Brother Mike Blaska chaired the Dane County board Supervisors for four years. He said people appreciate a well run meeting. Here is Greg Humphrey on the marathon meeting Tuesday/Wednesday that droned on from 6:30 p.m. 04-19-22 to 4 the next morning. Greg Humphrey has some good advice at Caffeinated Politics:
[Alders] need to attend a class on how to run a meeting. Taxpayers would be well served if alders would trim their excessive chatter and learn to communicate with more precise and tightly framed comments. No one needs to hear an alder fawn over another about how wonderful it is to see such a commitment on this or that issue. Likewise, no one needs to have lofty tributes paid to city staff who are on hand to answer questions.
[It has] perplexed me for years …. [all] the questions alders ask of the staff. While I recognize that issues get placed in a fuller context and become more illuminated in meetings, I am also mindful that city staff is always accessible to alders who wish to be brought up to speed on an issue. Better use of everyone’s time might be for alders to come to council meetings prepared to do the work in front of them instead of needing to assemble the facts in front of the camera.
CAFFEINATED POLITICS – Opinions And Musings By Gregory Humphrey
-
Our Founder
and irascible head groundskeeper at the Policy Werkes is David Blaska, former has-been, 33-year card-carrying RINO, recovering know-it-all journalist. Holds the record for banishment on the NextDoor social media app. Aging gracelessly at Stately Blaska Manor on the SW side of Madison WI, the Emerald City.
My pronouns are “Sir” and “Your Lordship” but you dasn’t call me Late For Dinner.
→ “Why I’ll never vote for Trump again.” In Sunday’s 05-21-23 WI State Journal.
→ “Blaska & Me” by Dave Cieslewicz.
-
It is to laugh
“The ‘Chaos’ at the border is by design”
“As a presidential candidate in 2020, Biden criticized Trump for “drastically” restricting access to asylum. Now he’s doing the very same thing.”
— Where else but in The Nation.
-
Question of the Day
What ‘Deep State’?
Rachael Rollins, the US attorney for Massachusetts, leaked sensitive Justice Department information to a journalist in an effort to influence a local election, lied to investigators and improperly attended a fundraiser with Jill Biden, according to two critical federal reports released Wednesday. (More here.)
How can anyone take them seriously?
Charles C.W. Cooke asks at National Review.
“Rachel Maddow made a career out of spreading lunatic conspiracy theories on MSNBC, as did Chris Hayes and Nicolle Wallace (who is still, today, rejecting all evidence that contradicts her fever dream). Adam Schiff lied relentlessly from his official perch on the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and is now gearing up to run for the Senate.”
Education
Blaska Policy Werkes 
My theory is this is the only social time some of them get.
Someone should check on Verveer.
I also don’t get the inability to mitigate the barking dog.
LikeLike
Which district does the barking dog represent?
LikeLike
All I see is the tail wagging the dog.
LikeLike
After reading your commentary on how the Madison mayor’s office and city council operate over the past year since I stumbled on this blog, Dave, it sounds like the way the city is run is ripped straight from a Marx Brothers’ movie. However, that would be an insult to the Marx Brothers as they could actually make the city run (and run well) while still getting laughs…
Scotty
LikeLike
I didn’t watch any of the meeting, but I’m sure alder Mike Verveer was one of the worst offenders. I’ve had the experience of being in meetings with him when I was a City of Madison employee. He LOVES to hear himself talk. Windier than a bag full of a**holes…!
LikeLiked by 1 person
If the CommonSenseLess Council desperately seeks examples of how NOT to run meetings, have them audit any of the one-sided MMSD board melees from ~3 1/2 years ago for lessons in feral, unbridled THUGOCRACY, courtesy of the virulently RAYcist Free DUMB Inc, et al.
Despicably violent Lefties!
The Gotch
LikeLiked by 1 person
Kooks and Dandies running the council care more about lip service and ideas and not about actually doing a damn thing about problems. Everyone gets a trophy gobulitty gook. What to expect from cities run by idiots.
LikeLike
Someone hear a barking dog again.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Matter-a-fact, yes; a mangy, flea-bitten, $#!t-eatin’ one!
The Gotch
LikeLike
It’s a good thing they love to listen to themselves talk so much. Imagine the damage they’d do if they spent all that time implementing their lunacy into city policy. If I had to sit through these, I’d bring a pistol—to put myself out of the misery.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Do any of our alders know parliamentary procedures?
I learned them in high school and found parliamentary procedures an effective way of running a meeting so that people got to the point while not being able to bloviate at length about something that was not germane to the topic.
LikeLike
As someone who’s had to suffer through many meetings filled with self-important, egotistical blowhards, I can tell you that a parliamentarian is the best solution for bringing them in line. Getting them to agree to bring in a parliamentarian—that’s a different issue,
LikeLike
Well, they do have a parliamentarian , the city attorney. But he doesn’t run the meetings. The mayor does. The House of Reps assigns time limits to each bill. Don’t know if alders have cumulative time limits on each alder per issue. We did on county board but our meetings ran all night, too.
LikeLike
Parliamentary Procedures are a systemically colonialist racist procedures setup up by evil crackers.
LikeLike
I assume the meeting software (Zoom?) knows exactly how much each attendee speaks. They could publish the totals. I think it would shock alders like Verveer into being more self aware and perhaps STFU more often.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Not a bad idea. On the other hand, the sponsor of significant and contested legislation SHOULD speak more. Also such a thing as committee work. Not every alder, supervisor, legislator, congressman is expected — or is even able — to master details of each and every proposal. That should be left to colleagues you trust on the relevant committees.
LikeLiked by 1 person