Thank you, Northwestern

I was glad to read Crystal Lindell's follow-up piece on Tom Stephany's relationship with Sawdust Days. I was glad to see a precise explanation of his connection to the event:

He books the bands for the Cajun and Zydeco acts that perform at the Louwisiana Hot Sauce booth, helps recruit the historic recreationist camps and works closely with the group that organizes Sawdust Days.

But the article also raised some questions that should be answered:

1. Does Mr. Stephany receive any compensation for his work in booking bands? If not, the article should say that clearly.

2. If Mr. Stephany has this expertise in booking entertainment, why was he resistant to the idea that his department could book groups into the Leach Amphitheater? Perhaps the whole PMI situation could have been avoided? (Actually this is probably something that could be considered separately, but it is an interesting question.)

3. Does Mr. Stephany do his work for Sawdust Days on "company time" or on his own? Who, anyone, keeps track of this? I doubt very much that he punches a clock.

It may be appropriate for the parks director to help with a major parks user, but then again it may not. If he does this work as part of his regularly scheduled job duties, does he go the extra mile for other groups, too? Are there other city employees, perhaps his secretary, who also do work for Sawdust Days?

Still and all, the article is a step in the right direction toward greater transparency.

What is journalism for?

Stew Rieckman has an interesting piece of advice for the Common Council in his column today:

Here's a suggestion that the seven members of the council might find illuminating. Ask your parks director what direct connection and personal interest he has in Sawdust Days. Then determine if he is an unbiased, objective steward of public parks and has the best interest of the neighborhood at heart. Here's a hint: The guy's hobby is Cajun and Zydeco music and hot sauce.

Why doesn't The Northwestern answer this question? I, for one, would sure like to know.

The paper's news story on Thursday about the Council's approval of this year's Sawdust Days permit had this tantalizing line:

City Parks Director Tom Stephany, who runs one of the activities at the event separate from his duties for the city, told councilors during the meeting that many of the neighbors' concerns had been addressed.

Inquiring minds would like to know (more) about what Mr. Stephany does for Sawdust Days.

It would also be interesting to know what Paul Esslinger's connection to Sawdust Days is prescisely. Here's another quote from Thursday's paper:

The seven-member council approved the permit with a 6-0 vote. Councilor Paul Esslinger voted present because the company he works for has a business relationship with Sawdust Days.

Why the lack of interest?

So no one is running against the incumbents on the Oshkosh Common Council. What does that tell us about the state of local politics in our fair city?

I dunno.

I think there are a number of factors at work, ranging from a collective shift of attention to the 2008 presidential election to any number of personal factors in the lives of individual citizens.

Personally I have to admit that my interest in the doings of the Common Council has dropped off a lot in recent months. Part of that has to do with some research that I have been doing on nonprofit media. It's a large project that has taken a great deal of time away from my other pursuits.

I have also started to wonder just how much the Council can do. We know that one of its success stories from last year was sidewalks, a real concrete achievement.

On the other hand, waterfront development remains stalled, property values are falling, crime is rising, the Leach Amphitheater is coming up short of expectations and City Hall is seeing an exodus of experience while the manager's job is unfilled.

Some of these problems are not the Council's doing, but some are. And I, for one, am hard pressed to see where the Council, including the mayor, is having a positive impact.

But still: the trash gets picked up, snow gets pushed around, the street lights go on at dusk.

Maybe that's all we can really expect from local government.

Certainly there is a bloc of voters in town who believe that local government shouldn't do much more than provide basic services. Those voters will keep the likes of Paul Esslinger and Dennis McHugh in office.

Can city government be made to function at a higher level? I think (hope?) the answer is yes. But I can't say I see a path from here to there.

In the meantime I guess we will have to leave it to the private sector and the nonprofit sector to do what can be done to move the community forward.