Franklin candidate for mayor Basil Ryan fired the first public salvo in the campaign this past week via a press release breathlessly entitled "FRANKLIN MAYOR BRINGS UP HIS LAVISH COUNTY PENSION IN BIZARRE NOTE: Mayor tries to frivolously kick challenger off the ballot."
Ryan quotes the "bizarre" portion of the letter (getting the county pension issue out there), but nothing else, so I made an open records request for "Bizarre note: Mayor Taylor" and got a copy of the entire document to supply context. The cover letter is pictured below along with a transcription of the note. Another page-and-a-quarter of enumerated signature challenges follow, as well as multiple pages of pasted-in provisions of Wisconsin State law applying to nomination challenges.
You can examine the entire document here: Download Taylor_challenge_letter.pdf
And, lest Basil Ryan assume the role of persecuted underdog, he gives as good as he gets; Ryan filed his own nomination challenge of Taylor's signatures received by the City of Franklin one hour and 30 minutes after Taylor's was filed. Download Ryan_challenge letter.pdf
Alas, neither challenge will result in a nullified candidacy.
Received by City of Franklin 1/7/08
I Thomas M. Taylor am challenging: the sufficiency of Basil Ryan's nomination papers for Mayor of the City of Franklin based on the information found in the table directly below that speaks to subjects such as the nomination forms having missing items such as the year missing, that signatures are illegible, that signatures are from a community other than Franklin or such other items as the address listed being illegible.
I do not restrict myself to just those items listed in the table found directly below but also raise issues concerning Basil Ryan supplying more specificity regarding his employer and the name of his employer's business and/or businesses so that a reasonable citizen could find such business to determine the nature of the business, it's financial dealings and the like. Basil Ryan simply listing “self” under employer and entering management and agricultural does not properly allow for an investigation of these businesses or it's financial practices.
It is important for a candidate such as myself to know who is challenging me for the position of Mayor and I believe it is in the best interests of the 33,000 plus citizens of
Franklin to know precisely who is running for elective office. I am a retired public administrator that worked for Milwaukee County Government; I held positions of
Assistant Director of Labor Relations and Acting Director of Human Resources for
Milwaukee County. I made approximately $104,000 per year in my last year of service and based on my almost 30 years of service I currently receive a annual pension of about $61,000. I currently work for the City of Franklin as the Mayor and receive approximately $22,000 in compensation. I believe Basil Ryan should come forward and fully disclose his annual income and where he derives such income?
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