulting letters to editor coming from people who do claim to care, mainstream news media that provide shallow or misleading coverage of candidates and issues, Democratic and Republican party activists who insult our intelligence by urging us to vote only for party label, Democrats and Republicans offering the same tired politics as usual, too many yard signs, too much awful political literature mailed or delivered to households--all these and more were among the worst we experienced in Oshkosh in 2004.
But we also experienced some of the best: students voting in high numbers, independent and third party candidacies rejecting politics as usual and mobilizing grassroots citizen activism, visits to town by at least 5 presidential candidates (George Bush, David Cobb of the Greens, Independent Ralph Nader, Libertarian Michael Badnarik, Socialist Walt Brown) and Democrat VP nominee John Edwards, an independent and a Green Party candidate for the 54th assembly district earning 13% of the vote between them while spending 10 times less than the Democrat and Republican (proving that voters are hungry for alternatives), lots of young people working on campaigns, online news and public access television providing credible alternatives to the mainstream press, and a Grand Opera House debate between US Senate candidates Feingold and Michels.
Not all of the Oshkosh newsmakers of 2004 mentioned below were active in the presidential campaigns. But each made a significant contribution to the city, either by raising consciousness, provoking positive change, or showing principled leadership. And now the newsmakers:
*Fighting the Establishment: Paul Esslinger. For the first time in about 50 years, Oshkosh voters this coming April will have the chance to elect a mayor. Were it not for the heroic efforts of Oshkosh Common Councilor Paul Esslinger, the voters would not have this chance. Esslinger spearheaded the effort the get a referendum question on the November ballot asking the voters if they wanted to elect the mayor, and a majority said yes. The effort to get the referendum question on the November ballot required Esslinger to go head to head against those establishment interests that throw the term "progress" around to justify the squandering of taxpayer money for the benefit of favored builders and developers. Esslinger tried to incorporate veto power into the mayor position, but was unfortunately defeated in that quest by the five "progressive" (yeah, right) members of the Council. Still, electing a mayor will have a major impact on Oshkosh politics; mayoral candidates will be expected to give their views on the direction of the city, and even though they will lack formal powers the fact that they will be elected by the public will give them a bully pulpit from which to move the city in their preferred direction.
*Fighting Ignorance: Kay Springstrogh and Mike Kahl. Last March, State Representative Carol Owens and State Senator Carol Roessler led the legislative effort in Madison to write discrimination into the state constitution with their sponsorship of AJR-66, a fiercely anti-gay measure. In response, Oshkosh residents Kay Springstroh and Mike Kahl founded QH20 ("Queer on the Water") for the purpose of raising consciousness about the issues of gay marriage, civil unions, and gay rights in general. On May 2nd, QH2O held a wildly successful rally at Opera House Square Park in Oshkosh that was attended by more than 200 citizens. With the corrupt Wisconsin legislature more concerned with gay people and guns than with balancing the state budget, I think it is safe to say that we will need Springstroh and Kahl to lead again in 2005.
*Fighting Two-Party Dominance: Carol Ann Rittenhouse. For the first time in history, the Wisconsin Green Party nominated a candidate to run for the 6th Congressional District, a seat held for 25 mediocre years by Republican Tom Petri. Carol is a grandmother, a successful businesswoman, and one of the most decent human beings you will ever meet. Some of my most enjoyable moments during my own Green Party campaign for state assembly in 2004 were the times I spend campaigning with Carol. Though not a very polished politician, Carol speaks from the heart and is a deeply considerate and moral person. She's the kind of woman that the Democrats and Republicans typically ask to make phone calls or stuff envelopes. For giving Oshkosh voters a chance to vote for a real person committed to social and economic justice, ecology, peace and nonviolence, and grassroots democracy, Carol Ann Rittenhouse is one of the newsmakers of 2004.
*Fighting For Alternative Media: Miles Maguire. UW Oshkosh professor Miles Maguire in 2004 was the driving force behind the creation of the Oshkosh Community News Network (OCNN) (www.oshkoshnews.org), an experiment in online journalism. The OCNN believes that "the traditional media are not doing an adequate job in covering and delivering the news and that alternative approaches are needed to promote an informed and active citizenry." Amen. Maguire, a professor of Journalism, created weblog space on the OCNN site, and was able to get the 4 candidates for the 54th assembly district to post multiple blogs. The blog experiment received much positive attention from a variety of media sources, and probably represents the future of political campaigning in America. Maguire is to be commended for getting the candidate blog ball rolling right here in Sawdust City.
*Fighting For Funds: Tom Keefe. Since 2001 Tom Keefe has served as president of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Foundation and executive director of development. Before coming to UW Oshkosh he was executive director of the Catholic Aid Foundation of St. Paul, Minn., and before that served as associate vice president of institutional advancement at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. In 2004 Keefe spearheaded the Oshkosh Sports Complex project to collaboratively provide sports facilities for the university and three local high schools. No taxpayer dollars are involved in the project, even though it will be put to much greater use and create more economic activity than the Riverside Park amphitheater that five members of the Oshkosh Common Council insist must be financed in-part by taxpayer dollars. Perhaps the Common Council's "Fab Five" should contact Mr. Keefe for a lesson in how to raise private funds.
Tom Keefe was also a leaser in the effort to secure the Foundation's purchase of the Newman Center. The new "Foundation Center" has helped alleviate the severe campus space crunch while providing a home for the new Women's Center. Not all faculty and students agree with the direction the UW Oshkosh Foundation has taken under Keefe, but no one can deny that he has brought an aggressive and effective fundraising style to that office that was sorely lacking in the past.
*Fighting For Civics: Andy Robinson. In 2004 the New Voters Project (NVP) registered thousands of young voters on the UW Oshkosh campus and in the community. The NVP campus director, Andy Robinson, deserves multiple gold stars for his efforts. I had the opportunity to speak with many NVP student interns, and all of them praised Andy for his dedication, work ethic, and commitment to the cause of voting. I can say without exaggeration that the civic culture at UW Oshkosh will never be the same as a result of Andy's efforts in 2004.
*Fighting For Principle: Perry Graves. When former president Ronald Reagan passed away in June, mainstream media unleashed a torrent of praise the likes of which had not been seen since the death of Mother Theresa. For more than a week, it was difficult to say or write anything negative about Reagan. Local debate about Reagan's presidential legacy only came about because of the action of United Auto Workers Local 578 President Perry Graves. Remembering Reagan's harsh treatment of Labor and refusing to be bullied into conforming to the establishment media's unbalanced portrayal of the Gipper, Graves refused to fly the flag at half-mast at the Union Hall. Graves' action led to some nasty letters to the local newspaper, including some from union members, but I think he has to be given much credit for sticking to his principles and provoking a much needed debate about the legacy of Ronald Reagan. Perhaps organized labor would not be as weak as it is today if more union leaders had the guts to take some flack for what they believe in.
*Fighting For Poverty Awareness: Carla Eichinger. Or was it swimming for poverty awareness? In early August of 2004 recent UW Oshkosh graduate Carla Eichinger swam almost 10 miles across Lake Winnebago, from from the swimming beach at Menominee Park to Quinney Road in Calumet County. Her goal was to raise funds that allow area children free swimming lessons at the Oshkosh YMCA. Later in August an event was held at South Park in Oshkosh to help raise funds for Carla's cause, and it allowed several speakers including myself to begin a community discussion about poverty.
I've deliberately identified all of the 2004 newsmakers as "fighters," a word choice influenced by a recent speech delivered by Bill Moyers on receiving Harvard Medical School's Global Environment Citizen Award. Near the end of the speech, Mr. Moyers tells of looking at photographs of his grandchildren on his desk and coming to the realization that with our actions we are stealing their future. He concludes that we must "fight for the future that we want. And the will to fight is the antidote to despair, the cure for cynicism, and the answer to those faces looking back at me from those photographs on my desk." I want to thank the Oshkosh Newsmakers of 2004 for showing us how to fight that fight.
Tony Palmeri welcomes your feedback.
December 22, 2004
Presidential election years have a tendency to bring out the worst and best in any community. The year 2004 was no different. Oshkosh was no different. Apathy on the part of too many citizens, inane and insulting letters to editor coming from people who do claim to care, mainstream news media that provide shallow or misleading coverage of candidates and issues, Democratic and Republican party activists who insult our intelligence by urging us to vote only for party label, Democrats and Republicans offering the same tired politics as usual, too many yard signs, too much awful political literature mailed or delivered to households--all these and more were among the worst we experienced in Oshkosh in 2004.
But we also experienced some of the best: students voting in high numbers, independent and third party candidacies rejecting politics as usual and mobilizing grassroots citizen activism, visits to town by at least 5 presidential candidates (George Bush, David Cobb of the Greens, Independent Ralph Nader, Libertarian Michael Badnarik, Socialist Walt Brown) and Democrat VP nominee John Edwards, an independent and a Green Party candidate for the 54th assembly district earning 13% of the vote between them while spending 10 times less than the Democrat and Republican (proving that voters are hungry for alternatives), lots of young people working on campaigns, online news and public access television providing credible alternatives to the mainstream press, and a Grand Opera House debate between US Senate candidates Feingold and Michels.
Not all of the Oshkosh newsmakers of 2004 mentioned below were active in the presidential campaigns. But each made a significant contribution to the city, either by raising consciousness, provoking positive change, or showing principled leadership. And now the newsmakers:
*Fighting the Establishment: Paul Esslinger. For the first time in about 50 years, Oshkosh voters this coming April will have the chance to elect a mayor. Were it not for the heroic efforts of Oshkosh Common Councilor Paul Esslinger, the voters would not have this chance. Esslinger spearheaded the effort the get a referendum question on the November ballot asking the voters if they wanted to elect the mayor, and a majority said yes. The effort to get the referendum question on the November ballot required Esslinger to go head to head against those establishment interests that throw the term "progress" around to justify the squandering of taxpayer money for the benefit of favored builders and developers. Esslinger tried to incorporate veto power into the mayor position, but was unfortunately defeated in that quest by the five "progressive" (yeah, right) members of the Council. Still, electing a mayor will have a major impact on Oshkosh politics; mayoral candidates will be expected to give their views on the direction of the city, and even though they will lack formal powers the fact that they will be elected by the public will give them a bully pulpit from which to move the city in their preferred direction.
*Fighting Ignorance: Kay Springstrogh and Mike Kahl. Last March, State Representative Carol Owens and State Senator Carol Roessler led the legislative effort in Madison to write discrimination into the state constitution with their sponsorship of AJR-66, a fiercely anti-gay measure. In response, Oshkosh residents Kay Springstroh and Mike Kahl founded QH20 ("Queer on the Water") for the purpose of raising consciousness about the issues of gay marriage, civil unions, and gay rights in general. On May 2nd, QH2O held a wildly successful rally at Opera House Square Park in Oshkosh that was attended by more than 200 citizens. With the corrupt Wisconsin legislature more concerned with gay people and guns than with balancing the state budget, I think it is safe to say that we will need Springstroh and Kahl to lead again in 2005.
*Fighting Two-Party Dominance: Carol Ann Rittenhouse. For the first time in history, the Wisconsin Green Party nominated a candidate to run for the 6th Congressional District, a seat held for 25 mediocre years by Republican Tom Petri. Carol is a grandmother, a successful businesswoman, and one of the most decent human beings you will ever meet. Some of my most enjoyable moments during my own Green Party campaign for state assembly in 2004 were the times I spend campaigning with Carol. Though not a very polished politician, Carol speaks from the heart and is a deeply considerate and moral person. She's the kind of woman that the Democrats and Republicans typically ask to make phone calls or stuff envelopes. For giving Oshkosh voters a chance to vote for a real person committed to social and economic justice, ecology, peace and nonviolence, and grassroots democracy, Carol Ann Rittenhouse is one of the newsmakers of 2004.
*Fighting For Alternative Media: Miles Maguire. UW Oshkosh professor Miles Maguire in 2004 was the driving force behind the creation of the Oshkosh Community News Network (OCNN) (www.oshkoshnews.org), an experiment in online journalism. The OCNN believes that "the traditional media are not doing an adequate job in covering and delivering the news and that alternative approaches are needed to promote an informed and active citizenry." Amen. Maguire, a professor of Journalism, created weblog space on the OCNN site, and was able to get the 4 candidates for the 54th assembly district to post multiple blogs. The blog experiment received much positive attention from a variety of media sources, and probably represents the future of political campaigning in America. Maguire is to be commended for getting the candidate blog ball rolling right here in Sawdust City.
*Fighting For Funds: Tom Keefe. Since 2001 Tom Keefe has served as president of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Foundation and executive director of development. Before coming to UW Oshkosh he was executive director of the Catholic Aid Foundation of St. Paul, Minn., and before that served as associate vice president of institutional advancement at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. In 2004 Keefe spearheaded the Oshkosh Sports Complex project to collaboratively provide sports facilities for the university and three local high schools. No taxpayer dollars are involved in the project, even though it will be put to much greater use and create more economic activity than the Riverside Park amphitheater that five members of the Oshkosh Common Council insist must be financed in-part by taxpayer dollars. Perhaps the Common Council's "Fab Five" should contact Mr. Keefe for a lesson in how to raise private funds.
Tom Keefe was also a leaser in the effort to secure the Foundation's purchase of the Newman Center. The new "Foundation Center" has helped alleviate the severe campus space crunch while providing a home for the new Women's Center. Not all faculty and students agree with the direction the UW Oshkosh Foundation has taken under Keefe, but no one can deny that he has brought an aggressive and effective fundraising style to that office that was sorely lacking in the past.
*Fighting For Civics: Andy Robinson. In 2004 the New Voters Project (NVP) registered thousands of young voters on the UW Oshkosh campus and in the community. The NVP campus director, Andy Robinson, deserves multiple gold stars for his efforts. I had the opportunity to speak with many NVP student interns, and all of them praised Andy for his dedication, work ethic, and commitment to the cause of voting. I can say without exaggeration that the civic culture at UW Oshkosh will never be the same as a result of Andy's efforts in 2004.
*Fighting For Principle: Perry Graves. When former president Ronald Reagan passed away in June, mainstream media unleashed a torrent of praise the likes of which had not been seen since the death of Mother Theresa. For more than a week, it was difficult to say or write anything negative about Reagan. Local debate about Reagan's presidential legacy only came about because of the action of United Auto Workers Local 578 President Perry Graves. Remembering Reagan's harsh treatment of Labor and refusing to be bullied into conforming to the establishment media's unbalanced portrayal of the Gipper, Graves refused to fly the flag at half-mast at the Union Hall. Graves' action led to some nasty letters to the local newspaper, including some from union members, but I think he has to be given much credit for sticking to his principles and provoking a much needed debate about the legacy of Ronald Reagan. Perhaps organized labor would not be as weak as it is today if more union leaders had the guts to take some flack for what they believe in.
*Fighting For Poverty Awareness: Carla Eichinger. Or was it swimming for poverty awareness? In early August of 2004 recent UW Oshkosh graduate Carla Eichinger swam almost 10 miles across Lake Winnebago, from from the swimming beach at Menominee Park to Quinney Road in Calumet County. Her goal was to raise funds that allow area children free swimming lessons at the Oshkosh YMCA. Later in August an event was held at South Park in Oshkosh to help raise funds for Carla's cause, and it allowed several speakers including myself to begin a community discussion about poverty.
I've deliberately identified all of the 2004 newsmakers as "fighters," a word choice influenced by a recent speech delivered by Bill Moyers on receiving Harvard Medical School's Global Environment Citizen Award. Near the end of the speech, Mr. Moyers tells of looking at photographs of his grandchildren on his desk and coming to the realization that with our actions we are stealing their future. He concludes that we must "fight for the future that we want. And the will to fight is the antidote to despair, the cure for cynicism, and the answer to those faces looking back at me from those photographs on my desk." I want to thank the Oshkosh Newsmakers of 2004 for showing us how to fight that fight.
Tony Palmeri welcomes your feedback.
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